What AzuKo does

AzuKo is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) registered in England and Wales (charity no. 1156354), founded in 2014 by Jo Ashbridge to address housing poverty. The organisation operates from a London headquarters (Camden) and runs community-led programmes in two principal geographies: northwest Bangladesh - centred on Dinajpur and the Rangpur division - and the United Kingdom, where it works in London (Poplar, South Woodford) with periodic training courses delivered in Devon and Wales. AzuKo's primary beneficiaries are women and families experiencing inadequate, climate-vulnerable housing and lack of sanitation; its secondary UK audience comprises vulnerable individuals at risk of eviction and communities seeking neighbourhood-level placemaking support.

AzuKo's portfolio comprises integrated programmes: construction-skills training (Build for Safety), sanitation infrastructure (Decent Toilets), kitchen co-design (Heart of the Home), housing finance pathways (Pathways to Home Improvement), play-space design (JAAGO Playspace), UK community engagement (A Sense of Place), research (Community-led China) and a paid training course (Designing with Dignity). Core technology and methods focus on vernacular, climate-resilient architecture using locally available materials - bamboo-frame construction, compressed stabilised earth blocks, earthen construction with stabilisers, and incremental strengthening improvements (cross-bracing, improved joints, kaatla/pad foundations) costing roughly 5% of total construction cost. Distribution is community-led: field teams mobilise residents, deliver training, facilitate savings groups, and run participatory design workshops.

Revenue derives from individual donations (regular monthly giving at £20/month; one-off unit-priced impact tiers such as £100 for a tubewell, £300 for a toilet, £500 to train eight women, £1,000 to build three kitchens), training-course fees for Designing with Dignity, and institutional grants (e.g., British Council via the Community-led China project). Cumulative fundraising since 2014 exceeds £500,000, with annual giving channel throughput demonstrated through repeated Big Give Christmas Challenge campaigns (£15,666 in 2022; £20,000+ in 2023; £25,424 raised in the December 2025 appeal). Partners include Nirapod Bangladesh Songstha (Bangladesh delivery), JAAGO Foundation (playspace client), SAFE (Jogen Babu Maath slum upgrading), Engineers Without Borders UK, the British Council, and a UK ecosystem of housing associations and schools. Recognition includes the 2023 UNFCCC Gender Just Climate Solutions Award (COP 28) and 2025 Clifford Chance SDG Awards finalist status.

Name

AzuKo

Legal name

AzuKo

Website

https://azuko.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AzuKo is a UK-registered charity (CIO no. 1156354) founded in 2014 that runs community-led, climate-resilient housing and sanitation programmes for women and families in northwest Bangladesh, alongside UK housing-advice and placemaking work in London.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Housing and Community Development Services

NAICS

Other Community Housing Services (624229), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Infrastructure, Housing & Community Development (BPAGABAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA), Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

Keywords

• Housing poverty charity
• Construction training programs
• Community-led design
• Climate-resilient housing
• Sanitation and water access

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: AzuKo relies primarily on donations from individuals, ranging from one-time gifts to regular monthly contributions. The organization runs annual fundraising campaigns including the Big Give Christmas Challenge and direct appeals. Donations support construction training, toilet building, kitchen improvements, and general operations.
2. Training Programme Fees: The 'Designing with dignity' hands-on course is offered to participants in the UK and Bangladesh for a fee, providing education on co-design and ethical design principles while generating revenue.
3. Corporate and Institutional Grants: AzuKo receives support from foundations and institutional donors. The organization has received funding from the British Council and various UK-based charitable trusts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

AzuKo delivers community-led humanitarian programmes addressing housing poverty, including construction skills training (Build for Safety), sanitation infrastructure (Decent Toilets), kitchen co-design (Heart of the Home), housing finance through women's savings groups, and housing advice services. Programmes operate side-by-side with women and their communities in rural Bangladesh and in UK locations such as London, Devon and Wales, building knowledge, skills and confidence to construct climate-resilient homes.

Product overview

AzuKo is a charity organization (registered CIO, no. 1156354) focused on ending housing poverty. The organization offers a portfolio of integrated programs including construction training (Build for Safety), sanitation projects (Decent Toilets), kitchen co-design (Heart of the Home), housing advice services, and education initiatives (JAAGO Playspace). Programs operate across Bangladesh and the UK, working side-by-side with women and their communities to build knowledge, skills and confidence. The Pathways to Home Improvement programme ties these offerings together through housing finance, savings groups, and financial training, while the Designing with Dignity course provides educational training on co-design principles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Build for Safety Construction training workshops that teach women affordable, appropriate, and locally-available technologies to build climate-resilient homes in rural Bangladesh, including bamboo treatment, cross-bracing, improved joints, and kaatla/pad foundations. Simple strengthening improvements can cost as little as 5% of total construction cost and provide resilience against floods and strong winds.
• Heart of the Home Co-designing kitchens with women in rural Bangladesh (Dinajpur) to improve their health and wellbeing. Analyses cooking and hygiene practices, products, infrastructure, construction materials and spatial design with a focus on ventilation, safety and efficiency improvements.
• Decent Toilets Building twin-pit pour-flush toilets combined with hygiene training and clean water access for families in Rangpur division, Bangladesh. Uses bamboo-structure construction techniques adapted for sanitation infrastructure, with focus on supporting women as primary carers.
• Pathways to Home Improvement Programme helping women and their families experiencing acute housing poverty to build climate-resilient homes. Equips people with knowledge, skills and confidence through housing finance initiatives, savings groups, new bank accounts, peer learning visits, and financial training to access low-interest loans.
• Designing with Dignity Hands-on training course providing an introduction to co-design and ethical design principles. Run in both Bangladesh and UK locations such as Devon and Wales, helping students and practitioners design more ethically and collaboratively with communities.
• JAAGO Playspace Design and construction of a new playspace at Dinajpur Primary School in Bangladesh for the JAAGO Foundation, examining the impact of play on children's learning environment and development.
• A Sense of Place UK placemaking programme facilitating collective identity to help communities thrive in Poplar, London. Works with secondary students, families at risk of eviction, housing associations, and social enterprises to construct a holistic approach to neighbourhood development.
• Community-led China Research project understanding the methods and mindsets driving community-led development in China through field research across Beijing, Henan, Hong Kong, Hunan, and Fujian, with exhibition at the Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture.
• Housing Advice Services UK service helping people navigate tenancy and occupancy issues, plan safer homes after disasters, and understand their housing rights. Connects families to trusted partners when AzuKo cannot directly assist.

