IDEMS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY

What IDEMS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY does

IDEMS International Community Interest Company (CIC) is a UK-registered social enterprise (company number 11137433, Reading) established in 2016 around open-source digital infrastructure for low-resource contexts. As a CIC Limited by Guarantee it cannot issue equity and must reinvest profits in its social mission; working capital is raised through Social Enterprise Impact Bonds rather than venture capital. IDEMS operates through 'Impact Innovation Collaboratories' – multiyear transdisciplinary partnerships with expert academic researchers and implementing NGOs across Public Health, Climate Services, STEM Education, Agroecology, and Biodiversity – and embeds PhD mathematical scientists, social scientists, and applied technologists into those collaborations, supported by a 20+ person INNODEMS team in Kakamega, Kenya and a postdoctoral fellowship programme.

The company's product portfolio is built around open-source foundations: R-Instat (a free front-end to R for statistics in low-resource environments with multilevel data handling), the Parenting for Lifelong Health Digital Ecosystem (ParentApp for offline low-end Android, ParentText chatbot), the UNICEF Internet of Good Things, EPICSA for digital climate services, Open CDMS / Climsoft for historical climate data, the Virtual Maths Camp phygital toolkit, and psymple, which uses mathematical category theory to integrate siloed data and models. Underlying much of this is a commercialisation partnership with the University of Edinburgh for STACK, an open-source mathematics assessment platform used in 2,000+ universities and piloted at Caltech.

Commercially, IDEMS' primary revenue stream is innovation subcontracts on grants awarded to academic research institutions and implementing NGOs (University of Oxford, UNICEF, WHO, McKnight Foundation, WMO, University of Edinburgh), supplemented by smaller product sales (maths cards at £10, hosting subscriptions at £450–£850), STACK conference packages, training services, and the new Responsible AI programmes for lecturers and enterprise. Customers span 40+ countries, and the company is currently seeking £411,675 in working-capital SEIB funding (with £164,115 raised) to offset the payment-in-arrears dynamic of its grant-funded core business.

Name

IDEMS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY

Legal name

IDEMS International Community Interest Company (CIC)

Website

https://idems.international

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IDEMS International CIC is a UK-registered social enterprise that builds open-source digital infrastructure (R-Instat, ParentApp, ParentText, EPICSA, psymple, STACK integration) for low-resource contexts, delivering it through multiyear Impact Innovation Collaboratories with universities, UNICEF, WHO, and other development partners across 40+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Impact Software and Digital Interventions

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Platform Engineering & Internal Developer Platforms (IDP) (BPAEAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

AI/ML Engineering & Model Development Services (BPAEAHAF), Standards, Packaging & Interoperability Tools (SCORM/xAPI/cmi5/LTI) (EDAFAHAH), Software Development (Programming, Frameworks, Dev Tools) (EDABAFAA)

Keywords

• Open-source statistics software
• Digital health interventions
• Social impact innovation
• Climate data analytics
• STEM education platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

Reading

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Innovation Subcontracts: IDEMS secures subcontractor funding on grants issued directly to academic research institution and NGO partners. This is their primary revenue stream supporting conceptualizing, developing and adaptively scaling digital versions of existing offline impact programming.
2. Social Enterprise Impact Bonds (SEIB): Working capital loans for six years at fixed interest rate offered to mission-aligned investors. Currently seeking funding equivalent to four months of business turnover. Target of £411,675.
3. Product Sales: Sale of physical products including maths playing cards (£10), hosting support agreements (£450-£850), and STACK conference packages.
4. Conference and Training Services: STACK conference costs including accommodation, registration, travel packages, and safari experiences.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IDEMS develops open-source digital tools, software, and infrastructure designed to scale social impact in low-resource contexts. Its portfolio includes statistical analysis software (R-Instat), a parenting digital ecosystem (ParentApp, ParentText, IoGT), climate services tools (Open CDMS, Climsoft, EPICSA), mathematics education products (Virtual Maths Camp, STACK integration, Open Adaptive Maths Textbooks), and category-theory-based modeling software (psymple). These are delivered through multiyear Impact Innovation Collaboratories with academic and NGO partners and supplemented by direct product sales and SEIB debt financing.

Product overview

IDEMS International CIC is a technology social enterprise developing pioneering digital interventions and infrastructure for low-resource contexts. The company offers a portfolio of products including R-Instat (open-source statistics software), the Parenting for Lifelong Health Digital Ecosystem (ParentApp, ParentText), Internet of Good Things, Virtual Maths Camp, Maths Cards, climate tools (Open CDMS, Climsoft, EPICSA), psymple, and STACK integration services. These are delivered through Impact Innovation Collaboratories—multiyear expert partnerships—and complemented by Social Enterprise Impact Bonds for investment. The offering combines open-source tools with capacity building and research partnerships to achieve sustainable global impact.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• R-Instat: Free open-source statistics package, a front end to the R programming language, designed for low-resource environments with multilevel data handling capabilities.
• ParentApp
• ParentText
• Internet of Good Things (IoGT)
• Virtual Maths Camp
• EPICSA
• psymple
• The IDEMS Podcast
• The IDEMS Principle
• Social Enterprise Impact Bonds (SEIBs)

