Global Land Tool Network

What Global Land Tool Network does

The Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) is a non-profit international coalition established in 2006 in Vancouver and currently facilitated by UN-Habitat from its base in Nairobi, Kenya. Its mandate is to develop pro-poor, gender-responsive land tools and approaches that improve tenure security for slum dwellers, women, youth, and other marginalized groups across the Global South. The network operates as a multi-stakeholder platform of more than 90 international partners, including governments, multilateral agencies, civil society organizations, and academic institutions, organized around five thematic areas of land governance work.

GLTN's product portfolio is methodological rather than commercial, comprising open-source land tools, training curricula, and country-level implementation frameworks. Notable assets include the Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM), the Tool for Evaluation of Land Tenure and Land-related Activities (TERLA), the Sustainable Approach to Land Rights (SALaR) methodology, and country-scale programs such as Land at Scale Uganda and the UN Peacebuilding Fund project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2025, GLTN expanded its delivery model by launching the TERLA Book and a corresponding MOOC hosted on the Atingi e-learning platform, signaling a shift from purely partner-mediated training toward scalable digital education.

The network does not generate commercial revenue. Its operating budget is sustained through grant contributions from bilateral and multilateral donors — including BMZ, Sida, the Gates Foundation, the World Bank, FAO, IFAD, and various UN agencies — typically structured as multi-year project funding cycles rather than recurring contracts. Distribution of tools and methodologies is achieved through partner-led country implementation, intergovernmental convenings such as the World Urban Forum, and increasingly through online training channels. The small central secretariat (11-50 staff) leverages partner organizations to deliver in-country work, which is the structural backbone of GLTN's cost and reach model.

Name

Global Land Tool Network

Legal name

The Global Land Tool Network

Website

https://gltn.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Global Land Tool Network is a UN-Habitat–facilitated coalition of 90+ international partners that develops open-source land governance tools and training curricula to improve tenure security for poor, women, and youth in developing countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Land Governance and Tenure Security

NAICS

Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (9251)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional Capacity Building & Training (Workforce/Systems Strengthening) (BPADAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Land Administration & Cadastral Services (Public Land Records, Parcel Management) (BPAIANAH), Digital Development & ICT4D / GovTech Technical Assistance (BPADAEAL)

Keywords

• Land tenure security
• Land administration tools
• Land governance policy
• Land rights advocacy
• Community land registration

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donor Funding and Partner Contributions: GLTN is an alliance facilitated by UN-Habitat, funded through contributions from international development partners including bilateral agencies (BMZ, Sida, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France Ministry of Foreign Affairs), multilateral organizations (World Bank, FAO, IFAD, UN agencies), foundations (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), and program-based funding (UN Peacebuilding Fund for DRC land conflict reduction).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

GLTN develops and disseminates inclusive, practical land tools and approaches through a multi-stakeholder international network to improve land tenure security and access to land, particularly for the poor, women, and youth. Its core deliverables include structured tool suites across five thematic areas, the TERLA curriculum, the STDM land recording model, country-level implementation programs, and knowledge publications. The network operates at no cost to beneficiaries, funded by bilateral and multilateral development partners.

Product overview

The Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) is a multisectoral alliance focused on improving access to land and tenure security for all, particularly the poor, women, and youth. GLTN operates as an advocacy and knowledge-sharing network rather than a software product company. Its portfolio consists of: (1) the Teaching Essentials for Responsible Land Administration (TERLA) program—a structured knowledge base of six modules available via the GLTN e-learning platform and as an interactive MOOC through the Atingi platform; (2) a framework of innovative Land Tools organized across five thematic areas covering access to land, land administration, land-based financing, land management, and land policy; (3) the Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM) for recording informal land tenure; (4) implementation programs including the Secure Access to Land and Resources (SALaR) in Uganda, Philippines, and Laos, and Land at Scale Uganda focused on community-based land registration; and (5) various knowledge products including publications, policy briefs, and training manuals addressing land governance challenges globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000 rural smallholder farmers in Uganda targeted for improved land tenure security
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 September 2025NELGA collaborated with GLTN, FIG, NUST, and UEL to develop the TERLA Book and MOOC. NELGA East Africa is committed to promoting TERLA resources through workshops, events, and academic networks.
• International Federation of Surveyors (FIG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 September 2025FIG collaborated on TERLA Book and MOOC development, and co-organized sessions at FIG Congress 2026 in Cape Town. FIG and GLTN have a longstanding partnership advancing equitable land governance and fit-for-purpose land tools.
• Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 September 2025NUST Department of Land and Property collaborated on TERLA Book and MOOC development, contributing to education and training for responsible land administration across Africa.
• University of East London (UEL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 September 2025UEL collaborated on TERLA Book and MOOC development, bringing academic expertise to the structured framework for teaching responsible land administration.
• AKRYLY Digital SolutionssupportingTechnology or Integration · 25 September 2025Developed the TERLA MOOC that transforms book content into an interactive, self-paced web-based training, making land governance education more accessible through the Atingi platform.
• UN-HabitatcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006UN-Habitat serves as the facilitating agency for GLTN. The network was launched at the World Urban Forum in Vancouver in 2006 under UN-Habitat's facilitation. UN-Habitat continues to provide institutional support, coordination, and implementation capacity for GLTN programs globally.
• Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerANGOC is implementing the SALaR project in the Philippines in partnership with Xavier Science Foundation, with technical and financial support from GLTN.
• Xavier Science Foundation (XSF)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerXSF partnered with ANGOC to implement the 'Improving Tenure Security of Smallholder Farmers in Select Areas in the Philippines' project under the SALaR initiative.
• Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD) UgandacoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGovernment partner for Land at Scale Uganda and SALaR project implementation, providing institutional framework and coordination for community-based land registration.
• Government of the Democratic Republic of CongocoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner in land reform program with UN-Habitat, receiving handover of land administration building in Inongo, Mai Ndombe Province. Working on land law, national land plan, and legal review milestones.
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN agency partner contributing to land governance frameworks and the FIG publication on Advancing Women's Land Rights, addressing land indicators in SDGs.
• World BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributed to the FIG publication on Advancing Women's Land Rights and co-organizing the Land and Property Research Conference in April-May 2026 in Washington, DC.
• Habitat International Coalition (HIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUrban international civil society organization and GLTN partner working on housing and land rights.
• Huairou CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner co-organizing networking events at WUF13 on how to invigorate GLTN and elevate the land agenda in global frameworks.
• International Land Coalition (ILC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner contributing to FIG publication on Advancing Women's Land Rights and working on land rights globally.
• Slum/Shack Dwellers International (SDI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational federation of community-based organizations of the urban poor, partnering on approaches to tenure security and informal settlement transformation.
• German Agency for International Development Cooperation (GIZ)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementing the Strengthening Advisory Capacities for Land Governance in Africa (SLGA) Programme through NELGA, in collaboration with GLTN.
• Youth Initiative for Land in Africa (YILAA)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerExecutive Director Innocent Antoine Houedji highlighted the MOOC as a learning resource and expressed interest in promoting it through YILAA's own e-learning platform.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GLTNnews
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/LandGLTN/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/landgltn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/global-land-tool-network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Global Land Tool Network