Company Name: Virunga Foundation
Location: Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Industry: Nature conservation
Company Size: > 1000
Odoo Users: > 100
Apps: Inventory, Accounting, HR, Helpdesk, Recruitment, Discuss, E-learning, CRM, Manufacturing, Calendar
Hosting type: Odoo.sh
About Virunga Foundation
With an area of over 7.800km², the Virunga National Park (ViNP) is the oldest park in Africa located in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s the home to some of the last mountain gorillas and is considered as one of the most biodiverse places in the world. The Virunga Foundation is a UK registered charity founded in 2005 to support the protection of the fauna and flora of the Park, as well as the local communities that live near Virunga's boundaries.
The Foundation plays a key role in conservation of the park's wildlife, as well as in helping to build peace and stability in eastern Congo. In addition to the conservation of the Park, VF has established four development priorities: electricity, entrepreneurship, agriculture and tourism.
Digital Divide supported by the wrong ERP
Pursuing his goal of ensuring a sustainable development in the region, Virunga Foundation has encountered one main obstacle: the digital divide. It significantly impacts global inequality, creating disparities. The divide is not only caused by the availability of computers and connectivity to the internet but also by the need for digital literacy. As technology rapidly advances, the gap widens, leaving behind those who need more resources to keep up.
Before adopting Odoo, Virunga was facing three main challenges in managing their activities:
- Modernizing the enterprise resource planning;
- Modernizing data ingestion, processing and visualization;
- Donor compliance.
To figure out which was the best tool to use, Virunga Foundation tried to develop internal and simple procurement tools matching it with SAGE. For the ticketing system they were using a multitude of apps which were not helping with data centralization. Talking about management, they used another tool called SAP. In the end, the dispersive system made up of different tools wasn’t helping Virunga’s data management.
I would definitely recommend Odoo to others [...]. Odoo offers a robust framework that simplifies operations and minimizes the risk of ineligibility issues that often arise from procedural errors.
Odoo: Revolutionizing Digital Accessibility
VF chose to implement Odoo due to its robust framework, aiming for a quick and efficient adoption. By prioritizing tasks and milestones in the initial phase, the organization ensured a smooth transition. Success Packs facilitated this process, leading to key improvements such as faster team communication, increased transparency, and streamlined business processes.
Odoo’s cloud capabilities enabled rapid development of data pipelines to support management decisions. This has positioned IT professionals in the global south to be competitive in the global market right from the start. Detailed financial reporting, aligning with project objectives and donor expectations, has further contributed to project success and trust-building.
The implementation, supported by Engineering and Telecoms Consulting, was smooth and efficient. The partner customized Odoo to fit the company’s specific needs, enhancing workflows without disrupting existing processes. This transformation has not only streamlined operations but also improved overall efficiency.
Implementation Partner:
VIRUNGA FOUNDATION: How to Foster Communication and Data Management