Analytics for a Better World

What Analytics for a Better World does

Analytics for a Better World (ABW) is a nonprofit institute co-founded in 2022 by the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and ORTEC, headquartered at UvA Business School in Amsterdam. The organization was established to bridge a specific capability gap: while analytics and AI have transformed commercial enterprises, their application in the nonprofit and humanitarian sector remains largely underdeveloped. ABW addresses this by pairing academic researchers with corporate analytics expertise and embedding both into mission-driven organizations through co-developed projects. Its primary beneficiaries are NGOs, multilateral bodies, and nonprofits working on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, alongside corporate partners seeking structured social-impact engagement and academic researchers seeking real-world applied projects.

The product portfolio centers on four interconnected offerings. The Impact Accelerator Program is the flagship: a 14+ week co-creation initiative in which cross-functional teams build analytics solutions alongside nonprofit partners, with the first cohort (completed May 2026) covering SDGs 3, 4, 6, 13, 16, and 17. Analytics in Action delivers tailored applied projects covering resource allocation, program optimization, and strategic planning. The Academy provides training programs designed to leave lasting internal data capability inside partner organizations. The Repository hosts reusable open-source tools, including the PISA Toolkit (geospatial accessibility optimization for healthcare facility placement in low- and middle-income countries) and the Geospatial Planning and Budgeting Tool. Underlying technology spans mathematical optimization (including non-convex optimization for humanitarian logistics), machine learning, and geospatial analytics, supported by Gurobi Optimization as a technology sponsor.

Commercially, ABW does not charge nonprofit partners for services; instead, revenue is assembled from three streams — corporate sponsorships (Cmotions, Pipple, Gurobi Optimization), grants and institutional funding (notably from UvA and ORTEC), and pro bono expertise contributed through secondments and team deployments. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: webinars, research meetups, the Accelerator Program closing events, and impact-story publishing (LinkedIn, YouTube, newsletter) drive both nonprofit recruitment and sponsor engagement. The 2025-2028 Strategy formalizes a shift from isolated project successes toward scalable, repeatable programs aimed at accelerating SDG progress.

Name

Analytics for a Better World

Legal name

Analytics for a Better World

Website

https://analyticsbetterworld.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Analytics for a Better World is a nonprofit institute co-founded in 2022 by the University of Amsterdam and ORTEC that helps NGOs and mission-driven organizations apply mathematical optimization, machine learning, and geospatial analytics to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals, delivered via its Impact Accelerator Program, Analytics in Action projects, Academy training, and an open-source Repository.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Impact Analytics Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

ESG, Sustainability & Impact Research (BPAHALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK), Augmented Analytics & AI-Assisted BI (NLQ/NLG, Insights) (HDAEAMAD)

Keywords

• Analytics for social impact
• Nonprofit capacity building
• Open-source analytics tools
• Geospatial optimization services
• Data-driven humanitarian aid

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Corporate Sponsorships: Companies sponsor ABW programs, providing financial support in exchange for involvement in social impact initiatives, employee engagement opportunities, and association with the organization's mission. Sponsors include Cmotions, Pipple, and Gurobi Optimization.
2. Grants and Funding: ABW receives funding from academic institutions and development organizations. The organization was co-founded by University of Amsterdam and ORTEC, indicating institutional funding support.
3. Pro Bono Expertise: Industry partners contribute pro bono analytics expertise through secondments and team deployments, providing in-kind value that supports project delivery.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Analytics for a Better World (ABW) co-creates analytics and AI solutions with mission-driven organizations, including a 14+ week Impact Accelerator Program, applied analytics projects, training through the ABW Academy, and an open-source Repository of reusable tools. The organization's work centers on mathematical optimization, machine learning, and geospatial analytics for humanitarian, healthcare, and sustainability challenges aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Product overview

Analytics for a Better World (ABW) operates as a nonprofit institute rather than a traditional software company, offering a portfolio of services centered on making analytics accessible to mission-driven organizations. The core offerings include The Impact Accelerator Program (a 14+ week co-creation initiative), Analytics in Action projects (tailored applied analytics), the Academy (training programs), and a Repository of open-source tools. Products like the PISA Toolkit and Geospatial Planning and Budgeting Tool represent reusable solutions developed through projects that are shared via the Repository for broader nonprofit use. The organization bridges academia, industry, and nonprofits to co-develop analytics solutions that address real-world challenges aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Impact Accelerator Program ABW's flagship 14+ week program that co-creates analytics solutions with mission-driven organizations across Sustainable Development Goals, providing hands-on training, mentorship, and project support.
• Analytics in Action (Projects) Co-developed applied analytics projects tailored to real organizational needs, covering resource allocation, program optimization, strategic planning, and service delivery to make insights immediately actionable.
• Academy Learning programs that tie training directly to solving actual nonprofit challenges, building lasting internal capacity for data-driven decision-making.
• Repository (Open-Source Tools) Reusable, open-source tools hosted in a growing repository that nonprofits can access, adapt, and scale independently. Solutions developed for one use case can be adapted and reused by others.
• PISA Toolkit A geospatial accessibility toolkit created by Analytics for a Better World for maximizing healthcare accessibility in low and middle-income countries, implementing mathematical optimization and machine learning techniques.
• Geospatial Planning and Budgeting Tool An open-source platform for optimizing healthcare facility locations and resource allocation, particularly in developing countries with limited data infrastructure.

Quantifiable outcome

• Organizations prioritizing data-driven innovation are 4x more likely to achieve their goals
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• University of Amsterdam (UvA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founding partner providing academic excellence, research capabilities, and institutional framework. UvA Business School hosts ABW headquarters and contributes faculty, PhD students, and research infrastructure to analytics projects.
• ORTECcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founding partner contributing decades of analytics expertise and commitment to impact. ORTEC provides industry expertise, optimization technology, and corporate sponsorship support.
• 510 – Dutch Red Cross InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partner focused on disaster response data analytics. 510 develops digital solutions for humanitarian operations including overnight shelter optimization and disaster planning tools.
• World BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor nonprofit partner working on data-driven development. ABW collaborates with World Bank on bridging analytics gaps in developing countries, including projects in Timor-Leste on healthcare accessibility.
• Amref Health AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading African health NGO and ABW partner for healthcare analytics projects. Amref Health Africa used ABW methodologies to save €100K and improve fundraising efficiency through data-driven approaches.
• World Health OrganisationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWHO collaborates with ABW on healthcare accessibility research, including projects on geospatial optimization for healthcare facility location in low and middle-income countries.
• World Food ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN food assistance organization partnering with ABW on analytics for humanitarian logistics and food aid optimization operations.
• Médecins Sans FrontièrescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational medical humanitarian organization working with ABW on analytics for field operations and healthcare delivery in crisis zones.
• The Ocean CleanupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental nonprofit focused on ocean plastic removal. ABW supports optimization of cleanup operations and path planning using analytics.
• MITcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner contributing academic expertise in operations research and analytics. Professor Dimitris Bertsimas serves as Science to Impact Director. Collaboration includes healthcare accessibility optimization research.
• London Business SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research partner contributing expertise in business analytics and operations management. Includes PhD student collaboration and joint research projects.
• Tilburg UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner with Professor Hein Fleuren contributing to analytics research for sustainable development goals and humanitarian operations.
• Gurobi OptimizationsupportingTechnology or IntegrationOptimization software provider sponsoring ABW programs. Gurobi provides mathematical optimization technology used in analytics projects for social impact.
• CmotionssupportingTechnology or IntegrationAnalytical consultancy providing sponsorship support and potentially pro bono expertise for ABW analytics projects.
• PipplesupportingTechnology or IntegrationSponsor providing financial support for ABW programs and mission-aligned analytics initiatives.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• DataKind: US-headquartered nonprofit that pairs data science volunteers with mission-driven organizations through pro bono project engagements and a "DataCorps" model - structurally the closest non-profit peer to ABW's Impact Accelerator and pro-bono expertise model.
• UN Global Pulse: UN initiative operating innovation labs in multiple regions to apply real-time data and AI to humanitarian and development challenges; ABW partners with several UN agencies and targets overlapping SDG-focused analytical use cases.
• DrivenData: Social-impact organization running data science competitions and projects for international development, public health, and conservation NGOs, mirroring ABW's model of producing reusable analytical tools (e.g., geospatial accessibility) for mission-driven partners.

Others

• Gurobi Optimization: Mathematical optimization software vendor and ABW sponsor whose solver technology underpins ABW's healthcare-accessibility and geospatial optimization work; comparable on the technical stack but not a nonprofit competitor.
• ORTEC: ABW's co-founding partner - a global commercial optimization and analytics consultancy providing talent, methodology, and intellectual capital to ABW projects; included as an ecosystem peer rather than a competitor.

Regional players

• Pulse Lab Jakarta (UN Global Pulse): UN-affiliated data innovation lab serving Southeast Asia that applies data science to development and disaster response - directly comparable use cases (humanitarian analytics, geospatial optimization) to ABW's work in low/middle-income countries.

Emerging players

• The GovLab: NYU-affiliated research outfit focused on using data, technology and innovative governance approaches for public-impact problems - similar academic-hosted, applied-impact orientation as ABW's UvA/ORTEC model.

Broad incumbents

• Data.org: Mastercard/ Rockefeller philanthropy-backed platform funding data-for-good capacity building worldwide; operates at broader scale and similar mission to expand nonprofit data capabilities, making it a strategic peer in fundraising and partner ecosystems.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCmtk8dAOseqsr9HyjEa-TtA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/analytics-for-a-better-world

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Analytics for a Better World