Opening Section ¶

Kartoza celebrated its tenth anniversary in July 2024. Founded by Gavin and Tim with support from their wives Bridget and Marcelle, the company launched on July 1, 2014, with a team of four people. Their founding vision emphasizes making “spatial decision making tools universal, accessible and affordable.”

Initial Business Development Goals ¶

The founders identified five key areas for scaling the organization:

1. Implementing an open source ERP system for administrative functions
2. Establishing a team collaboration platform
3. Managing server infrastructure
4. Developing web applications using standardized practices
5. Expanding to approximately 25-30 employees

Areas of Expertise Developed ¶

Over a decade, the company built strong capabilities in:

• Precision farming
• Disaster risk reduction
• Social programs (clean cooking access, electrification planning, women’s economic access)
• Biodiversity information systems
• Government spatial data infrastructure
• Open source GIS platform support (QGIS, GeoNode)

Financial Approach ¶

The company grew organically without external investment or debt, instead using “careful financial planning” and focusing on excellent service delivery and staff care while maintaining “open source, open process and open communication.”

Challenges and Mistakes ¶

The article acknowledges unavoidable business mistakes: hiring missteps, non-paying clients, unproductive investments, and missed opportunities. However, the company maintained sufficient safeguards to survive these difficulties.

Building Infrastructure ¶

Tim noted that “bureaucracy is an inevitable consequence of business.” The organization adopted an agile approach initially, then added processes where needed. Current systems include HR protocols, financial management, coding practices, documentation, testing, and DevOps frameworks. The board includes two non-executive directors providing strategic guidance.

Major Accomplishments ¶

Survival and Goals ¶

Remaining viable for ten years, particularly through COVID, while achieving initial objectives represents success. The team grew to approximately thirty culturally diverse remote workers.

Brand Recognition ¶

“Kartoza” gained international recognition in geospatial circles, with distinctive branding influenced by South African Ndebele tribal art reflecting their global and African perspective.

Software Projects ¶

Nearly all client projects were published as open source, built with components including PostgreSQL, QGIS, GDAL/OGR, MapLibre, and ReactJS.

QGIS Community Support ¶

The company contributed significantly:

• Hosting monthly QGIS open days
• Serving on the QGIS Project Steering Committee
• Maintaining QGIS.org cloud infrastructure
• Building the changelog authoring platform
• Managing the sustaining member platform
• Creating the QGIS hub, analytics dashboard, and certification platform
• Maintaining plugins and feed platforms
• Currently funding two full-time QGIS contributors

Additional Contributions ¶

Gavin and Tim helped organize FOSS4G2018 in Tanzania.

Docker Images ¶

Their PostGIS and GeoServer Docker images achieved millions of downloads.

Training and Documentation ¶

The company trained “hundreds if not thousands” of professionals, students, teachers, and learners in QGIS, GeoNode, PostGIS, and custom platforms.

Recent Infrastructure Improvements ¶

The company implemented ERPNext, an open source business management platform, alongside custom tools for time tracking and resource planning. DevOps teams overhauled server management practices using open source infrastructure components.

Future Plans ¶

The company will launch a new hosting service for popular open source geospatial platforms, offering “point and click deployments, Service Level Agreements and a helpdesk system.”

Closing ¶

The article thanks customers, staff, and supporters, expressing optimism about the next decade of collaboration.