Rise by Arissa Foundation

When a woman
rises, India
rises with her.

A foundation dedicated to transforming women's education, health, and economic participation — because closing India's gender gap is not just the right thing to do. It is the single largest growth opportunity our nation has.

The Opportunity India Cannot Afford to Ignore

Women are half of India's population. They contribute barely a quarter of its economy.

24%
Female Labour Force Participation Rate India's FLFPR is among the lowest in the world — lower than most South Asian nations — despite two decades of rapid economic growth.
$770B
Potential GDP Addition Advancing women's equality in India could add $770 billion to national GDP — equivalent to the entire economy of the Netherlands.
49%
Of Citizens. Under-Represented Everywhere. Women are 49% of India yet hold under 15% of corporate leadership roles, 8% of IIT enrolments, and under 5% of STEM workforce positions.
Sources: World Bank · McKinsey Global Institute · ILO · AISHE Report 2023
Our Purpose

To expand what is possible for every Indian woman.

We work at the intersection of education, health, and economic opportunity — building pathways for women to participate fully in India's growth story, from early schooling to the nation's premier institutions and beyond.

Our Belief

An educated woman is the highest-return investment a society can make.

Every year of secondary education increases a woman's earnings by 10–20%, reduces child mortality, and compresses inter-generational poverty by a full generation. The math is unambiguous. The urgency is undeniable.

Our Scope

Starting focused. Thinking at the scale of a nation.

We begin with scholarships for meritorious girl students, recognition of extraordinary teachers, and community health support — building the evidence, partnerships, and systems required to operate at the scale India demands.

The Numbers Demand Action

This is not a women's issue.
It is India's largest economic challenge.

The data below does not merely describe a problem. It describes an opportunity the size of a continent — waiting to be unlocked.

₹56L Cr
Annual Economic Output Lost
India loses an estimated ₹56 lakh crore annually in potential economic output due to low female labour force participation — equivalent to the entire GDP of a major Indian state, every single year.
Source: McKinsey Global Institute · World Economic Forum
47%
Girls Who Leave Education After Class XII
Nearly half of all girls who complete secondary school in India do not proceed to higher education or employment. The pipeline collapses precisely at the inflection point where it matters most.
Source: ASER Report · NSSO · AISHE 2023
10×
Higher Earnings With Higher Education
A woman with a college degree earns on average 10 times more than one with only primary schooling. The return on higher education for women in India outpaces almost every other investment class available.
Source: World Bank Human Capital Index · ILO 2022
3rd
India's Target: 3rd Largest Economy by 2030
India's ambition to become the world's third-largest economy is structurally unachievable without meaningfully raising female workforce participation. There is no $10 trillion growth story without women fully in it.
Source: IMF · Niti Aayog Vision 2035
What We Do

Five pillars.
One mission.

We work across the full arc of a woman's life — from her first classroom to her career, her health, and the environment she inhabits.

01

Education & Scholarships

From school to IIT and IIM — we fund the education of meritorious girl students across every stage of learning, ensuring that financial hardship is never the reason a bright mind stops growing.

Programs
School Scholarships Undergraduate Support IIT / IIM Fellowships Teacher Excellence Awards
02

Women's Health & Wellness

A woman cannot learn, earn, or lead if she is unwell. We support preventive healthcare, maternal health, nutrition, and mental wellness — because the health of a woman is the health of an entire community.

Focus Areas
Preventive Health Camps Maternal Wellness Nutrition Programs Mental Health Access
03

Skill Development & Livelihoods

Education opens doors; skills keep them open. We invest in vocational training, digital literacy, and entrepreneurship that translate learning into lasting economic independence for women across India.

Focus Areas
Vocational Training Digital Literacy Entrepreneurship STEM Upskilling
04

Women's Empowerment & Leadership

We support programs that build agency, confidence, and leadership capability — enabling women to participate as equal decision-makers in homes, communities, and India's economic and civic institutions.

Focus Areas
Leadership Mentoring Legal Awareness Community Mobilisation Financial Inclusion
05

Environment & Sustainable Communities

Women are the world's most effective environmental stewards. We preserve, protect, and regenerate natural ecosystems — because a healthy planet is the foundation on which every other human goal rests.

