Ona
Ona builds cloud-based mobile data collection and electronic health record platforms (Ona Data, OpenSRP 2, Akuko) for humanitarian, development, and public health organizations, anchored by enterprise deployments with PATH, Gavi, and the Gates Foundation.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Ona does
Ona (Ona Systems, Inc.) is a privately held social enterprise founded in 2013 that builds mobile and cloud-based data infrastructure for humanitarian, development, and public health organizations. The company operates a three-product platform: Ona Data, the flagship subscription-based mobile data collection service built on the XLSForm standard and integrated with ODK Collect (Android) and Enketo Smart Paper (web) for offline-capable data capture; OpenSRP 2, an open-source electronic health record platform for frontline health workers in low-connectivity environments that integrates with DHIS2 and OpenMRS; and Akuko, a no-code data publishing and storytelling tool for building data portals and map apps. Forms can capture GPS, error validation, logic, repeats, signatures, photos, and multimedia, with automatic sync on reconnect, and submissions are protected by RSA public-key encryption and role-based permissions. The company also offers premium add-ons such as Submission Review workflows, Entities for longitudinal case management, Merged Datasets, XLS Reports, and embedded BI dashboards from Power BI, Tableau, Superset, and Infogram.
Ona's business model is a freemium SaaS tier (Free, Standard, Pro, Enterprise) with self-service signup, supplemented by custom enterprise pricing tied to monthly submission volume, number of private forms and projects, multimedia needs, and priority support. Distribution is hybrid: a PLG self-serve funnel feeds thousands of global organizations, while enterprise sales and partner-led deployments drive larger institutional contracts. The go-to-market is anchored by deep partnerships with PATH, the Zambia Ministry of Health, Blue Code, Gavi, UNICEF, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other Tier-1 global development institutions, with the Zambia Electronic Immunization Register (ZEIR) serving as the marquee reference deployment scaled to 500+ facilities. The company is incorporated in Burlington, Vermont, with additional offices in Washington D.C. and Nairobi, and has raised approximately $2.27M in disclosed funding across a 2019 round and a 2021 grant from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.
Ona firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ona
- Legal name
- Ona Systems, Inc.
- Website
- https://ona.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Ona builds cloud-based mobile data collection and electronic health record platforms (Ona Data, OpenSRP 2, Akuko) for humanitarian, development, and public health organizations, anchored by enterprise deployments with PATH, Gavi, and the Gates Foundation.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ona industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Mobile Data Collection Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data Aggregation, Interoperability & APIs for RPM (FHIR/IoMT Gateways) (HLACAFAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Data Sharing, Data Exchange & Data Marketplace Platforms (HDAEABAH), Data Privacy, Consent & Compliance Management (HDAEADAG), Healthcare Data Governance, Stewardship & Metadata Management (HLACAIAD)
Keywords
Where Ona is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nairobi
- HQ country
- Kenya
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices2 records
Markets served
Ona business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription Plans: Tiered subscription model with Free, Standard, Pro, and Enterprise plans. Pricing based on number of private projects, private forms, and monthly form submissions allowed. Paid plans include additional features, integrations, and support.
- Enterprise Custom Pricing: Enterprise pricing determined based on usage metrics including expected monthly submissions, private forms, private projects, and whether multimedia collection or priority support is required.
- Premium Support: Premium support options including guaranteed 1-day or weekend support available as add-ons to subscription plans.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free plan available with basic features |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise custom pricing based on usage |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Ona product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ona builds and sells cloud-hosted mobile data collection and management software for humanitarian, health, and development organizations. Its flagship product, Ona Data, enables offline-capable form authoring via the XLSForm standard and data collection on smartphones and desktops with automatic synchronization. The company also offers OpenSRP 2 (an open-source electronic health record platform for frontline health workers) and Akuko (a data publishing and visualization tool).
Product overview
Ona offers a portfolio of three interconnected data collection and management platforms: Ona Data (flagship mobile data collection platform for surveys and monitoring), OpenSRP 2 (electronic health record platform for frontline health workers), and Akuko (data publishing and visualization tool). The platforms share common infrastructure and can integrate with each other. Ona Data serves as the primary data collection layer supporting XLSForms, ODK Collect, and Enketo; OpenSRP 2 provides specialized health workflow management; and Akuko enables data storytelling and portal creation. Additional premium features include encrypted forms, XLS Reports, merged datasets, submission review workflows, and embedded dashboard support.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Ona Data: Flagship mobile data collection platform used by thousands of organizations globally for data collection and real-time monitoring. Supports offline-capable surveys, GPS, error validation, logic, repeats, signatures, and photos on any device.
- OpenSRP 2
- Akuko
Products and services
- Ona Data Flagship mobile data collection platform used by thousands of organizations globally for data collection and real-time monitoring. Enables form authoring using XLSForm standard or online form builder, offline-capable data collection on smartphones and desktops, automatic data upload, and real-time data visualization and analysis.
- OpenSRP 2 Open-source electronic health record platform designed for frontline health workers in low connectivity environments on basic Android devices. Supports data collection, client management, reporting, and integrates with health information system platforms like DHIS2 and OpenMRS.
