Akvo

Akvo - Open Source of Water and Sanitation

What does the word ‘Akvo’ mean?

Akvo means ‘water’ in the Esperanto language.

When was Akvo founded and by whom?

The Akvo Foundation was formally incorporated in September 2008, but work started on Akvo in autumn 2006. Akvo was founded by the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) and several key indivuduals. People who played a key role at the start were Thomas Bjelkeman-Pettersson, Jeroen van der Sommen (Director of NWP), Peter van der Linde, Gino Lee, Mark Charmer, Gabriel von Heijne, Mark Nitzberg, Caroline Figuères, and Paul van Koppen.

What is Akvo trying to accomplish?

Akvo seeks to accelerate the implementation process and improve the quality of small water and sanitation projects. We do this by providing internet tools that make it easier for people to do their work and share their results. Our tools include a knowledge bank called Akvopedia; a market for projects needing funds called the Akvo Marketplace; and a feedback and reporting system called Really Simple Reporting (RSR).

Who funds Akvo?

Akvo received initial funds for startup from a number of different partners: NWP, Partners voor Water, Nedap, Aqua4all, ASN Bank, Simavi, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Schoklandfonds, Rabobank, Unie van Waterschappen. We have also received in-kind contributions from IRC, ProWeb and SIWI. Akvo plans to be financially self-sustaining in the near future.