R0g_agency

What R0g_agency does

R0g_agency (legal: r0g_agency for open culture and critical transformation gGmbH) is a Berlin-registered nonprofit (gemeinnützige GmbH, HRB 153001, founded 25 September 2013) that develops open technology, open knowledge resources, and peacebuilding programs with grassroots partners in post-conflict regions. Its portfolio sits under three pillars — Open Technology, Open Knowledge, and Peacebuilding — and is monetized at the institutional rather than commercial level: the agency does not sell products but is funded via project grants from development organizations and foundations (e.g., The Nexus Fund, BMZ), donations, and crowdfunding (betterplace.org for #ASKotec).

The core product set centers on the #ASKotec Open-Tech Emergency Case, a portable kit of 50+ electronics, sensors, Arduinos, a Linux mini-computer, tools, and open training manuals used for DIY electronics, solar, up-cycling, and basic computing workshops in refugee settlements; the #defyhatenow peacebuilding campaign combating online hate speech in South Sudan, Cameroon, and Ethiopia, now extended via the 2024 Africa Fact-Checking Fellowship; the #ASKnet hub network that distributes training through local makerspaces; the #MMN (Migrant Media Network) providing offline safe-migration information; and the #YoMIL youth media initiative launched in The Gambia in 2024. Supporting outputs include #OCFC (Feminist Café), open:fora street meets, Wikipedia Peace Sprints, and Open Educational Resources under CC-BY-SA 4.0.

The go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: programs are co-developed and delivered through regional partner organizations (Platform Africa, CTEN, Hive Colab, Jhub, JunubOS, Kumasi Hive, GoGirls ICT Initiative) and international partners (UNESCO, DW-Akademie, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Oxfam, Peace Direct), with engagement concentrated in seven African countries (South Sudan, Uganda, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, The Gambia). The Berlin headquarters houses a small team of 11–50 staff led by Managing Directors Susanne Bellinghausen and Stephen Kovats, supported by a Strategic Advisory Board; no parent company, subsidiaries, equity funding rounds, or commercial revenue lines exist in the disclosures.

Name

R0g_agency

Legal name

r0g_agency for open culture and critical transformation gGmbH

Website

https://openculture.agency

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

R0g_agency is a Berlin-based nonprofit that develops open technology kits, open educational resources, and peacebuilding programs with grassroots partners across seven African countries, including South Sudan, Uganda, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, and The Gambia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Peacebuilding and Open Technology Programs

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Peace, Security Sector Reform & Stabilization Programs (BPADABAH), Democracy, Human Rights & Governance Assistance (BPADABAG), OER Authoring, Remixing & Publishing Tools/Platforms (EDAGAJAM), Protection, Child Protection & Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Response (BPAGAAAG)

Keywords

• Peacebuilding programs
• Open source technology
• Open educational resources
• Community development
• Nonprofit humanitarian programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Crowdfunding: The agency accepts donations from individuals and organizations to support its projects. Crowdfunding campaigns are conducted for specific initiatives like #ASKotec kit development and deployment.
2. Project Grants and Funding: Funded by development organizations, foundations, and government aid programs to implement specific peacebuilding, open technology, and knowledge sharing projects in partner regions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

r0g_agency designs and delivers open technology, open knowledge, and peacebuilding programs to grassroots partners and communities in post-conflict African regions. Its flagship deliverables include the #ASKotec portable open-tech emergency kit, the #defyhatenow anti-hate-speech peacebuilding initiative, the #ASKnet hub network for skills training, the #MMN safe-migration information project, and the #YoMIL youth media lab, complemented by openly licensed field guides and educational resources.