Quantifiable outcome

• 97% of women felt more confident in design and construction having attended training
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Engineers Without Borders UKminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Collaboration to deliver 'Reshaping Engineering' virtual design challenge for the third year running in 2023. The partnership engages engineering students in humanitarian design challenges.
• Nirapod Bangladesh SongsthacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner for Heart of the home project in northwest Bangladesh. Nirapod Bangladesh Songstha works with AzuKo on co-designing kitchens with women to improve health and wellbeing. The partnership enables community engagement and local implementation of design solutions.
• JAAGO FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient for JAAGO playspace project. JAAGO Foundation is revolutionising education in Bangladesh through online learning. AzuKo is designing and constructing a new playspace at Dinajpur Primary School to examine the impact of play on children's development.
• Simple Action For the Environment (SAFE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal nonprofit partner supporting the Jogen Babu Maath slum upgrading project. SAFE has supported the incremental development including bamboo houses, community centre, and infrastructure improvements since 2010.
• Amos Goldreich ArchitectureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for Hidden Homeless competition proposal focused on decent housing for homeless young people in London. The proposal centred on co-living/co-working opportunities.
• KinearaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for A sense of place project in Poplar, London. Working with individuals at risk of eviction and housing associations on issues of belonging and community development.
• Poplar HARCAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHousing association partner for A sense of place project. Working together on placemaking and development approaches to reduce eviction rates among residents of social housing.
• Langdon Park SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partner for A sense of place project, working with secondary students on issues of belonging and community identity.
• SZOILcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Community-led China project exploring methods and mindsets driving community-led development in China. SZOIL (Shenzhen Open Innovation Lab) facilitated connections with communities and designers across China.
• Future+coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating partner for Community-led China work, helping facilitate connections with communities and designers in various provinces.
• KitAidminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in distributing football kit and clothes to communities in Sundarban Union, Bangladesh. KitAid works with clubs across the UK to redistribute end-of-line and unwanted kit.
• Charity BootsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in distributing football kit and clothes across Sundarban Union in Bangladesh, working with KitAid and AzuKo.
• EnthuseminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party fundraising platform used by AzuKo for donations and fundraising campaigns. Enthuse collects personal data in accordance with AzuKo's instructions as a data processor.
• StripeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party payment processor for donations. Stripe provides personal information when donors make contributions through this platform.
• PayPalminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party payment processor for donations. PayPal provides personal information when donors make contributions through this platform.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Habitat for Humanity: Global housing non-profit addressing inadequate housing and homeownership for low-income families. Operates similar housing-poverty mission with a much larger scale and footprint, particularly relevant as an incumbent in shelter / community-led construction for vulnerable populations, comparable to AzuKo's Build for Safety work in Bangladesh.
• BRAC: Bangladesh-headquartered international development organization running poverty, health, education and livelihoods programs at massive scale. Directly comparable as an NGO with deep Bangladesh community reach; overlaps with AzuKo on housing finance, women's empowerment and WASH delivery.
• WaterAid: Global WASH non-profit focused on water, sanitation and hygiene in low-income countries. Direct overlap with AzuKo's Decent Toilets and Heart of the Home programs in Rangpur/Dinajpur, both operating in Bangladesh rural sanitation.
• Practical Action: UK-registered international development charity using technology to tackle poverty, with strong emphasis on community-led approaches and disaster resilience. Comparable to AzuKo's climate-resilient vernacular construction methodology and UK field presence.
• Shelter: UK national housing charity providing advice, support and legal services for people in housing need, including homelessness and eviction. Direct overlap with AzuKo's UK Housing Advice Services, Poplar HARCA partnership and A Sense of Place eviction-prevention work.

Direct peers

• Article 25: UK-registered architectural charity applying design expertise to humanitarian and development challenges in low-resource settings. Closest functional peer to AzuKo — uses built-environment professionals for community projects in the Global South, with UK HQ and international field operations.
• Architecture Sans Frontières UK: UK network of built-environment professionals providing pro-bono design for international development and humanitarian projects. Highly comparable to AzuKo's co-design, training and community-led design model, especially their work on community-built, climate-resilient housing.
• Shack/Slum Dwellers International: International network of community-led organizations supporting slum and informal settlement upgrading. Highly comparable to AzuKo's 2010 Jogen Babu Maath slum upgrading work, including savings groups, community centres and incremental infrastructure delivery.
• Engineers Without Borders UK: UK-registered charity engaging engineers in humanitarian design challenges; AzuKo is already a partner (Reshaping Challenge). Direct overlap on engineering student engagement for international development and humanitarian design problems.

Emerging players

• Solve Humanity: (If uncertain, omit.) Omitting: not confident in specific identity that maps cleanly to AzuKo.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/azuko.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/azuko
• Instagraminstagram.com/azuko_org

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 AzuKo