Our history
From field challenges to global solutions
While conducting field research in conflict-affected Iraq, KoboToolbox Co-Founder Dr. Patrick Vinck saw firsthand how instability had left resources and infrastructure severely limited or nonexistent.
Humanitarian organizations urgently needed timely, accurate data from communities on the ground—but paper-based data collection caused delays that cost time and resources.
That's when the dream for KoboToolbox began: adaptable, innovative data collection tools built for the world's most challenging environments—enabling faster, more effective responses to the world's most urgent crises.
How we got here
2005: KoboToolbox First Founded
2005: Founded by Phuong Pham and Patrick Vinck (HHI) and adopted for fieldwork
2010: UNDP Adopts
2010: Adopted by UNDP as their primary data tool in demobilization efforts
2013-14: Available Globally
2013-14: Expanded to a global platform, through partnership with OCHA and IRC; Available to individuals and organizations worldwide via our public servers
2016: UNHCR Adopts
2016: Adopted by UNHCR to improve data collection for refugee and IDP assistance
2019: Kobo NGO Established
2019: Kobo established as an independent nonprofit organization
2022: Gold Anthem Award And DPG Recognition
2022: Gold Anthem Award for Best Humanitarian Product, Innovation, or Service; Officially recognized as a Digital Public Good by the DPGA
2023: OCHA server transfer and KoboToolbox Academy launched
2023: Ownership of the OCHA humanitarian server transferred to Kobo; Launched the first KoboToolbox Academy Course
2024: Launched KoboToolbox Ambassadors Program and Kobo Partner Services
2024: Launched the KoboToolbox Ambassadors Program; Launched Kobo Partner Services to provide expert data support for nonprofits
2024: Awarded Pizzigati Prize and Candid Platinum Seal
2024: Awarded the Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest and the Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency
2025: Awarded WSIS Prize Champion and Top-Rated from GreatNonprofits
2025: Selected as WSIS Prize Champion 2025; Received a Top-Rated Award from GreatNonprofits
2025: Launched Kobo Research
2025: Officially launched Kobo Research with flagship project in Colombia
From paper to Kobo: The origin of a name
In 2005, while conducting field research in Northern Uganda, Dr. Patrick Vinck and Co-Founder Dr. Phuong Pham again faced the same inefficiencies of paper-based data collection.
Together, they developed the first prototype of their handheld digital data collection tool for low-resource and low-connectivity environments.
The local Ugandan survey team named it Kobo—from the Acholi word meaning "transfer."
It symbolized exactly what the tool was built to do: transfer critical information from the field to the decision-makers who needed it most.
In 2010, the open source Android software—now known as KoboCollect—was piloted by the UN Development Programme in the Central African Republic.
Kobo's Chief Innovation Officer, Dr. Tino Kreutzer, used the tool to collect data for the demobilization of thousands of former combatants, without access to electricity or mobile networks.
The success of that pilot proved what the team had hoped: if it worked there, it could work anywhere.
Trusted on the frontlines
KoboToolbox was quickly recognized as a game changer by field researchers and frontline responders in crisis-affected regions across the globe, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Northern Uganda.
Today, Kobo remains true to its roots: open-source, locally adaptable, and driven by a mission to close the gap between what's happening on the ground and the decisions that shape our world.