Winyama Digital Solutions

What Winyama Digital Solutions does

Winyama Digital Solutions (Winyama Pty Ltd) is a Perth-headquartered, 100% Indigenous-owned geospatial consultancy founded in 2018 by Ngarluma Traditional Owner Andrew Dowding and former NGIS CEO Paul Farrell. Operating nationally across Australia, the firm delivers three core service lines — Cultural Mapping, Geospatial Capability Building, and Mapping Services — to Indigenous organisations (Prescribed Bodies Corporate, Aboriginal Corporations, Ranger Groups), federal and state government bodies, and resource-sector clients (mining, energy, infrastructure). The company transitioned to full Indigenous ownership in February 2026 when Andrew Dowding acquired his co-founder's stake.

Its technology stack combines geospatial information systems (GIS), enterprise 3D visualisation via Skyline TerraExplorer, drone-based LiDAR and photogrammetry for aerial capture, cloud infrastructure on AWS, and the proprietary Ngurra Portal product that visualises native title data, Indigenous land use agreements, and engagement contacts. The Indigenous Mapping Workshop (IMW) Australia training program — now spun off to the Yarnda Foundation in July 2026 with Winyama retained as delivery partner — underpins community engagement and has trained over 1,000 Indigenous persons. Cultural mapping methodologies were co-developed with Canada's Firelight Group, and partnerships span Fulcrum (field data collection), Geoscience Australia (Digital Earth Australia), Curtin University, CQUniversity, and the University of Melbourne Indigenous Data Network.

Revenue is generated through B2B professional services: quote-based geospatial consulting, heritage and cultural mapping projects, GIS and drone support secondments, capability assessments, and training delivery. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; go-to-market is direct sales-led with community-led workshop funnels feeding enterprise and government engagements. The company employs a team that includes identified Traditional Owners across heritage, anthropology, native title, GIS, and cloud disciplines, and holds Supply Nation Certification and the 2023 Telstra National Business of the Year award. No funding rounds or external institutional investors are disclosed; growth has been internally funded.

Name

Winyama Digital Solutions

Legal name

Winyama Pty Ltd

Website

https://winyama.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Winyama is a 100% Indigenous-owned geospatial consultancy headquartered in Perth, Australia, delivering cultural mapping, geospatial capability building, and mapping services to Aboriginal corporations, government bodies, and resource-sector clients nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geospatial Consulting Services

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Geospatial Data Management & Enterprise GIS (Geodatabases, Web GIS, Spatial Analytics) (EUAHAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Analytics (Satellite/UAV/LiDAR, Image Processing) (EUAHAKAD), Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)

Keywords

• Indigenous geospatial consulting
• Cultural mapping services
• Heritage and land mapping
• Drone mapping Australia
• Indigenous data sovereignty

Headquarters

HQ city

Perth

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Geospatial Consulting Services: Winyama generates revenue through providing geospatial consulting services to Indigenous organisations, government bodies, and private sector companies. Services include cultural mapping, geospatial capability assessments, mapping services, field data capture support, data analysis, GIS support, and training.
2. Geospatial Capability Building: Training and capability building services for Indigenous communities and organisations, including workshops, internships, and ranger program guidance on geospatial technology and data management.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Winyama is an Indigenous-owned geospatial consultancy that provides cultural mapping, geospatial capability building, and mapping services for First Nations organisations, government bodies, and private sector clients. It delivers GIS support, field data capture, drone-based 3D capture, data backcapture, data strategies, Indigenous Data Governance, and 3D visualisation services, alongside a national Indigenous Mapping Workshop training program and the Ngurra Portal custom mapping product.

Product overview

Winyama is an Indigenous-owned geospatial consultancy operating across three core service lines: Cultural Mapping, Geospatial Capability Building, and Mapping Services, supplemented by distinct products including the Ngurra Portal for native title data access. The company's services are grounded in Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles and delivered by a predominantly Indigenous team. Key products include the Ngurra Portal custom mapping service, the Indigenous Mapping Workshop (IMW) Australia national training program (now operated by Yarnda Foundation), and the IMW Australia On Demand online learning platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cultural Mapping
• Geospatial Capability Building
• Mapping Services
• Ngurra Portal Custom mapping service that transforms access to native title data, simplifying complex information into user-friendly visualisations enabling clients to view Indigenous land use agreements, native title claims details, and resources on who to engage with regarding locations.
• IMW Australia - On Demand Online learning portal delivering geospatial training content for Indigenous communities to access mapping education remotely; extends the reach of the Indigenous Mapping Workshop program across Australia.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70+ culturally appropriate solutions developed
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and major.

