Ma Foundation is a non-profit organisation established on 29 September 2019, committed to empowering impoverished women in rural India through skilling and livelihood programmes.The Foundation works in the social sector with a focus on livelihood creation, women’s empowerment, food security and community development. The Foundation is registered under Sections 12AA and 80G of the Income-Tax Act.
The Foundation is led by Geeta Gopalakrishnan, Founder and Managing Trustee. The Board of Trustees includes renowned singer Usha Uthup, veteran cricketer Arun Lal, Mr Ishaat Hussain, former Finance Director of Tata Sons, and Lavanya Raghavendran, Manufacturing Manager, SLB. The trustees bring diverse experience across social development, business, finance, sports and industry, supporting the Foundation’s vision and governance.
Ma Foundation’s flagship programme, MA KI ROTI, was launched in 2021 with a simple objective: to provide affordable, safe and home-cooked meals to communities while creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for women from underserved backgrounds.
The programme has since evolved into a structured women-led livelihood model combining skill development, employment, enterprise development, food services and continuous handholding.
MA KI ROTI – The Flagship Programme of Ma Foundation
MA KI ROTI works primarily with women from low-income and underserved communities, particularly impoverished mothers and women who have limited access to stable livelihood opportunities. The programme also reaches women who may be single, widowed or facing financial and social vulnerabilities.
The model builds on a practical skill that many women already possess—cooking—and connects it to a real market opportunity. Women come together through Self-Help Groups and community-based structures to operate MA KI ROTI centres that provide affordable meals to local communities and institutions.
The programme has so far established 107 MA KI ROTI centres across 11 states in India, reaching 900+ women. Women engaged through the programme earn, on average, approximately ₹3,000–₹4,500 per month, providing an important source of regular income for women who previously had limited or irregular livelihood opportunities.
The Three-Year Model
MA KI ROTI follows a three-year structured incubation model, through which each centre and its women members progressively move from initial support towards greater independence.
Year 1 – Establishment
The first year focuses on identification, mobilisation and foundational training. Women receive training in life skills, financial literacy, digital literacy, hygiene and work readiness. The Foundation supports the establishment of the centre, including infrastructure, systems, food subsidies and initial operational handholding.
Year 2 – Support and Strengthening
The second year focuses on strengthening centre operations. Women receive support in food production, quality control, procurement, production planning and market linkages. External support is gradually reduced as the centre develops greater operational capacity.
Year 3 – Empowerment and Sustainability
The third year focuses on enterprise development and sustainability. Women are supported in areas such as order management, branding, leadership and financial and operational management. Continued mentoring and monitoring help the centre and its women members move towards greater ownership and independence.
The approach is therefore designed not simply to provide women with training, but to support them through the complete journey from skill development to livelihood and, ultimately, greater self-reliance.
Training and Capacity Building
Training under MA KI ROTI goes beyond food preparation and kitchen operations. It focuses on building the knowledge, confidence and capabilities women need to manage their livelihoods, improve their earnings and participate more actively in household and community life.
• Financial Literacy: Savings, budgeting, income management, understanding earnings and basic financial planning.
• Food, Nutrition and Hygiene: Safe food preparation, food hygiene, nutrition awareness, kitchen safety and understanding relevant food safety and licensing requirements.
• Personal Development and Gender Sensitisation: Confidence-building, communication, teamwork, motivation, decision-making, leadership and awareness of gender-related roles and barriers.
• Digital Literacy: Basic digital skills to support day-to-day work, digital payments, communication, record keeping and access to relevant digital services.
• Social Security and Government Schemes: Awareness of social security provisions, government schemes and entitlements available to women and lowincome households.
• Work Readiness and Enterprise Skills: Workplace discipline, time management, production planning, customer handling, quality standards and basic enterprise management to strengthen women’s ability to operate and sustain MA KI ROTI centres.
Women also receive continuous handholding, operational guidance, mentoring and support to access markets and institutional orders.
