Komunidad Secures Seed Funding - Environmental Intelligence Platform

Environmental Intelligence Platform Komunidad Secures Seed Funding

The Philippines frequently experiences a high incidence of natural disasters due to its geographical location, facing threats from typhoons, flooding, volcanic activity, earthquakes, and droughts. Felix Ayque, while employed in the IT sector, initiated the compilation of cyclone reports, distributing them via email as early warnings to vulnerable communities. This effort subsequently developed into Komunidad, an environmental intelligence platform.

Platform Capabilities and Funding

Komunidad aggregates data originating from both governmental and private entities, transforming it into tailored analytics. This allows clients to respond rapidly and effectively to potential disaster scenarios.

The Manila and Singapore-based startup recently announced a $1 million seed funding round. Wavemaker Partners led the investment, with participation from ADB Ventures, the venture investment arm of the Asian Development Bank. These funds will facilitate expansion throughout Asia and the addition of new platform features.

Company History and Client Base

Established in 2019, Komunidad currently serves clients across the Philippines, India, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Its customer base spans diverse sectors, including utilities, agriculture, mining, education, local governments, and business process outsourcing centers.

Prior to founding the startup, Ayque held positions as an IT developer at various meteorological organizations, notably the New Zealand MetService. He initially began independently generating cyclone reports as a consultant following Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 – also known as Super Typhoon Yolanda – which resulted in at least 6,300 fatalities in the Philippines.

Origins of the Platform

These initial reports were designed to enable businesses to react more swiftly to the impacts of natural disasters. Typhoon Haiyan coincided with a period of substantial growth within the Philippines’ business outsourcing industry, with numerous international companies establishing operations within the country.

During typhoons, these businesses commonly redistribute workloads to offices located in unaffected regions. Ayque’s early email alerts consisted of manually analyzed cyclone data.

Growth and Expansion

As demand for his reports increased, particularly from entities like energy providers needing to address climate change, Komunidad began generating sufficient revenue to support expansion and the recruitment of personnel. This included meteorologists, data scientists, software developers, and business development teams based in India and Southeast Asia.

The newly acquired investment will be allocated towards the development of a scalable platform infrastructure.

Data Sources and Analytics

Komunidad utilizes data from leading providers such as The Weather Company (acquired by IBM in 2015) and Tomorrow.io, alongside a range of smaller environmental and weather data sources.

The platform processes this data into customized dashboards, focusing on parameters relevant to each customer’s specific needs, such as severe weather patterns, solar radiation, marine conditions, soil moisture levels, or air quality. “We function as a system integrator, delivering only the most pertinent data and highlighting its significance to our clients,” Ayque explained.

Komunidad also empowers its customers to establish their own customized alert systems.

Alert Systems and Applications

In the Philippines, for instance, many clients disseminate alerts via Viber, a widely used messaging application in the country, or through SMS to reach areas with limited internet connectivity.

For energy sector clients, Komunidad’s tools facilitate the prediction of power consumption based on temperature fluctuations. Local governments have also leveraged the platform to inform decisions regarding school closures.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Komunidad assisted cities in monitoring population density to optimize crowd control measures.

Competitive Advantage and Regional Focus

A key differentiator for Komunidad is its understanding of the specific data requirements within different geographical areas. Recently, the company secured a contract with the Assam State Disaster Management Agency (ASDMA) to concentrate on lightning and thunderstorm alerts, recognizing Assam’s high susceptibility to lightning strikes.

“Each country presents a unique profile, and we acknowledge that our strategy must prioritize community needs, extending outwards to encompass business applications,” Ayque stated.

Data Visualization and Future Development

Given the need for rapid response from its clientele, Komunidad transforms complex raw data reports into easily interpretable visualizations. These may include simple bar graphs, color-coded warnings (green, yellow, red), or maps that highlight areas at risk of significant weather or environmental events within a six-hour timeframe.

The company plans to utilize a portion of its funding to launch self-service, customizable dashboards next year. These dashboards will allow clients to create visualizations through a drag-and-drop interface, similar to website builders like Wix or WordPress.

The seed round will also support Komunidad’s expansion into new markets, including India, Thailand, and Cambodia, as well as the growth of its sales teams and the acquisition of additional data sources.