• Yarnda FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 July 2026Strategic partnership where Yarnda Foundation acquired the Indigenous Mapping Workshop (IMW) Australia program from Winyama. Yarnda Foundation is a not-for-profit established to ensure long-term sustainability, accessibility and cultural integrity of the program. Winyama joins as a delivery partner, continuing to deliver high-quality geospatial services while supporting the broader vision of the foundation. The partnership aims to boost access to digital mapping training by expanding workshops across Australia.
• ASAC ConsultancystrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 May 2024Strategic partnership to revolutionise delivery of medical care in remote and regional Australia through the Wildu Aero Project using drone technology.
• Curtin UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 November 2023Partnership formalized through Memorandum of Understanding signing at Curtin's Bentley campus. Collaborative commitment to First Nations education and geospatial training initiatives.
• FulcrummajorTechnology or Integration · 23 August 2021Strategic partnership to deliver location-aware applications to Indigenous ranger groups. Fulcrum provides mobile data collection platform used alongside drone mapping for comprehensive field data capture.
• Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 August 2021Partnership for Regional IMW workshops, bringing together Indigenous Rangers from DBCA's southwest and midwest regions for geospatial and drone training.
• NGIScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal joint-venture partner that co-founded Winyama in 2018. NGIS CEO Paul Farrell provided financial investment and mentorship, opening doors and showing Winyama how large-scale consultancies operate. In December 2025, Andrew Dowding acquired Paul's stake, with Winyama transitioning to 100% Indigenous ownership. NGIS continues as a long-standing industry partner.
• Geoscience AustraliamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing financial support, training materials, and subject matter experts for Earth Observation (EO) sessions at the National Indigenous Mapping Workshop for the second consecutive year. Geoscience Australia provides access to Digital Earth Australia platform, Digital Atlas of Australia, and national datasets for healthy country planning.
• Firelight GroupstrategicTechnology or IntegrationInternational partner and the largest Indigenous-owned consulting group working with Indigenous Nations across Canada. Developed cultural mapping techniques (biographical mapping, place name mapping, natural resource mapping) that Winyama deploys. Shared expertise to empower First Nations communities globally with tools and knowledge to record and safeguard distinctive cultural information.
• University of Melbourne Indigenous Data Network (IDN)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerData partnership with national scope connecting two organisations sharing the same vision for Indigenous data sovereignty and governance.
• Kimberley Land CouncilmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Women in Fire Forum 2022, training 50 female rangers in QGIS fire mapping. Ongoing collaboration for ranger capacity building.
• CQU (CQUniversity)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Indigenous Engagement Division of CQUniversity to host 5th annual National Indigenous Mapping Workshop in Meanjin (Brisbane) June 2025.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Mapbox: Mapbox is a mapping platform that powers custom web and mobile geospatial applications — analogous to Winyama's Ngurra Portal productisation direction. It is an enabling platform rather than a direct competitor.

Regional players

• Critchlow Geospatial: Critchlow Geospatial is a New Zealand-based geospatial consultancy covering surveying, mapping, and GIS. It is a regional peer with comparable service lines but different geographic and Indigenous-engagement context.

Direct peers

• NGIS: NGIS is Australia's largest geospatial consultancy and was Winyama's original co-founder/partner (2018–2025). It shares the same core offering of GIS consulting, remote sensing, and enterprise spatial analytics but operates as a much larger non-Indigenous firm.
• Firelight Group: Firelight Group is the largest Indigenous-owned consulting group working with Indigenous Nations in Canada and the source of Winyama's cultural mapping techniques. It is the closest international peer in mission, cultural-mapping methodology, and Indigenous Data Sovereignty focus.
• Aerometrex: Aerometrex is an ASX-listed Australian aerial mapping and 3D visualisation company. It overlaps with Winyama's drone-based photogrammetry, LiDAR, and MetroMap 3D visualisation services but serves a much broader commercial customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Fugro: Fugro is a global geo-data specialist providing surveying, mapping, and geospatial services. It competes for large infrastructure and resource sector mapping budgets that intersect with Winyama's heritage and environmental mapping work.
• Nearmap: Nearmap is an ASX-listed aerial imagery and location intelligence platform serving Australia and North America. It is a broad incumbent in geospatial data infrastructure that competes for the same enterprise mapping and asset-management budgets Winyama serves.
• AECOM: AECOM is a global infrastructure consultancy with significant geospatial, environmental, and Indigenous-engagement capabilities. It competes for the same major infrastructure and government heritage-compliance engagements as Winyama.
• ESRI Australia: ESRI Australia is the local distributor of ArcGIS and a major GIS services provider. It competes for enterprise GIS consulting work and is a platform layer over which Winyama and many peers deliver services.

Emerging players

• Aerodyne Group: Aerodyne is a global drone-based enterprise solutions provider with strong APAC presence. It overlaps with Winyama's drone-based 3D capture, mapping, and asset inspection offerings, particularly in infrastructure and resources.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCg2Jfm41i7rJ6_7VXz2Kq2w
• Facebookfacebook.com/winyama
• Instagraminstagram.com/winyamamap
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/winyama
• Xx.com/WinyamaDigital

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

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 Winyama Digital Solutions