This blog was co-authored by Guillaume Deflaux.
Around the world, communities are grappling with intensifying droughts, growing water scarcity, and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. These crises threaten food security, strain local economies, and demand faster, more informed responses. Meeting these challenges depends not only on physical resources but also on information: accurate, timely, and accessible data. Digital systems increasingly provide the backbone for generating, sharing, and acting on this information. But this growing influence raises urgent questions about who controls these systems, how they are built, and who they serve. As the risks of closed, proprietary, and extractive tech models grow, so does the urgency to create open, collaborative, and adaptable technologies designed for impact, not profit.
Since Akvo’s inception in 2006, we’ve evolved from developing some of the first open-source tools for the WASH sector to co-creating digital solutions across agriculture, climate, and water. Partnering with governments and organisations worldwide, we support them in using data to drive decision making and achieve sustainable impact across these sectors. Today, we’ve developed a suite of modular, interoperable digital products, each grounded in real-world use and designed with public ownership in mind. Our approach is collaborative - we work with and for our partners, and we remain committed to building openly, and with purpose.
In this blog, we’re sharing an overview of our product suites and a look at what’s next. Not because it's final, but because it’s open. We invite your feedback, your questions, and your collaboration.
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Open source, open data, open innovationAll of our products are open source, built using open technologies and standards. There are no license fees or vendor lock-ins. They can be locally hosted, are well-documented, and freely available to anyone who wants to adapt or build on them. This approach isn’t just rooted in principle - it’s a practical foundation for digital sovereignty.
We help transform data into knowledge, and knowledge into agency. Whether we’re supporting smallholder farmers or government ministries, our goal is to get the right data into the hands of the people who can act on it. We share datasets wherever privacy and ethics allow, and we encourage responsible data stewardship across all our projects.
Innovation happens when diverse actors collaborate - citizens, government, researchers, engineers. We build on existing tools and we partner where it makes sense. And increasingly, we’re opening up our product roadmap to shape what comes next, together with the people who use our tools. |
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Modular, adaptable, and interoperable by designWe don’t build generic platforms or isolated apps. We design modular, adaptable products that work together. Our approach is grounded in flexibility: we combine the speed and cost-efficiency of pre-built, open-source tools with the ability to tailor solutions to specific local and sectoral needs.
We design for interoperability by default and by design - providing APIs to break down data silos and enable cross-sector insights. Our technology stack is widely adopted and infrastructure-agnostic, supporting local hosting and ownership wherever needed. |
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We build Digital Public Goods and support Digital Public InfrastructuresWe believe Digital Public Infrastructures (DPIs) and Digital Public Goods (DPGs) are essential to building more inclusive, resilient societies. DPIs are foundational systems and services - like identity frameworks, payment systems, and data exchange protocols - that enable governments, businesses, and civil society to deliver digital services efficiently, securely, and equitably. DPGs are open-source tools - such as software, data, AI models, and standards - that are free to use, adaptable, and built with privacy and legal safeguards in mind. We build reusable, locally adaptable tools that can be hosted, extended, and governed by the communities that use them.
This ensures governments and civil society organisations can maintain digital sovereignty while avoiding vendor lock-in. By designing for openness and reuse from the ground up, we contribute to a growing global ecosystem of DPGs - reducing fragmentation, promoting shared digital building blocks, and supporting public institutions in delivering effective, equitable digital services. |
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We respond to real world challengesWe don’t build technology for technology’s sake. Every product we design begins with a deep understanding of the challenges our partners face on the ground. In agriculture, it's the lack of access to data for millions of smallholder farmers. In WASH, it's the fragmentation of systems and the disconnect between investments and long-term impact. In climate, it's the absence of local voices in global decisions. We work closely with stakeholders to translate these complex challenges into simple, actionable tools. Our role is not just to code solutions, but to co-create them - building on local knowledge, aligning with national strategies, and delivering tools that work in the real world, not just on paper. |
The water sector faces persistent barriers: data is fragmented and siloed, systems can’t talk to each other, and stakeholders struggle to coordinate effectively. The result is misallocated resources, and billions of dollars in wasted investment, leaving communities without reliable access to water, sanitation, and hygiene services.
We envision a water sector powered by connected, interoperable data systems. With accessible, shared information, governments, communities, and organisations can make smarter decisions, target investments where they matter most, and strengthen accountability, transforming water from fragmented projects into lasting, impactful programs.
Together, these tools turn fragmented systems into a connected, data-driven ecosystem, supporting better decisions, optimising resources, and delivering sustainable WASH services where they’re needed most.
Smallholder farmers play a crucial role in global food chains but remain among the poorest groups in the world. They often lack access to timely, relevant data on the one hand, and have limited insights into their own data (records) on the other. This two way information gap means that actors across the food system struggle to collect, share, and use data effectively. Fragmented systems, limited connectivity, and complex tools make it hard to turn data into improved livelihoods and meaningful business intelligence - slowing progress toward innovation, resilience, and equity across the agriculture sector.
We envision a food and agricultural system where information flows seamlessly from upstream to downstream and vice versa - empowering food system actors to professionalise and make confident, data-driven decisions. By simplifying data coming from the main agri actors (SHF) and at the same time improving access to reliable data and turning it into actionable insights, we aim to connect stakeholders, strengthen collaboration, and build resilient, sustainable food systems.
Together, these tools transform fragmented agricultural systems into a connected, data-driven ecosystem - empowering farmers to make informed choices, improving incomes, and strengthening the networks that support them. They contribute to resilient, inclusive, and well-functioning food systems.
Global climate decision-making often misses local perspectives. Too often, strategies are shaped by global datasets rather than the lived realities and knowledge of communities. To make a lasting impact, climate solutions must be contextualised, co-created, and built on existing capacities - enabling genuine local ownership and relevance.
We envision a climate system where local insights, open data, and collaborative tools drive better decisions. By connecting citizens, organisations, and governments, we can ensure climate actions are informed, inclusive, and responsive - building resilient, sustainable systems that address both global and local challenges.
Akvo ClimateStack transforms fragmented climate efforts into open, connected systems that empower local action and global accountability. Built on open-source technology and designed as digital public goods, these systems deliver trusted, transparent, and scalable solutions - turning data into decisions, and decisions into lasting climate resilience.
Openness is in our DNA. All of our core code is open source. But building and maintaining quality software isn’t free, and neither is deploying it sustainably in real-world environments. In our sector, there’s often a heavy reliance on back donors, which can prevent countries and communities from truly owning and controlling their digital systems, and hinder long-term adoption.
That’s why Akvo follows an Open Core business model. We offer a robust set of core features addressing the most common challenges for free, while providing a range of paid premium features tailored to more complex or specific needs. These paid features allow us to sustain, expand, and continually improve the free offering.
This model means that we can deliver high-quality, purpose-driven products that evolve with the sector, without compromising on equity, transparency, or sustainability.
None of these product suites are final. They're being developed in collaboration with partners, and shaped by real-world contexts and needs.
If you're involved in building digital systems for public good - whether you're in government, a farmer’s cooperative, a ministry, a donor organisation, or part of the developer community - we’d like to hear from you.
The future of digital infrastructure isn't pre-made. It's built together - openly, and with purpose.