- Akuko
Quantifiable outcome
- 27% increase in health workers' ability to identify vaccine defaulters
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Ona
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Ona technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
Feature10 records
Ona partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- PATHcoreOna partnered with PATH on the Better Immunization Data (BID) Initiative to develop the Zambia Electronic Immunization Register (ZEIR). Ona served as design lead for OpenSRP, adapting the platform to Zambia's vaccine schedule and clinical workflows. The partnership involved collaboration with the Ministry of Health Zambia and local technical partner Blue Code.
- Ministry of Health ZambiacoreGovernment ministry partner for ZEIR deployment, providing health system workflows, clinical requirements, and national scale-up coordination for the electronic immunization registry program.
- Blue CodeminorLocal technical partner in Zambia that helped build ZEIR on top of OpenSRP platform, providing on-the-ground technical implementation support.
- Amazon Web ServicescoreCloud infrastructure provider for Ona Data platform, hosting the mobile data collection and management service.
- ODK (Open Data Kit)coreIntegration with ODK ecosystem including ODK Collect for mobile data collection and ODK Briefcase for data aggregation and encrypted form decryption. ODK Collect is developed by University of Washington.
- EnketocoreIntegration with Enketo Smart Paper for web-based data collection with offline capability. Enketo provides the web form functionality for Ona.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Ona competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- KoboToolbox: KoboToolbox is a direct competitor offering open-source mobile data collection for humanitarian and research use, very similar to Ona Data. Both serve NGOs, governments, and researchers with offline-capable form-based data gathering.
- SurveyCTO: SurveyCTO provides a mobile data collection platform with strong offline capabilities and is widely used by academic researchers, NGOs, and development organizations. It directly competes with Ona Data for the same enterprise humanitarian/research customers.
- Open Data Kit (ODK): ODK is the open-source mobile data collection framework from the University of Washington that Ona integrates with. It is both a partner technology and a free alternative that competes with Ona Data for the same offline-collection use cases.
- Dimagi (CommCare): Dimagi's CommCare is a frontline health worker data collection and case management platform, similar in target market and offline functionality to OpenSRP 2. Both target community health programs in low-resource settings for governments and NGOs.
- DHIS2: DHIS2 is the dominant open-source health management information system used by ministries of health globally. It both integrates with Ona/OpenSRP and competes at the aggregate health data layer, making it a key ecosystem peer.
- Magpi: Magpi (formerly DataDyne) provides mobile data collection tools used by NGOs, governments, and field workers, including strong offline SMS and smartphone survey capabilities. It competes with Ona Data in international development and humanitarian deployments.
- OpenMRS: OpenMRS is an open-source electronic medical record platform used in low-resource health settings, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. It overlaps with OpenSRP 2 in serving frontline health and clinical workflows in ministries of health.
Emerging players
- REDCap: REDCap is a widely adopted research-focused electronic data capture platform used by academic and clinical researchers. It overlaps with Ona Data's research and survey use cases, particularly for institutional and clinical workflows.
- FormAssembly: FormAssembly is a web-based form builder and data collection platform serving enterprise compliance and customer data workflows. While not focused on humanitarian use, it competes for general form-based data capture customers Ona also serves.
Others
- Tableau Public / Power BI: Power BI and Tableau are embedded dashboard partners for Ona but also represent adjacent visualization capabilities that compete with Ona's Akuko product for the data publishing and storytelling use case.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Ona social profiles
Digital presenceOna compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Ona financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ona leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Ona funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ona M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ona
What does Ona do?
Ona builds and sells cloud-hosted mobile data collection and management software for humanitarian, health, and development organizations. Its flagship product, Ona Data, enables offline-capable form authoring via the XLSForm standard and data collection on smartphones and desktops with automatic synchronization. The company also offers OpenSRP 2 (an open-source electronic health record platform for frontline health workers) and Akuko (a data publishing and visualization tool).
Is Ona a public or private company?
Ona is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Ona founded?
Ona was founded in 2013. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Ona based?
Ona is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, in the Africa region.
How does Ona make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Subscription Plans are the primary driver. The others are enterprise Custom Pricing and premium Support.
Who are Ona's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are KoboToolbox, SurveyCTO, Open Data Kit (ODK), Dimagi (CommCare), DHIS2, Magpi and OpenMRS. Emerging players are REDCap and FormAssembly. Tableau Public / Power BI is listed as an others.
Does Ona have an API?
Yes. REST-based API service providing access to all client data stored in individual/organization accounts. No API call limit on the Ona Data platform. Ona reserves the right to temporarily rate limit API usage if a client account uses an unusually high rate of API calls to ensure overall service performance. When changes are made to the API that could affect clients, Ona will notify them in advance. Developer documentation is at api.ona.io/api/v1.
What industry is Ona in?
Ona's product category is Mobile Data Collection Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLACAFAO, Data Aggregation, Interoperability & APIs for RPM (FHIR/IoMT Gateways), with a secondary code of HDAEABAH, Data Sharing, Data Exchange & Data Marketplace Platforms. Its NAICS code is 518 and its SIC code is 7372.