Connected Development [CODE]

What Connected Development [CODE] does

Connected Development [CODE] is a Nigerian nonprofit civil society organization founded in 2012 in response to the lead poisoning crisis in Bagega, Zamfara State, where allocated government remediation funds could not be accounted for. From its headquarters in Abuja, CODE has built Africa's largest citizen-led public accountability movement, Follow The Money (FTM), tracking more than $507 million in government and donor-funded project expenditures across 36 Nigerian states and 12 African countries (Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Cameroon, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone). A network of over 20,000 volunteers and 9,000+ active community monitors uses its mobile-first platforms, including the iFTM real-time fund tracking application, NomTrac for project nomination and monitoring by CSOs and CBOs, Uzabe for real-time election observation, Open Parly for parliamentary transparency, Civic Guardian, and ProjectSabi, to document whether governments deliver on budgeted services. The organization reaches an estimated 10 million people across five thematic pillars: Governance, Accountability and Citizen Engagement; Gender Equality and Social Inclusion; Climate Justice and Extractive Accountability; Education and Youth Empowerment; and Public Health Accountability. The Digital Mobilisation Lab (DML) fellowship trains young Nigerians in digital activism, open data, and civic mobilization.

CODE operates as a grant-funded nonprofit and does not charge for its services. Revenue is sourced from a diversified institutional funder base spanning Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Skoll Foundation, Luminate, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, CIPE, European Union, African Union, OSIWA, USAID, the Canadian High Commission, the World Bank, and strategic partners including Malala Fund, Oxfam, ONE Campaign, and ActionAid. Go-to-market is community-led rather than commercial: growth is driven by grassroots organizing, state-level Communities of Practice, the DML fellowship pipeline, and coalition-building with CSOs and CBOs. Notable programmatic outcomes include advocacy in Kano State that led to recruitment of 1,500 female teachers in rural primary schools, harmonization of the VAPP Act with the Kano State Penal Code to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, and supervisory oversight of USAID's $60.4 million E-WASH program in Delta State. Independent recognition includes the UN SDG Mobilizer Award (2016), ONE Africa Award (2019), Council of Europe Democracy Innovation Award (2019), and World Summit Award in Citizen Engagement (2022). The organization underwent a leadership transition in August 2025 when founder Hamzat Lawal stepped down as Chief Executive.

Name

Connected Development [CODE]

Legal name

Connected Development [CODE]

Website

https://connecteddevelopment.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Connected Development [CODE] is a Nigerian nonprofit founded in 2012 that operates Africa's largest citizen-led public accountability movement, Follow The Money, tracking over $507 million in public funds across 12 African countries through mobile platforms used by 9,000+ community monitors to document government service delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Accountability & Transparency Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Communications, Transparency & Open Government (BPAIAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Democracy, Human Rights & Governance Assistance (BPADABAG)

Keywords

• Civic accountability monitoring
• Citizen-led governance
• Public fund tracking
• Civic engagement platforms
• Social accountability technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Abuja

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Institutional Grants: CODE operates as a nonprofit civil society organization funded by foundations, governments, and institutional donors. The organization does not generate commercial revenue but relies on grant funding to support its civic accountability programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Connected Development [CODE] operates Africa's largest citizen-led public accountability movement, Follow The Money (FTM), which tracks public funds from federal budgets through to last-mile delivery and community-level project completion. It delivers this through mobile-first digital platforms (iFTM, NomTrac, Uzabe, Open Parly, Civic Guardian, ProjectSabi) used by 9,000+ active community monitors across 36 Nigerian states and 12 African countries, paired with grassroots organizing, civic education, election observation, parliamentary transparency, and youth fellowship programs (DML).

Product overview

Connected Development [CODE] operates a unified civic accountability ecosystem built around its flagship Follow The Money (FTM) movement. The core iFTM platform powers real-time fund tracking across 36 Nigerian states and 12 African countries, supported by specialized tools including NomTrac for project nomination and tracking, Uzabe for election observation, Open Parly for parliamentary accessibility, and Civic Guardian for broader civic monitoring. The Digital Mobilisation Lab (DML) fellowship program builds civic capacity, while ProjectSabi extends community-level engagement. Together, these products form an integrated citizen-led accountability movement that connects public money tracking to community organizing and advocacy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Follow The Money (FTM): Africa's largest citizen-led public accountability movement, tracking public funds from federal budgets to communities
• iFTM
• NomTrac
• Civic Guardian
• Open Parly
• DML
• Nomination and Tracking Tool

