Skip to Content

Introducing the Kuja Platform

Local organizations - those closest to their own communities - have the most effective, efficient, and long-term solutions. And yet, they continue to have the least resources and face the most barriers to secure funding.  In 2023, the direct humanitarian funding for local and national actors increased from 2.3% to 4.5%. Of trackable funding given by Grand Bargain donors in 2023, only $174 million went directly to local and national actors - about 0.6% of funding. About two-thirds of this went to local and national NGOs. Despite a decade of top-down commitments to localization and well-documented understanding of why barriers exist, we are not seeing the change we want to. For more data and information about localization, check out the list of resources linked at the bottom of this blog.

Kuja is providing solutions to current inequalities with the goal to enable long-term change within the aid and development sectors. 

Building on three years of testing with the former KujaLink platform and many trials and iterations of development, we are excited to launch Kuja in 2025. Our vision? A new normal within global aid, development, and philanthropy – where responses are always locally led and community voices across the Global South are listened to and acted on by global decision-makers. 

Created and powered by Adeso, Kuja understands first-hand the unique challenges that local organizations face in creating their own future. Kuja solutions are designed by a local organization to equip other local organizations for success and autonomy. 

In 2025, we will roll out:

  • Tailored profiles that enable local organizations across the Global South to promote their work and expertise to a community of peers, INGO partners, and donors. With our robust search engine, organizations can be discovered across geographies, sectors, and skillsets. 
  • The KujaLink grants feed consolidates public grants into one place, with an easy-to-use filtering and zero pay-wall, making it easier for local organizations to find relevant funding opportunities
  • Our AI-powered compliance and grant analysis tool can provide a detailed assessment of how a local organization is fit for a funding opportunity based on programmatic skills and operational capacities. 
  • The KujaBuild suite of software and services, provides administrative, financial, operational, human resources, and grants management support necessary to enable local organizations to meet donor compliance requirements. 

Kuja is building on Adeso’s experience as a convenor for change and leverages our reputation as a leader in the movement to shift power within global aid and development. Kuja means “come” in Swahili. It is an invitation to bring people, communities, and organisations closer together. Kuja solutions are designed to build connection around shifting power to local organizations and communities. 

In 2025, 

  • KujaLearn e-Learning courses and workshops will provide the knowledge and practical solutions for how to decolonize aid and development organizations, programs, and funding practices. 
  • Kuja members will be able to host their own webinar events and training using our innovation to an audience of local organizations to show off their expertise and lead conversations about best practices. 
  • The KujaAdvise peer-to-peer advising platform will connect local organizations with skilled individuals and peer organizations who are interested in providing advice to support their growth and development. 

For more information about the Kuja offerings and what is to come, check out our website and follow along on our social media! 

Karibu Kuja! 



We suggest these sources for further reading and exploration about recent localization trends in global aid and development: