Name

Ubuntunet Alliance

Legal name

UbuntuNet Alliance for Research and Education Networking

Website

https://ubuntunet.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research and Education Network Infrastructure

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Educational Support Services (611710), Computer Training (611420)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) & Secure SD-WAN (HDAIAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Infrastructure, Networking & Systems Administration Training (BPAEANAJ), Networking & Telecommunications (Routing/Switching, Wireless, VoIP) (EDABAFAG)

Keywords

• Research and education networking
• National research networks
• Regional network backbone
• Academic broadband connectivity
• NREN services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lilongwe

HQ country

Malawi

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Services to NRENs: Free services provided to NRENs and their member institutions in support of academic and research agenda, funded through membership dues and external grants.
2. Subscription-Based Services: Subscription-based services provided either directly or in collaboration with commercial service providers, including cloud services, cybersecurity, and advanced networking.
3. EU Co-funded Projects: Funding from European Commission through projects including AfricaConnect (€14.8m initial budget), AfricaConnect2 (€26.6m contract), and AfricaConnect3. EU contributes 80% with African partners contributing 20%.
4. Grants from Development Partners: Grants from organizations including Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency), World Bank, and other development partners for regional connectivity and capacity building.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Ubuntunet Alliance operates as the Regional Research and Education Network (RREN) for Eastern and Southern Africa, providing a high-speed network backbone that interconnects National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) across the region and links them to global research networks in over 100 countries. It delivers value-added services including eduroam roaming, eduVPN, identity federation (eduGAIN), the AfricArXiv open access preprint repository, the Utafiti Africa grant funding aggregator, and AWS cloud procurement to its member NRENs and their affiliated universities and research institutions.

Product overview

UbuntuNet Alliance is a Regional Research and Education Network (RREN) providing network infrastructure connectivity and related services to National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) across Eastern and Southern Africa. The core offering is the UbuntuNet Network, which interconnects member NRENs and provides broadband connectivity to universities and research institutions, connecting them to peers in over 100 countries globally. Key services include eduroam (education roaming), eduVPN (secure VPN), Identity Federation via eduGAIN, and the AfricArXiv open access repository. The AfricaConnect projects (AfricaConnect, AfricaConnect2, AfricaConnect3) are EU co-funded initiatives that build and upgrade the regional connectivity infrastructure. Additional value-added services include cloud computing capacity building through AWS partnerships, cybersecurity services, and the Utafiti Africa grant funding aggregator. UbuntuNet Connect is the annual conference series for the community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UbuntuNet Connect: Annual research and education networking conference series hosted by UbuntuNet Alliance for the Eastern and Southern Africa region.
• NUANCE
• Utafiti Africa

Products and services

• UbuntuNet Network Regional high-speed network infrastructure connecting National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) across Eastern and Southern Africa and providing connectivity to global research and education networks in over 100 countries; offered to NREN member organizations.
• eduroam Secure, worldwide education roaming access service that allows students, researchers and staff of member institutions to access WiFi at any participating institution globally using their home institution credentials; delivered to NRENs and their constituent universities.
• eduVPN Secure, encrypted and authenticated virtual private network service deployed for member NRENs that enables researchers and students to access institutional resources and roam between institutions; targeted at academic users in member countries.
• Identity Federation (eduGAIN) Identity federation service leveraging eduGAIN to provide Single Sign-On capabilities, allowing students and staff at member institutions to access Research4Life and other resources from anywhere using university-assigned credentials; offered to NRENs and universities.
• AfricArXiv Africa-wide open access preprint repository hosted on UbuntuNet Alliance Open Source Cloud, assigning ORCID and DOI identifiers to African research content; provided for African researchers and scholarly communities.
• Utafiti Africa Grant funding aggregation service that helps African researchers discover funding opportunities filtered by country of origin and discipline; offered to the African research community.
• AWS Cloud Procurement Framework Framework agreement with AWS and implementation partner Redington that provides NRENs and member institutions discounted access to AWS cloud services, including High Performance Computing, data residency, security, and Moodle architecture deployment; offered to NRENs and their institutional members.

Quantifiable outcome

• Connected to 100+ countries globally through high-speed network
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, regional and minor.

• GÉANTcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGÉANT is the pan-European research and education network operated by DANTE. UbuntuNet Alliance partners with GÉANT for international connectivity, enabling African researchers to connect with European and global research communities. The partnership includes joint projects under the AfricaConnect series.
• DANTE (Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDANTE manages and operates the GÉANT network on behalf of Europe's NRENs. UbuntuNet Alliance works closely with DANTE on the AfricaConnect projects for building and operating the UbuntuNet regional network backbone.
• SEACOMcoreTechnology or IntegrationPan-African telecom enabler awarded a 15-year contract to provide point-to-point connectivity services to NRENs of Eastern and Southern Africa through the AfricaConnect2 project.
• WIOCCcoreTechnology or IntegrationAward-winning carrier awarded 15-year contract by DANTE and UbuntuNet Alliance for connectivity services in Southern and Eastern Africa, part of AfricaConnect project implementation.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAWS partnered with UbuntuNet Alliance to provide cloud computing services to higher education and research institutions across Africa. Joint activities include webinars on cloud procurement, High Performance Computing, and cloud deployment for NRENs. AWS provides virtually unlimited infrastructure for research and education applications.
• RedingtoncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAWS partner and implementation partner for UbuntuNet Alliance region, providing AWS Cloud Procurement Framework services. Redington offers AWS Competencies that NRENs and members can leverage during procurement and implementation phases at discounted prices.
• Association of African Universities (AAU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAAU collaborates with UbuntuNet Alliance on initiatives including COREVIP conferences and represents the REN Unit that drives continental networking through AfREN.
• ASREN (Arab States Research and Education Network)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional REN for North Africa partnering with UbuntuNet Alliance on pan-African projects including AfricaConnect2. Joint collaboration on connectivity and interconnections.
• WACREN (West and Central African Research and Education Network)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional REN for West and Central Africa partnering with UbuntuNet Alliance on pan-African connectivity initiatives including AfricaConnect2.
• RedCLARAregionalTechnology or IntegrationLatin American Cooperation of Advanced Networks, sister regional REN providing connectivity between Latin America and other global research networks.
• Research4LifecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to upgrade Research4Life systems with Single Sign-On capabilities leveraging NREN Identity Federations, enabling students and staff to access 200,000+ online resources from anywhere using university credentials.
• AfricArXivcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpen science partnership providing Africa-wide preprint repository hosted on UbuntuNet Alliance Open Source Cloud, assigning ORCID and DOIs to African research content.
• Internet2regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerUS research and education network collaborating on international research networking initiatives and member meetings.
• ISPA (Internet Service Providers Association)minorOthersUbuntuNet Alliance is a proud member of ISPA and upholds the ISPA Code of Conduct. ISPA serves as agent to receive notifications of infringements as defined in Section 77 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act.
• DataCitecoreTechnology or IntegrationDataCite partnership supporting research data citation and DOI assignment for African research outputs through AfricArXiv repository.
• CLIR (Council on Library and Information Resources)regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting open science and digital library initiatives in African research institutions.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• JISC: UK digital, data and technology agency for higher education and research — provides Janet network backbone and shared services to UK universities/research institutions, comparable in mission (R&E infrastructure and services) though structured as a UK member organisation.
• Internet2: US-based research and education network listed as an UbuntuNet Alliance strategic partner on international research-networking initiatives — operates the same RREN model serving member universities with high-speed backbone and services like identity federation.
• TEIN (Trans-Eurasia Information Network): Asia-Pacific regional R&E network connecting NRENs across the region with EU co-funding history — directly comparable regional RREN model serving a multi-country footprint with EU development-cooperation funding similar to AfricaConnect.
• SURF: Dutch collaborative organisation for ICT in education and research, operating the national R&E network and shared cyberinfrastructure for Dutch institutions — directly comparable NREN-equivalent model to UbuntuNet Alliance.
• GÉANT: Pan-European research and education networking organisation that operates the GÉANT network and is UbuntuNet Alliance's primary international peering partner via DANTE on the AfricaConnect series — both are RRENs serving member NRENs with similar backbone, identity-federation and value-added service portfolios.
• WACREN (West and Central African Research and Education Network): Sister RREN for West and Central Africa that partnered with UbuntuNet Alliance and ASREN on AfricaConnect2 — same alliance-of-NRENs operating model, same EU co-funding pattern, same target customer base (universities/research institutions) but different regional scope.
• CANARIE: Canada's national R&E network operator running a backbone, identity federation and value-added services for Canadian universities and researchers — directly comparable operating model to a regional RREN like UbuntuNet Alliance.
• AARNet: Australia's academic and research network, operating a national R&E backbone for Australian universities with comparable identity, roaming and cloud services — analogous role to UbuntuNet Alliance but serving a single high-income country.
• RedCLARA: Latin American regional advanced-network organisation explicitly named as a sister RREN partner to UbuntuNet Alliance; provides comparable cross-country R&E backbone and global-research-network interconnection in Latin America.
• ASREN (Arab States Research and Education Network): RREN covering the Arab states and a direct AfricaConnect2 partner of UbuntuNet Alliance, providing a directly comparable NREN-aggregation model, EU co-funded backbone projects and value-added services for member countries.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ubuntunet
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC4Uc2EztyOX5rbR1mA35FgA
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Ubuntunet Alliance