NAXA | Mobile for Development

The company

NAXA is a geospatial technology company that develops digital and spatial technologies to address contemporary challenges.

The problem

In low-income countries such as Nepal and Malawi, the absence of data-driven disaster preparedness and recovery systems leaves vulnerable communities exposed to severe impacts including loss of life, displacement, and economic disruption. Weak risk communication, limited household and infrastructure data, and a largely reactive response approach further undermine resilience and access to early warning or evacuation plans.

GSMA project

In November 2023, Naxa received a GSMA grant to create Household Level Disaster Risk Management Plans (HDRMP) for 10,000 households, assessing individual flood risks and developing specific thresholds and triggers for various hazard scenarios while considering climate change impacts. This initiative integrates risk and weather data to deliver customised early warnings and actions, timely access to forecasts and near real-time observations and implementing targeted cash voucher assistance (CVA) programmes.

In November 2025, Naxa received an additional GSMA grant to scale the DASTAA platform by extending risk assessments to critical infrastructural facilities in Nepal and expanding the platform to flood-prone regions in Malawi, where household risk assessments will be conducted to inform disaster preparedness initiatives.

Outcomes

Raised funding from the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre as part of its iCARE Innovations Fund, which focuses on climate adaption and resilience projects.
Raised funding from Twilio to upgrade its platform to enhance features and usability, design and implement youth-led data collection initiatives and scale its operations to flood-prone areas of Nepal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Secured partnership with Viamo Nepal to deliver early warning calls targeting individual households and co-created local-language message content.

Traction

As of March 2025, Naxa has provided just over 16,000 households with personalised risk assessments and disaster management plans, ensuring better preparedness for floods.

A message from the Co-Founder

“Most disaster management activities are often response-centric. With DASTAA, we aim to foster a proactive approach by integrating household vulnerability assessments and risk rankings for evidence-based decisions. We further improve risk communication to empower communities with timely information, ensuring inclusivity in disaster preparedness and response.”

– Upendra Oli, CEO and Co-Founder