Engineers Without Borders

What Engineers Without Borders does

Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is a Germany-based non-profit organization, founded in 2005 and headquartered in Karlsruhe, with 101–250 employees. The organization operates as part of a global engineering charity network, providing education, water supply, health, energy, and civil work support services to underserved communities. Its primary documented program footprint is Eastern Uganda, where up to 70% of the population lacks access to safe water, sanitation, energy and education facilities.

EWB does not sell products or technology in the commercial sense; instead, it delivers engineering expertise, infrastructure development, and capacity building through regional chapters and implementation partners such as EWB East Africa. The organization is coordinated at the network level by EWB International, which facilitates partnerships between the EWB network and external technology and funding providers.

The organization's revenue model is that of a charitable non-profit: it relies on donations, grants, and corporate partnerships rather than product pricing or service fees. Its most significant disclosed partnership is with Trimble (announced 2025-10-03), under which Trimble committed monetary donations, hardware, software and specialized training expertise in support of an 18-month critical infrastructure project in Eastern Uganda. The project explicitly targets unlocking local government funds for infrastructure development, signaling a blended-finance approach combining philanthropy, corporate in-kind support, and public-sector co-funding.

Name

Engineers Without Borders

Website

https://ewb-karlsruhe.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development Engineering Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (54133), Engineering Services (541330)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Infrastructure, Engineering & Public Works Technical Assistance (WASH/Transport/Energy) (BPADAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA), Education Systems & Skills Technical Assistance (BPADAEAI)

Keywords

• Humanitarian engineering
• Infrastructure development
• Water and sanitation
• International development
• Capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Karlsruhe

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Core offering

Engineers Without Borders is a non-profit engineering charity that delivers critical infrastructure projects (water supply, sanitation, energy, education facilities, health, and civil works) to underserved communities through an international network of regional chapters and volunteer engineers. The organization brokers and executes long-duration humanitarian engineering initiatives, such as the 18-month Eastern Uganda infrastructure program, supported by corporate donations, partner technology, and capacity-building training.

Product overview

Engineers Without Borders is a global engineering charity network focused on international development projects. Based on the available source data, no specific product offerings, digital platforms, software modules, or branded services were identified. The organization appears to function primarily as a charitable network facilitating engineering projects and partnerships rather than as a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Critical Infrastructure Development Program (Eastern Uganda) 18-month critical infrastructure initiative in Eastern Uganda delivering safe water, sanitation, energy, and education facilities to underserved communities, executed via EWB East Africa and EWB International coordination and supported by Trimble donations, hardware, software, and training.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• TrimblecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 October 2025Trimble committed substantial monetary donations, hardware, software, and specialized training expertise to support international projects. The collaboration's first initiative is an 18-month critical infrastructure project in Eastern Uganda targeting communities lacking access to safe water, sanitation, energy and education facilities.
• EWB InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFacilitates the strategic partnership between Engineers Without Borders network and external partners like Trimble, coordinating international development projects.
• EWB East AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional implementation partner executing the 18-month critical infrastructure project in Eastern Uganda, working to unlock local government funds for infrastructure development.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Water For People: Engineering-led NGO working on durable WASH infrastructure in developing countries, with an explicit "Everyone Forever" model of partnering with local government — closely mirroring EWB's government-fund unlocking approach.
• WaterAid: Global nonprofit focused on WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene) infrastructure in low-income communities. Highly comparable to EWB's Uganda project scope and engineering-driven delivery model.
• Engineers Without Borders International: Direct peer and parent network coordinating international EWB chapters including the Karlsruhe subject. Operates the same engineering-for-development mission model across multiple countries, including active programs in Africa.
• Engineers Without Borders USA: Sister EWB chapter operating under the same global engineering-for-development brand, executing community infrastructure programs with volunteer engineering expertise. Directly comparable mission, structure, and project mix.

Broad incumbents

• World Vision International: Large faith-based international development organization executing integrated WASH, energy, and education programs across sub-Saharan Africa. Comparable multi-sector community development model; substantially larger and more diversified.
• Mercy Corps: Major international development NGO with programs spanning WASH, energy access, and education in fragile states like Uganda. Comparable beneficiary segments and infrastructure mandate, but operates at materially larger scale with humanitarian response capacity EWB lacks.
• Concern Worldwide: International humanitarian and development NGO with active livelihoods, WASH, and education programming in Uganda. Comparable beneficiary geography and integrated community-infrastructure approach.
• Habitat for Humanity International: Large international nonprofit delivering housing and community infrastructure in developing regions. Comparable in mobilizing volunteer engineering capacity and partnering with local government, but broader scope and larger budget than EWB Karlsruhe.
• Plan International: Global NGO combining child-focused education programs with WASH and community infrastructure in East Africa. Overlaps with EWB's integrated WASH-and-education community mandate; far larger footprint and donor base.

Others

• Mott MacDonald: Global engineering consultancy that operates a development advisory practice delivering WASH and energy infrastructure advisory for DFIs and multilaterals in Africa. Comparable technical skill set applied to international development, though commercial rather than charitable model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ewb.karlsruhe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/engineers-without-borders---karlsruhe-institute-of-technology-e.v.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Engineers Without Borders