urbaMonde

What urbaMonde does

urbaMonde is a non-profit association founded in 2005 in Geneva, Switzerland, with a parallel French entity established in 2015 in Paris and a regional Vaud chapter. The organization promotes participatory, self-managed, and solidarity-based housing at local and international levels, operating across 17+ countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe through three legal entities (urbaMonde-Suisse, urbaMonde-France, urbaMonde-Vaud). Its core activities are technical assistance, capacity building, documentation, training, advocacy, and coordination of the international CoHabitat Network, which links grassroots housing organizations, federations, and local governments for peer exchange and collective action. Notable field engagements include the Matagalpa, Nicaragua cooperative housing project (110 families, approximately 550 beneficiaries, 7 cooperatives with land access via revolving funds) in partnership with MULTIPRO, and the Cité FSH project in Dakar with the Fédération Sénégalaise des Habitants.

The organization has no commercial product or proprietary technology platform; its tools consist of Geographic Information Systems for territorial planning, financial instruments such as revolving funds, and internally developed participatory methodologies and documentation resources. There is no API, mobile app, or software offering. Revenue is generated exclusively through three streams: institutional grants and project funding (AFD, FGC, Fedevaco, UN-Habitat, Laudes Foundation), annual membership fees from individual supporters in France and Switzerland, and donations processed through HelloAsso and RaiseNow. The go-to-market is community-led: direct technical cooperation with base organizations, network coordination via CoHabitat, field missions, and digital channels (website, quarterly newsletter in three languages, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, plus events such as the World Urban Forum, European Housing Forum, and CoHabitat webinars).

urbaMonde employs approximately 14 staff and is governed by Boards of Directors in France and a Committee in Switzerland, supported by an advisory network including architects, urbanists, and academics (e.g., EPFL, University of Geneva, ENSAPVS). It has no parent company, no external investors, and no equity instruments, operating as a membership-based non-profit funded by grants and donations.

Name

urbaMonde

Legal name

Association urbaMonde – Suisse

Website

https://urbamonde.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

urbaMonde is a Geneva-based non-profit association (also operating in France) that promotes participatory and self-managed housing internationally, coordinating the CoHabitat Network across 35+ countries and supporting grassroots housing cooperatives in Latin America, Africa, and Asia through technical assistance, capacity building, and advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Participatory Housing Advocacy

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Participatory housing development
• Cooperative housing networks
• International housing cooperation
• Community land trust
• Housing cooperative financing

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Institutional Grants and Funding: UrbaMonde receives funding from institutional donors including AFD, FGC, Fedevaco, UN-Habitat, and other foundations to support international cooperation projects and habitat programs.
2. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees for supporters in France and Switzerland, providing access to general assemblies and strategic reflection participation.
3. Donations: Individual donations from supporters worldwide, processed through HelloAsso (France) and RaiseNow (Switzerland).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

urbaMonde is a non-profit association that promotes participatory and cooperative housing through international cooperation. It coordinates the CoHabitat Network, provides technical assistance and capacity building to housing cooperatives and community organizations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, and supports access to land, financing, and self-management principles for community-led housing through projects, revolving funds, and documentation tools.

Product overview

urbaMonde is a non-profit association (NGO) that does not offer a commercial software product or technology platform. It provides services related to participatory housing advocacy, international cooperation, network coordination (CoHabitat Network), documentation, and field support for housing cooperatives. Its activities include project coordination, technical assistance, training, and resource sharing for participatory housing initiatives globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Réseau CoHabitat: An international network of participatory housing actors coordinated by urbaMonde
• CoHabitat Network

Products and services

• CoHabitat Network coordination
• Technical cooperation programs for housing cooperatives
• Annual membership program (France and Switzerland)

Quantifiable outcome

• 110 families (550 beneficiaries) directly supported in Nicaragua cooperative housing project
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network partner supporting community-led housing initiatives across Asia. ACHR is a key actor in the CoHabitat Network coordinated by urbaMonde.
• FUCVAM (Federación Uruguaya de Cooperativas de Vivienda por Ayuda Mutua)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUruguayan federation of mutual aid housing cooperatives, providing the CVAM model that urbaMonde supports adapting in Nicaragua and other regions.
• Urban Poor Consortium (UPC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndonesian network of community-based organizations working on housing rights and urban poor issues.
• Fédération Sénégalaise des Habitants (FSH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenegalese federation of habitat residents, partner in West African urban projects including the Cité FSH project in Dakar.
• urbaSENcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenegalese organization, historical actor in the CoHabitat network, implementing urban projects and participatory planning.
• MultiprocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNicaraguan professional services cooperative providing technical support to housing cooperatives in Matagalpa, implementing the CVAM model.
• Catalytic CommunitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organization supporting community-led development in Brazil and other regions.
• PACSIIminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in the Southeast Asian region working on community housing.
• Platform of Community Action and Architecture (POCAA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner organization in Asia working on community architecture.
• UN-HabitatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Nations Human Settlements Programme, global partner for urban habitat issues.
• World HabitatminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organization providing recognition and advocacy for decent housing solutions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FUCVAM (Federación Uruguaya de Cooperativas de Vivienda por Ayuda Mutua): Uruguayan federation of mutual-aid housing cooperatives and a foundational actor in the cooperative housing movement. Direct peer and core CoHabitat partner of urbaMonde, providing the CVAM model that urbaMonde adapts in Nicaragua.
• World Habitat: UK-based charity recognizing and supporting innovative housing solutions globally. Peer in the participatory/cooperative housing advocacy space and current partner of urbaMonde (2023 World Habitat Award to its Senegalese partner FSH).
• Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR): Regional network supporting community-driven housing and savings schemes across Asia. Direct peer to urbaMonde as both operate as facilitators/secretariats of community-led housing networks rather than developers, and ACHR is itself a core CoHabitat Network partner of urbaMonde.
• Catalytic Communities: International NGO supporting community-led development, particularly in favelas of Brazil. Direct peer in participatory habitat production and a documented partner of urbaMonde within the CoHabitat Network.
• Slum Dwellers International (SDI): Global network of community-led organizations of the urban poor focused on savings, land tenure, and incremental housing. Highly comparable to urbaMonde in mission (community-produced habitat), federated governance model, and donor-funded secretariat structure.
• Co-operative Housing International (CHI): Global federation representing the cooperative housing sector and supporting member organizations across continents. Directly comparable to urbaMonde's work on cooperative housing models and shared convening role in the participatory habitat ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Cities Alliance: Global partnership hosted by UN-Habitat supporting city-level slum upgrading and inclusive urbanization. Comparable institutional ecosystem to urbaMonde's donor/advocacy network, with overlap via board member Serge Allou's prior Cities Alliance role.
• Habitat for Humanity International: Largest global housing nonprofit, working on affordable home construction and advocacy. Overlaps with urbaMonde on the affordable housing mission and UN-Habitat access but operates at vastly greater scale and with a volunteer-build model rather than cooperative self-management.

Emerging players

• Architecture Sans Frontières: International network of architects supporting development and humanitarian projects, with chapters in France and Europe. Comparable peer given urbaMonde's reliance on architect-urbanists (Julien Woessner, Elsa Cauderay, Yaneira Wilson) for cooperative and participatory housing design support.

Others

• GRET (Groupe de Recherche et d'Échanges Technologiques): French international development NGO working on solidary economy, urban development, and habitat. Peer in the French development-sector ecosystem (board member Serge Allou was formerly GRET's Director General) with overlapping thematic focus on participatory urbanization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/urbaMonde
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urbamonde
• Instagraminstagram.com/urba.monde

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Subsidiaries3 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 urbaMonde