In a village in India, three women in one household share a single sari. One goes out to collect water. The others wait. Not because they choose to, because that is all there is.
The Sumaya Fund exists to restore what was never meant to be taken.
women & girls still in extreme poverty by 2030 if nothing changes
more at risk under worst-case climate scenarios by 2050
gender equality funding actively cut at the moment it matters most
The name Sumaya, "she who rises", honours the generations of women who have quietly transformed lives through courage, resilience and restoring women's dignity.
The fund is inspired by the same conviction: that the dignity of a woman is not negotiable, and that the world that honours this truth is the world worth building.
By 2030, about one in 12 women and girls worldwide will still be living in extreme poverty if nothing changes. More than 350 million lives will be held back due to inequality. Funding for gender equality is being reduced at the very moment it is most needed.
Old systems are fracturing. Injustices that have been hidden are more visible. The opportunity is now. Which story we choose to amplify is entirely up to us.
We do not arrive with answers. We arrive with presence. We invest in women-led, community-led initiatives that restore dignity and independence, not dependency.
We co-create with communities, never for them. We stay long after the funding cycle ends.
Before a single intervention is designed, we model each community, building a dynamic picture of what would need to change for women and girls to truly fulfil their potential.
Every projection carries a confidence score.
We do not overclaim.
Trust is the only currency that lasts.
We track outcomes across six interconnected domains, all mapped to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We measure only what we can genuinely measure. Every number is honest about what it knows and what it does not.
We begin with two carefully chosen pilots in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, selected for the quality of the community partnership and the conditions for meaningful co-design.
These are not proof-of-concept exercises. They are the beginning of long-term relationships.
Bijoya founded the Sumaya Fund from a simple but powerful conviction: that the most transformative force for community change has always been women and that the world is finally ready to recognise and resource it properly.
She grew up between the UK and India, began her career in investment banking, and then spent the next twenty years inside the systems she now seeks to transform. Her experience spans organisations including WaterAid, ActionAid, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, International Commission for Jurists, PricewaterhouseCoopers and others, leading work across Asia, Africa and Europe.
Twenty-five years at the United Nations. Founder of United Cities, working with 10,000 cities to realise the SDGs by 2030, and Secretary-General of the Organisation of International Economic Relations.
Author of #Masterpiece. Has worked across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals with the Red Cross, WHO, UN, UNICEF, the Global Fund and Gavi, and with Chloé, HP, Nestlé and P&G.
The Sumaya Fund is not asking for charity. It is asking for clarity and the courage to act on what has always been true.
If something in this has moved you, write to us. We welcome the conversation, whether you are ready to commit, or simply want to understand more.
Investing in the heart of every community.