Program Objective: To empower women from underserved communities by scaling MA KI ROTI centres into sustainable, community-based food enterprises that enable dignified livelihoods, strengthen financial and enterprise capabilities, and enhance decision-making agency. Over the next five years, the program aims to reach 1000 women, aligned with SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 5, SDG 8 and SDG 10.
Key Objectives
• Livelihood Creation and Skilling: Equip women with life skills, financial and digital literacy, and technical training in food production to enable sustainable income generation.
• Enterprise Development and Sustainability: Establish and strengthen MA KI ROTI centres as community-based livelihood units, supporting infrastructure, market linkages, and enterprise management skills.
• Food Security and Social Impact: Improve access to affordable, safe, and nutritious meals while enhancing women’s confidence, agency, and participation in decision-making.
Impact So Far
MA KI ROTI Programme : The programme has created livelihood opportunities for 900+ women through 107 centres across 11 states.
On average, women engaged in the programme earn approximately ₹3,000–₹4,500 per month. For women who previously depended on irregular, seasonal or unpaid work, this income provides an opportunity to contribute to household expenses, save and participate more actively in household financial decisions.
Assessment Results: An independent Landscape & Impact Evaluation by SoulAce Consulting Pvt. Ltd., covering 25 MA KI ROTI centres across eight states between October 2021 and November 2024, provides further evidence of the programme’s outcomes.
The assessment found:
• 100% of participating women transitioned into structured local livelihoods.
• Nearly 75% reported saving regularly.
• Around 93% of indebted households reported a reduction in debt.
• Almost 100% gained independent control over their earnings.
• More than 80% reported increased participation in household financial decisions.
• Around 90% of families reported improved nutrition.
• Nearly 75% reported a better ability to support their children’s education.
• 60% expressed aspirations to start independent food or micro-enterprises.
The assessment also found that nearly 97% of beneficiaries considered mentoring and handholding very helpful, while around 90% expressed willingness to continue operating the canteens.
The impact extends to customers as well. More than 60% of customers surveyed were repeat users, nearly 90% spent less than ₹60 per meal and almost 99% expressed satisfaction with the taste of the food.
Brief form Landscape findings: From Income to Greater Independence
MA KI ROTI supports women in moving from precarious, seasonal or unpaid work towards structured local livelihoods. Through the programme, women receive training, continuous mentoring and opportunities to work through community-based MA KI ROTI centres.
The impact assessment found that 100% of participating women transitioned into structured local employment. Nearly 75% reported saving regularly, while almost 100% gained independent control over their earnings. More than 80% also reported increased participation in household financial decisions.
The programme’s impact also extends to women’s aspirations for the future. 60% of women expressed an aspiration to start independent food or micro-enterprises, indicating that the experience gained through MA KI ROTI can provide a pathway towards further livelihood and enterprise opportunities
A Model for Scale
MA KI ROTI is designed as a community-based and replicable model. It leverages existing skills, Self-Help Groups and local market opportunities while providing a structured framework for training, centre establishment, operations, monitoring and sustainability.
The three-year incubation approach enables the Foundation to gradually reduce external support and strengthen the capacity of women and centres to manage operations independently.
The programme also works with CSR and institutional partners to expand centres, strengthen market linkages and build the ecosystem required for sustainable livelihoods.
Ma Foundation’s longer-term objective is to reach 6,000 women over five years, expanding opportunities for women’s economic participation while contributing to food security and inclusive community development.
MA KI ROTI at a Glance
2019 — Ma Foundation established
2021 — MA KI ROTI launched
107 — Centres established & Structured incubation model
11 — States covered
900+ — Women reached
₹3,000–₹4,500 — Average monthly income per woman
1000+ women directly apart from indirect beneficiaries their families and communities — Long-term programme target (In 5 Years)
Over the next three years, MA KI ROTI aims to strengthen and scale its existing womenled livelihood model by introducing certified and advanced training pathways, expanding market opportunities, strengthening women’s leadership and creating structured corporate employee engagement and volunteering opportunities. The programme aims to establish 60 new MA KI ROTI centres, 20 in Year 1, followed by 20 new centres each in Years 2 and 3. This will directly engage 200 women in Year 1, 400 cumulatively by Year 2 and 600 cumulatively by Year 3, with at least 2,400 family members indirectly benefiting by Year 3. The centres are projected to generate approximately 25.2 lakh customer meal interactions over three years. In parallel, the MA KI ASHA outreach programme will extend awareness on health, hygiene, nutrition and related areas to a wider base of women, families and communities beyond the MA KI ROTI centres.