Products and services

• Impact Innovation Collaboratories Multiyear expert collaborations focused on addressing systemic grand challenges, where IDEMS team members develop understanding of barriers to data sharing, capture, governance and sensemaking for scaling impact.
• R-Instat Free open-source statistics software that serves as a front end to R, designed for low-resource environments with efficient multilevel data handling and intuitive user dialogues for non-data scientists.
• Parenting for Lifelong Health Digital Ecosystem A coherent ecosystem of digital tools for implementation partners to customize, enabling projects to scale social impact through evidence-based digital interventions for parenting support.
• ParentApp A smartphone app for supporting parents with teenage programme content, initially designed for offline low-end Android devices in low-resource settings.
• ParentText A chatbot supporting parents with evidence-based parenting tips, featuring integrated timed and responsive interactions that can be locally customised while staying connected to central evidence-based content.
• Internet of Good Things (IoGT) A collection of UNICEF country office managed websites supporting the needs of youth and first-time internet users, with features for feature phone users and offline smartphone access.
• Virtual Maths Camp A phygital initiative combining physical card deck, booklet, website, and chatbot for mathematics education to develop mathematical thinking, problem solving and creativity in learners.
• Open CDMS and Climsoft Tools to support management and use of historical climatic data, ensuring smooth data pipelines from collection through to dissemination for meteorological and climate services.
• psymple Software built on mathematical category theory that enables development of hybrid complex system models and modelling frameworks, laying groundwork for predictive ecosystem simulations or biological digital twins.
• EPICSA Scalable digital program that enables localized direct-to-farmer climate services programs without requiring trained facilitators, overcoming challenges of delivering relevant local historic weather data analysis and insights to local farmers.
• Open Adaptive Maths Textbooks Open textbooks built on STACK and PreTeXt foundations, enabling local contexts and educators to develop custom textbooks and assessment materials from a continuously evolving materials bank.

Quantifiable outcome

• Proven digital interventions reducing violence against children and intimate partner violence while improving parenting, mental health and well-being
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of OxfordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOxford's Global Parenting Initiative collaboration on parenting support programs to prevent child sexual abuse and violence. Professor Lucie Cluver leads the initiative with IDEMS as collaborator on digital interventions.
• UNICEFcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementation partner for parenting programs and support for Internet of Good Things (IoGT) initiative. UNICEF country offices manage IoGT websites.
• WHOcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWHO is an implementation partner for parenting for lifelong health programs and digital health interventions.
• University of EdinburghcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTACK mathematics assessment platform developed at Edinburgh. IDEMS is impact commercialization partner helping build and expand STACK's product and question banks.
• World Meteorological OrganizationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for climate services work turning historical climate data into actionable projections about climate change and local weather effects.
• Topos InstitutecoreTechnology or IntegrationBerkeley, California and Oxford-based mathematics research organization collaborating on maths-based architecture for complex digital deployments in social complexity.
• INNODEMScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrican team setting the standard for regional social impact innovation R&D. Founded by Zach Mbasu, based in Kakamega, Kenya. Team of African PhD mathematical scientists throughout Western Africa.
• Maseno University of KenyaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for STEM education collaboration and statistics education with climate focus. James Musyoka works at Maseno University.
• Supporting African Maths Initiatives (SAMI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based charity dedicated to improving access to quality mathematics education in Africa. Partnership for maths camps and educational resources.
• UNDPminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementation partner for various development programs and initiatives.
• University of ReadingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpert research partner for Climate Services Collaboratory on community climate resilience.
• UK Met OfficeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork and implementation partner for climate services and weather data analysis.
• Cornell UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpert research partner for Global Collaboration for Resilient Food Systems (CRFS) in agroecology work.
• CASAS GlobalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmerging from UC Berkeley, partner for biodiversity and food systems modeling work using Physiologically Based Demographic Models.
• GHAIDEMSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGhana-based partner organization led by Francis, involved in West African capacity building components.
• Manor House (Kenya)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAgricultural extension partner in Kenya for agroecology and farmer research network programs.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Digital Green: Develops technology-enabled agricultural extension video and digital tools for smallholder farmers in South Asia and Africa. Closely comparable to IDEMS' EPICSA and agroecology Collaboratory work, with similar target users and low-resource design constraints.
• Code for Africa: Pan-African civic technology and open-data initiative building digital tools for journalism and citizen engagement. Comparable open-source, digital-tools-for-impact model with strong African operational footprint overlapping IDEMS' Collaboratory geographies.
• Akvo: Open-source data collection, monitoring, and visualization tools for international development programs. Comparable to IDEMS in offering open-source infrastructure-as-a-service for NGOs and development partners across multiple SDG verticals.
• Medic (formerly Medic Mobile): Builds open-source digital health tools (Community Health Toolkit) for community health workers in low- and middle-income countries. Strong overlap with IDEMS' ParentApp/ParentText and digital public health infrastructure work, though focused specifically on health.
• SystemOne: Provides connected diagnostics and health data management infrastructure for low-resource settings, particularly disease surveillance. Comparable to IDEMS through its data-pipeline focus in development contexts.
• Dimagi: Social enterprise building CommCare, an open-source mobile data collection and service delivery platform for frontline workers in low-resource settings. Most directly comparable to IDEMS given shared open-source digital-tool model for development impact.

Broad incumbents

• J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab): Global research center using randomized evaluations to test programs addressing poverty. Broader institution than IDEMS but operates as a similar evidence-driven, research-partnership model evaluating impact programs in low-resource contexts.
• Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA): Research and policy nonprofit that discovers and promotes effective solutions to global poverty problems. Similar research-and-evidence-driven operating model, though IPA is substantially larger and more established.

Emerging players

• ThoughtWorks (Social Impact Programs): Global technology consultancy with a dedicated Social Impact mission focused on tech for good and international development. Comparable in delivering technology services to development-sector clients, though as a much larger commercial entity.
• Living Goods: Combines digital tools with community health networks in sub-Saharan Africa. Comparable target geography and end-user base as IDEMS, though focused specifically on community health product distribution.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@IDEMSInternational
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/idems-international

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 IDEMS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY