What Fundacion Karisma does

Fundación Karisma is a Colombian non-profit civil society foundation founded in 2003 and headquartered in Bogotá. It works at the intersection of technology, power, and human rights, focusing on digital civic space protection, internet governance, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and online safety for vulnerable communities in Latin America.

The organization's product surface consists of research, advocacy content, and community-facing safety resources rather than commercial technology. Its core channels are a blog (blog.karisma.org.co) for analysis and commentary, a digital library/biblioteca (biblio.karisma.org.co) housing evidence-based publications and frameworks, and thematic microsites for specific campaigns. Notable outputs include MonitorA Colombia, a longitudinal monitoring initiative on technology-facilitated gender-based violence against women in politics during Colombian elections; "Cortes y bloqueos de internet en América Latina," a comparative study of internet shutdowns across 6 Latin American countries; and "¡Qué putería!," a safety guide for LGBTQ+ users of dating applications. Distribution of all publications is open access under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.

Fundación Karisma does not sell commercial products or services; all work is distributed as a public good. Its business model is grant-based and project-funded, supported by national and international donors in the digital rights and internet freedom space. The organization is a member of multiple international networks including IFEX, the Global Network Initiative, Alsur, Civicert, and is connected to the OAS cybersecurity section (CICCTE), giving it coalition-level access across the region.

Name

Fundacion Karisma

Legal name

Fundación Karisma

Website

https://www.karisma.org.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fundación Karisma is a Colombian non-profit foundation that conducts research and advocacy on technology, power, and human rights, producing Spanish-language publications and digital safety guides for civil society, LGBTQ+ communities, women in politics, and policymakers across Latin America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Rights Research and Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Rights, Privacy & Free Expression Advocacy (BPAGAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Media Freedom, Access to Information & Digital Rights (BPADAGAE), Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation & Advocacy (BPADAGAK)

Keywords

• Digital rights advocacy
• Internet governance research
• Technology human rights
• Digital safety education
• Civil society organization

Headquarters

HQ city

Bogotá

HQ country

Colombia

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants and Project Funding: As a civil society foundation, Fundación Karisma operates through grants and project-based funding from national and international donors supporting digital rights, internet freedom, and technology justice work.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fundación Karisma is a Colombian non-profit civil society foundation that produces and distributes evidence-based research, publications, and digital safety resources on technology, human rights, internet governance, and digital civic space protection. Its core work includes longitudinal studies on technology-facilitated gender-based violence against women in politics, internet shutdown case studies across Latin America, and care guides for safer use of digital platforms, delivered as free public goods through a blog, digital library, and coalition partnerships.

Product overview

Fundación Karisma is a Colombian non-profit organization (Fundación) focused on technology, power, and human rights. Their offerings consist primarily of research publications and advocacy content through two main channels: a Blog for analysis and perspectives, and a Biblioteca (Library) for evidence-based publications and reports. Key products include MonitorA Colombia (research on technology-facilitated gender-based violence), internet shutdown case studies across Latin America, and safety guides for dating applications. They also provide a newsletter subscription service via Keila forms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Blog (Análisis y pistas) Analysis and perspectives blog featuring articles on digital civic space protection, internet shutdowns in Latin America, and technology safety guides, intended for civil society, policymakers, researchers, and the broader public.
• Biblioteca (Digital Library) Evidence and frameworks repository containing publications on internet shutdowns, gender-based violence facilitated by technology, and dating app safety guides, made freely available to researchers, advocates, policymakers, and the general public.
• MonitorA Colombia Analysis of technology-facilitated gender-based violence against women in politics, focused on Colombian Congressional elections, intended for civil society organizations, researchers, election monitors, women in political positions, and policy advocates.
• Cortes y bloqueos de internet en América Latina Case studies examining internet shutdowns and blockages across six countries in Latin America, intended for researchers, civil society organizations, journalists, and policymakers working on internet governance and freedom of expression.
• ¡Qué putería! Bitácora de cuidado para usar aplicaciones de citas (Grindr y Badoo) Safety guide for using dating applications (Grindr and Badoo) with privacy and security recommendations, intended primarily for LGBTQ+ communities and individuals in Latin America who use dating platforms.

Quantifiable outcome

• Research and analysis covering 6 countries in Latin America on internet cuts and blockages

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IFEXcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFEX is an international network of civil society organizations working on freedom of expression. Fundación Karisma is listed as a member organization, participating in global advocacy efforts and information sharing on expression rights issues.
• AlsurcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlsur is a regional Latin American organization. Fundación Karisma is listed as a member, participating in regional coordination on digital rights and civil society issues affecting the region.
• Global Network Initiative (GNI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGNI is a multi-stakeholder organization focused on freedom of expression and privacy in the information and communications technology sector. Fundación Karisma participates as a civil society member, contributing to industry accountability and policy development.
• Organization of American States (OAS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOAS is the premier regional multilateral organization for the Americas. Fundación Karisma is listed in connection with the OAS cybersecurity section (CICCTE), indicating participation in regional policy discussions on cybersecurity and digital rights.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Access Now: Global digital rights organization running major campaigns like #KeepItOn (against internet shutdowns) that intersects directly with Karisma's shutdown research; a larger incumbent operating across many regions including Latin America.
• ARTICLE 19: International freedom of expression organization with a Latin America office; pursues similar advocacy, policy, and litigation work on digital rights and expression, and shares overlapping donor and network relationships.
• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Long-established U.S.-based digital civil liberties organization; pursues overlapping research and advocacy on surveillance, free expression, and platform accountability, and serves as a global thought-leadership benchmark for the field.
• Association for Progressive Communications (APC): International network and grantmaker focused on digital rights, internet governance, and gender/sexual rights online; an institutional incumbent that both funds and coordinates with organizations in Karisma's space.

Others

• Global Network Initiative (GNI): Multi-stakeholder organization bringing companies, civil society, investors, and academics together on freedom of expression and privacy in ICT; functions as a coordinating/standards body rather than a competitor.
• Fundación Karisma peer — IFEX: Global network of 100+ independent expression rights organizations that distributes member outputs and coordinates advocacy; Karisma is itself a member, and IFEX functions as an ecosystem amplifier rather than a direct competitor.

Direct peers

• TEDIC: Paraguay-based non-profit working on digital rights, freedom of expression, and personal data protection; operates in a smaller market with a similar research-plus-advocacy model and overlapping donor ecosystem.
• Derechos Digitales: Latin American digital rights organization headquartered in Chile with regional scope; pursues policy advocacy, litigation, and research on privacy, freedom of expression, and surveillance — directly comparable mission and geography to Karisma.
• InternetLab: Brazilian independent research center producing empirical studies on internet governance, surveillance, and platform regulation; a directly comparable research-driven Latin American digital rights organization.
• R3D (Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales): Mexico-based digital rights NGO focused on freedom of expression, privacy, and net neutrality; a leading Latin American counterpart that produces research and litigation on platform accountability in a similar operating context.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

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 Fundacion Karisma