Products and services

• Follow The Money (FTM) Africa's largest citizen-led public accountability movement, tracking public money from federal budgets to the last mile, documenting whether governments deliver on their promises to communities. Free for citizens and communities to use.
• iFTM Platform (iFollowTheMoney) Mobile and web platform providing over 9,000 active community monitors across 36 Nigerian states and 12 African countries with real-time tools to track public funds and document project status from mobile devices.
• NomTrac (Nomination and Tracking Tool) Platform enabling Civil Society Organizations and Community-Based Organizations to constitute Communities of Practice, nominate projects, and track project progress and milestones in real time.
• Uzabe Real-time election observation platform enabling citizens and accredited observers to submit live reports from polling units, making electoral malpractice visible and harder to deny.
• Open Parly Platform that makes parliamentary proceedings accessible to citizens, closing the distance between lawmakers and the people they represent.
• Digital Mobilisation Lab (DML) Fellowship 12-week fellowship program training young Nigerians in digital activism, open data, governance literacy, and civic mobilisation to build the next generation of civic leaders.
• Civic Guardian Platform for civic engagement and governance monitoring.
• ProjectSabi Community-focused project tracking and accountability platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• Tracked over $507 million in public funds since 2012
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Malala FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Malala Fund supports the Girls' Education Project tracking education budgets, monitoring school infrastructure, and supporting Local Education Sector Operational Plans across Borno, Bauchi, Adamawa, and beyond.
• Canadian High CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWith Canadian High Commission support, CODE galvanised mass advocacy campaigns in Kano State that helped accelerate harmonisation of the VAPP Act with the state Penal Code, protecting women and girls from gender-based violence.
• OxfamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough extractive sector transparency work with Oxfam, CODE holds oil companies and governments accountable for environmental and economic damage imposed on Niger Delta communities.
• INKA ConsultcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCODE partnered with INKA Consult from Denmark to produce The State of Climate Finance in Nigeria report, providing an overview of international climate finance for Nigeria from 2015 to 2021.
• ONE CampaigncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCODE partnered with ONE Campaign and LEPAN to organize outreach engaging legislators on the #MakeNaijaStronger campaign for increased public investments in health and nutrition outcomes.
• ActionAidsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as one of CODE's institutional partners supporting civic accountability work.
• UshahidisupportingTechnology or IntegrationListed as one of CODE's platform partners in the civic technology ecosystem.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Namati: Global organization building legal empowerment and community-driven accountability networks; comparable grassroots paralegal/community-monitor model for delivering public accountability in Africa and beyond.
• Global Integrity: Independent organization producing evidence on governance and anti-corruption; comparable focus on tracking public spending and producing data-driven accountability research across developing countries.
• Publish What You Pay: Global civil society coalition demanding transparency in extractive industries; closely aligned with CODE's Niger Delta extractive-accountability work with Oxfam and oil/mining sector scrutiny.
• BudgIT Foundation: Nigeria-based civic-tech nonprofit that uses creative technology to make public budget information accessible; closest direct peer in citizen budget-tracking methodology and Nigerian civic accountability space.
• Code for Africa: Pan-African civic technology and data journalism organization building digital tools for citizen engagement and accountability; directly comparable platform-led model and geographic footprint across multiple African countries.
• Accountability Lab: Global nonprofit that supports civic leaders to build tools for accountability and transparency; similar approach of combining grassroots organizing with technology-driven accountability interventions across emerging markets.

Broad incumbents

• Transparency International: Global coalition and leading anti-corruption organization; broader in geographic scope and policy work but overlapping mandate on public fund accountability, governance, and citizen engagement in Africa.
• Enough Project: US-based policy organization focused on conflict minerals and governance in Africa; comparable to CODE's extractive-sector and anti-corruption advocacy, particularly in mineral-producing regions.

Emerging players

• Ushahidi: Kenyan-rooted civic tech platform enabling citizen reporting and election observation; technology and platform peer to CODE's Uzabe election monitoring and iFTM, and listed partner in the ecosystem.
• mySociety: UK-based civic technology nonprofit building open-source tools for parliamentary transparency, freedom of information, and citizen engagement; directly comparable to Open Parly and Uzabe platform offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Connected_dev
• YouTubeopen.spotify.com/show/5ZABlWcmDSccbnyVPf3RXs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/connected-development-code-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Connected Development [CODE]