Product overview

R0g_agency is a Berlin-based nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of interconnected peacebuilding, open technology, and open knowledge products and programs. The core offerings include the #ASKotec Open-Tech Emergency Case (a physical kit with tools, electronics, and educational materials for hands-on tech training in conflict zones), #defyhatenow (a peacebuilding initiative against hate speech), #ASKnet (a network of regional tech hubs), #MMN (Migrant Media Network for safe migration information), and #YoMIL (Youth Media Innovation Lab). These are complemented by open educational resources, field guides, and event programs like the Open Culture Feminist Cafe and Wikipedia Peace Sprints. The organization operates across equatorial Africa and Southeast Asia, supporting grassroots communities with accessible, free-to-use materials and training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• #defyhatenow: Peacebuilding and anti-hate speech initiative focused on combating online hate speech and mitigating incitement to offline violence, particularly in South Sudan, Cameroon, and Ethiopia
• #ASKnet
• #ASKotec
• #YoMIL
• #MMN (Migrant Media Network)
• #OCFC (Open Culture Feminist Café)

Products and services

• #ASKotec (Access to Skills and Knowledge Open-Tech Emergency Case) A multifunctional open-tech emergency case kit providing trainers in post-conflict and post-disaster regions with tools, electronics, IT fundamentals, soldering, solar energy, repair, and basic computing. Contains over 50 elements including Arduinos, sensors, LEDs, a compact Linux computer with bundled open-source software, hand tools, and user-developed manuals, enabling hundreds of workshops in DIY electronics, solar energy, up-cycling, and basic computing.
• #defyhatenow A community peacebuilding initiative aimed at combating online hate speech and mitigating incitement to offline violence, particularly in South Sudan, Cameroon, and Ethiopia, through media engagement, civic watch, and the Africa Fact-Checking Fellowship.
• #YoMIL (Youth Media Innovation Lab) A project focused on youth media innovation, particularly supporting young women in Gambian media through training and empowerment programs that build media literacy and journalism skills.
• #ASKnet (Access to Skills and Knowledge Network) A network of open-tech hubs and trained individuals across Africa that delivers open technology training, skill development, and peer-to-peer learning through community-based makerspaces, including refugee settlements and remote areas.
• #MMN (Migrant Media Network) A project delivering information systems and safe alternatives to irregular migration, providing offline materials, fact-checking, and pre-departure planning information to potential migrants in West Africa.
• Open Educational Resources Freely accessible learning materials, field guides, documents, and posters created by r0g_agency that can be downloaded, used, and disseminated without restrictions under CC-BY-SA 4.0 licensing, including the #defyhatenow field guides for Ethiopia, Cameroon, and South Sudan and the MMN Smart Migration Guide.
• #OCFC (Open Culture Feminist Café) An event series focused on feminist resistance, digital arts, and cultural transformation, bringing together diverse communities for dialogue and peacebuilding in Berlin and partner locations.
• Wikipedia Peace Sprints Activities that leverage Wikipedia to promote peace, unity, and cultural diversity by identifying and sharing positive content through social media channels and community editing events.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple refugee youth trained as open tech trainers and community leaders
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

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

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

• Platform AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner organization in Uganda that runs IT skills training and community empowerment programs. Partners with r0g on #ASKnet and #defyhatenow initiatives, particularly in Rhino Camp refugee settlement.
• CTEN (Community Technology Empowerment Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Technology Empowerment Network based in Uganda. Co-organizes #ASKnet training of trainers workshops and open tech activities in refugee settlements.
• Hive ColabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUgandan makerspace and innovation hub that co-hosted the Open Tech ToT workshop that produced #ASKotec in 2016, in partnership with icebauhaus and BMZ funding.
• UNESCOmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNESCO supports peacebuilding and media development work. r0g collaborated with UNESCO South Sudan and UNESCO Yaoundé on education, culture, sciences, media and information projects.
• DW-AkademiemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeutsche Welle's media development arm. r0g consultant Merga Yonas previously worked as Co-Project Manager in Media Development at DW-Akademie.
• Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman political foundation that organized the Uganda Social Media Conference 2018 with focus on democracy and civic engagement in the age of digital dis-information.
• Hyrac TechcoreTechnology or IntegrationKenyan team producing the #HyracBox, an offline server that provides access to education materials in offline communities. The HyracBox is a component of the #ASKotec kit.
• GoGirls ICT Initiative (South Sudan)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWomen-focused technology organization in South Sudan. Co-founded by Eva Yayi; receives support from r0g for #ASKotec training and open tech workshops.
• JunubOS (South Sudan)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouth Sudanese open source organization. Hosted Open Tech Juba event in 2018 and conducted #ASKotec community workshops.
• Kumasi Hive (Ghana)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMakerspace in Ghana that supports innovators. Co-organized Africa Open Science and Hardware Summit 2018 where #ASKotec was demonstrated.
• Oxfam in UgandamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHumanitarian organization collaborating on peacebuilding activities in Rhino Camp refugee settlement and broader Uganda programs.
• Communitere NepalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHumanitarian innovation organization that hosted r0g's #ASKotec demonstration at Kathmandu Mini Maker Faire in Nepal in 2018.
• Peace DirectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational peacebuilding organization. Collaborates with r0g on amplifying voices for peace using digital and technology in South Sudan.
• Global Innovation Gathering (GIG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of innovation hubs and makerspaces. Victoria Wenzelmann, co-founder of GIG, supports #ASKotec and open tech initiatives.
• Disruption Network LabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with r0g to present the HATE NEWS conference in Berlin 2018, investigating online opinion manipulation and strategic hate speech.
• EC4SC (Research Centre Leipzig - Communication for Social Change)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch center focused on communication for social change. Alireza Hussaini from EC4SC joined a discussion at r0g office on the role of diaspora in the digital public sphere.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Global Voices: International open-knowledge and citizen-media network; comparable to r0g's open-knowledge and Wikipedia Peace Sprints work, though Global Voices is broader and more global in its coverage.

Direct peers

• Search for Common Ground: Large international peacebuilding NGO operating across multiple conflict-affected countries; directly comparable to r0g's peacebuilding, hate-speech mitigation and grassroots partner approach, though at much greater scale and with a broader geographic mandate.
• Peace Direct: International peacebuilding organization that partners with local peacebuilders; directly comparable given r0g's grassroots-led, locally-anchored partnership model and overlapping geographic focus including South Sudan.
• International Alert: International peacebuilding NGO with long-standing programs in conflict-affected African and Asian states; directly comparable on peacebuilding methodology and policy-level engagement with grassroots actors.
• Ushahidi: Open-source technology organization building civic and crisis-mapping tools rooted in Africa; closely comparable on open-source, Africa-based, civil-society tech approach even though product focus (mapping vs. emergency tech kits) differs.
• Article 19: International freedom-of-expression organization working on hate speech, digital rights and media freedom; closely comparable to #defyhatenow's mandate to combat incitement to offline violence.
• Internews: International media development NGO supporting independent media and information access in fragile states; highly comparable to r0g's #defyhatenow, #YoMIL and #MMN media-literacy and counter-hate-speech work, particularly in Africa.
• Tactical Tech: International NGO working at the intersection of technology and civil society; comparable to r0g on the open-knowledge, digital-literacy and civil-society empowerment dimension, though Tactical Tech's geographic scope is more global.
• WITNESS: International human rights organization focused on video and media for accountability; comparable on the human-rights, media-and-technology intersection that r0g's #defyhatenow and #YoMIL programs operate in.

Broad incumbents

• DW-Akademie: Deutsche Welle's media development arm, a much larger publicly-funded institution active in global media capacity building; comparable on media-development mandate and already a documented r0g partner via former staff.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/intertwilight
• GitHubgithub.com/opencultureagency
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCItWt9b8GGO7LKdmnQGhqvg
• Facebookfacebook.com/opencultureagency
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/r0g-agency-for-open-culture-and-critical-transformation
• Instagraminstagram.com/open_culture_agency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 R0g_agency