Focus Areas
Clean Water Access Reforestation Renewable Energy Eco-Literacy
Vision

The Goal at Scale

We intend to benefit hundreds of thousands of women across India — through scholarships, healthcare, skills, and advocacy — contributing meaningfully to closing the gender participation gap within a generation.

Scale Ambition
IIT Fellowships IIM Scholarships National Reach
Education Architecture

A scholarship for every
stage of her journey.

We believe that support must be continuous — not a one-time intervention. A girl supported in school who then faces a financial wall at the gates of higher education has not truly been freed.

Our education architecture is designed to walk alongside her, from her first scholarship to her last degree — an unbroken pathway from primary school to the highest institutions of learning in India.

Programs at each stage are active or in active development. The Foundation is building systematically toward full-spectrum coverage — with IIT and IIM fellowships planned as a landmark next step.

Foundation
Middle School
Classes VI – VIII
Merit-based scholarships for girl students · Active
Secondary
High School
Classes IX – XII
Academic + Character evaluation · Active
Undergraduate
College
& University
Rising Scholars Program · In Development
Premier Institutions
IIT / IIM
Fellowships
Arissa Excellence Fellowship · Planned 2026–27
Workforce
Career &
Leadership
Mentorship · Placement · Entrepreneurship
The Economic Mandate

Women's workforce participation is India's growth engine.

India has set its sights on becoming a $10 trillion economy. But the path there requires unlocking the productive potential of every citizen — and right now, nearly half the country is sitting on the sidelines.

This is not a charity argument. It is a macroeconomic one. Every percentage point increase in female labour force participation adds billions to India's GDP. Every girl who completes higher education and enters the workforce is a direct contribution to national output, tax revenue, and human capital.

"If India closes its gender gap in workforce participation by just half, it could add over $400 billion to its economy within a decade."

— McKinsey Global Institute, The Power of Parity

$10T
India's GDP target by 2035 — structurally unreachable without women's participation.
Niti Aayog / IMF Projections
43M
Women who exited the workforce between 2005–2020, even as India's GDP doubled.
World Bank Labour Data
18%
Estimated GDP gain from achieving gender parity in economic participation.
McKinsey Global Institute
8%
Share of women in IIT enrolment — among the lowest of any major technical system globally.
AISHE 2022–23
Our Commitment

What we intend to build.

These are not aspirations on paper. They are commitments we are building toward, systematically, program by program, year by year.

10K+
Girls Supported Through Education
Direct scholarships from middle school through postgraduate study at India's premier institutions — to be achieved within 10 years of full operations.
50K+
Women Reached Through Health Programs
Preventive health camps, maternal wellness, nutrition access, and mental health support delivered across underserved communities.
5K+
Women Skilled & Placed in Livelihoods
Vocational and digital training programs that convert education into employment — with direct linkages to job placement and entrepreneurship pathways.
100%
Transparent, Accountable Grantmaking
Every rupee tracked. Every program evaluated. Annual public impact reports — so donors and communities can hold us to account.
Get Involved

There is a role here for you.

Whether you are a student, an institution, a corporation, or an individual who believes in India's women — we want to hear from you.

Apply for a Scholarship

If you are a meritorious girl student seeking financial support for your education — from school to postgraduate level — apply for one of our scholarship programs. We evaluate on merit, character, and financial need.

Apply Now

Donate & Partner

Your contribution funds a scholarship, a health camp, or a skills program. Corporate partners, family offices, and individual donors are all welcome. Contributions are eligible for 80G deduction under the Income Tax Act.

Become a Partner

Mentor & Volunteer

Are you a professional, educator, or domain expert? Offer your time as a mentor to scholarship recipients, a trainer in our skills programs, or an evaluator for our teacher recognition initiative.

Get in Touch
Contact

Let's talk about
what's possible.

Whether you are a student, an institution, a potential partner, or someone who simply wants to understand our work better — we welcome every conversation. This mission is larger than any one organisation.

Open annually — check back for current cycle dates
We welcome conversations with corporations, family offices, and impact investors
Write to Us