As Women’s Fund Asia (WFA) looked to diversify its funding base and better understand private funding opportunities across the region, it turned to Crateva Consulting to help map the landscape. We spoke with Anisha Chugh, WFA’s Executive Director, and Sanjana Gaind, WFA's Director for Advocacy and Strategic Partnerships, about what the research made possible – and what stood out about the collaboration.

“This research is an important strategic entry point for WFA as we expand our advocacy for fairer funding for feminist movements in Asia.”

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Anisha Chugh
Executive Director, Women's Fund Asia

Anisha's LinkedIn

Sanjana Gaind
Director for Advocacy and Strategic Partnerships, Women's Fund Asia‍

Sanjana's LinkedIn

Could you start by telling us about Women’s Fund Asia?

Sanjana: Women’s Fund Asia (WFA) is a regional philanthropic organisation advancing gender equality across 22 countries in South, Southeast and East Asia. We invest in local women’s rights organisations and initiatives that build the leadership of women, girls, trans and intersex people, and strengthen communities from the ground up. Since our inception in 2004, we have invested over USD 30 million through more than 1,600 grants. In 2024, we marked 20 years of investing in locally led solutions for systemic change, and we've gathered what we've learned across those two decades into our 20 Years of Impact Report.

Why did WFA decide to commission this work when it did?

Anisha: We were responding to a difficult funding environment. There is a wider global funding crisis, and Asia continues to be deprioritised in international development aid. At the same time, WFA was looking to diversify its funding sources and engage new actors across the region.

We needed a clearer understanding of the Asian funding landscape – where the opportunities were, what different funders prioritised, how they worked, and where collaboration might be possible. We also wanted to identify potential allies who could help build stronger, more sustainable support for feminist movements in Asia. The mapping was designed to give us that clarity.

What made you decide to work with Crateva specifically?

Anisha: Our decision was rooted in a long-standing relationship with Phoebe and Judy, who have a deep understanding of WFA. As regional feminist allies and movement participants themselves, they bring essential contextual knowledge and a strong sensitivity to the realities and priorities of women’s rights organisations.

They also understand the funding ecosystem well, including the role women’s funds play within it. That combination of sector knowledge, regional grounding and feminist perspective mattered enormously for a piece of work like this.

What did the collaboration look like in practice?

Sanjana: It felt like a genuine thought partnership and was highly responsive to WFA’s needs. The process was iterative, with real space for reflection along the way. Drawing on their cross-sector experience in philanthropy and feminist funding, Phoebe and Judy approached the landscape mapping with care and rigour.

Even within a compressed timeline, they were fully committed to delivering a high-quality report on time. Crateva led the desk research, landscape mapping and report drafting, while the analytical framing and synthesis of findings were developed jointly with WFA and our other research partners. Phoebe and Judy worked openly and constructively with everyone involved, always focused on producing something genuinely useful.

Was there anything about Crateva’s approach that stayed with you?

Anisha: We really valued their sense of ownership and the proactive way they kept refining the scope so the report would be as strong as possible. They showed real respect for the process – in how they handled sources, acknowledged contributions and made space for different perspectives. That gave us confidence not just in the final report, but in the way it was produced.

What has the report made possible for WFA?

Sanjana: The research has given us a strong foundation for engaging new funders and stakeholders across the region.

When we first shared the report’s initial insights with our core partners, it was clear we had something important. People were struck by both the speed of the work and the depth of the analysis. The report gives different actors in the ecosystem a clearer basis for action, and it has given us greater clarity and direction in how we engage with the Asian funding landscape.

Who do you think would benefit most from working with Crateva?

Anisha: I would absolutely recommend Crateva to other funders, strategy advisers and women’s funds at national, regional and global levels, especially those grappling with important strategic questions and looking for more than a surface-level analysis.

Crateva brings not only technical strength, but also contextual fluency, strategic understanding and a genuine commitment to feminist movements. For organisations trying to make sense of complex ecosystems while staying grounded in their values, that combination is incredibly valuable.

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