Fundraising Through Art and Culture-BELCANTO MA
As part of its efforts to support the women of MA KI ROTI, Ma Foundation also organised a fundraising cultural evening that brought together an acclaimed opera singer and pianist from London, a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer, and Carnatic mandolin, mridangam and ghatam artistes from South India. Through a fusion of Western and Indian classical music and dance, the performance portrayed the journey of a woman from dreams and hope through poverty and adversity to finding the courage to stand on her own feet. The event helped raise support for the MA KI ROTI programme while also celebrating the resilience, dignity and aspirations of women rebuilding their lives through livelihood opportunities.
The event received support from several distinguished guests and corporate and individual sponsors. Ms Waheeda Rehman, Mr Puneet Chhatwal of IHCL (Taj Group), and Ms Shweta Venkat were among the Guests of Honour, while organisations including Tata Consumer Products, Tata Trent, Tata Play, Air India, Senco, Sundrop and Furtado’s extended their support.
The event helped raise support for MA KI ROTI and the women it serves, while also creating a platform to celebrate their resilience, dignity and aspirations for greater independence.
Partnerships and Support
The growth of MA KI ROTI has been supported by a diverse network of institutional partners, quasi-government organisations, corporate CSR partners, philanthropic foundations and individual supporters. Institutional support has included organisations such as SIDBI and NABARD. Corporate and CSR support has come from partners including Tata Consumer Products, Nestle, Tata Play, Rallis India (a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals), Jaguar Land Rover India Limited, SBI Foundation, TATA Capital, ITC, Britannia, Mahindra Holidays, Akzo Nobel, Quest Global, Clariant India, MPS Interactive Systems and Puri Oil Mills, among others.
The programme has also received support from philanthropic and foundation partners including the Hemendra Kothari Foundation, HT Parekh Foundation, Godrej Foundation, Wadhwani Foundation, Ammada Trust, Everest Food Charitable Trust and RJ Foundation, as well as individual philanthropists and patrons who have contributed towards the programme and specific MA KI ROTI centres. This broad-based support has enabled the Foundation to establish and strengthen centres, expand livelihood opportunities for women, support centre operations and build the ecosystem required for the programme’s continued growth.
Awards & Appreciation
• Ma Foundation’s MA KI ROTI initiative has been conferred the 𝐂𝐒𝐑 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 2026 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐲 recognising our commitment to creating sustainable livelihoods and empowering women through communityled development.
• Ms. Geeta Gopalakrishnan received the 𝐀𝐋𝐅𝐀 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 2026 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐔𝐩.
• LAUNCH OF COFFEE TABLE BOOK
“TRADITION TO TABLE”
TAJ CHEFS’ MOTHERS’ RECIPIES
the eternal charm of Ma ki Roti
This book brings together recipes of mothers of Taj Chefs, featuring nostalgic memories Taj chefs vis a vis their mothers — weaving tradition passion and instinct. Thankful to Mr. Chhatwal, MD of Taj Hotels, for his support, and to every chef who shared their stories. Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor unveiled the book & had a delightful conversation with Amreen Khan of India Today. With four pages devoted to Ma Foundation, proceeds will empower impoverished mothers across rural India.
• Ms Geeta Gopalakrishnan :Alfa Award 2024
• India Today Coverage: link of the coverage of one of centres (Nichlaul, Maharajganj) in UP
on India Today channel:https://www.indiatoday.in/programme/good-newstoday/video/maa-ki-roti-canteens-empower-rural-women-in-uttar-pradeshsmaharajganj-2458988-2023-11-06?onetap=true