Wendá Platform

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A digital collaborative mapping platform launched in 2020 in Paraguay to connect and strengthen citizen, business, and government initiatives addressing COVID-19 and broader social and economic challenges.
What are the main aims and objectives?

Wendá was created to strengthen social, economic, and civic resilience in Paraguay by digitally mapping and connecting decentralized initiatives responding to the COVID-19 crisis and enduring societal challenges. Its objectives are to enhance business resilience, facilitate labor market reconversion, empower civic responses, and foster public-private collaboration by making visible the location, nature, and status of initiatives and community needs. The platform aims to generate data-driven insights for policy decisions, promote solidarity, and connect actors to jointly address complex issues affecting vulnerable populations and informal sectors.​

How does the program work?

Wendá functions as an interactive digital geolocation platform accessible at www.wenda.org.py, where individuals, organizations, and government entities can register initiatives, list needs, offer volunteer support, and connect for collaboration. It categorizes solutions into six typologies—commercial/business, social initiatives, labor market, public services, healthcare, and essential services—allowing users to explore local resources and identify gaps by geographic region. Participants can create, join, or moderate initiatives on the platform. Wendá captures real-time mapping data to visualize initiative density and community challenges, informing innovation programs and policymaking. Designed for accessibility and low barriers to entry, Wendá empowers urban and rural users alike to engage digitally in solution-building while supporting collaboration across sectors for amplified impact.

What is the overall cost?

Specific budget allocations for Wendá are not publicly available.

How was it implemented?

Wendá was rapidly co-designed and developed between May and July 2020 by Paraguay’s Estrategia Nacional de Innovación (ENI) and the UNDP Acceleration Laboratory in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s multifaceted social and economic impacts. It was conceived to digitally map and connect dispersed solutions when traditional community engagement was restricted due to mobility limitations. The platform integrates participatory mapping, low user registration barriers, and georeferenced data visualization. Officially launched in late July 2020, it quickly onboarded hundreds of initiatives and users. Post-launch, Wendá integrated into broader innovation and employment programs, gained OECD recognition for COVID-era innovation policy, and joined the global "Frena la Curva" civil society network. Ongoing maintenance and development rest with ENI and UNDP who collaboratively support its operation and serve as custodians of the digital public good.

What impact has been measured?

Within two weeks of launch, Wendá registered over 120 initiatives and nearly 800 solution points by August 2020, including corporate, social, labor market, and public service initiatives.

What lessons can be learned?
  • Wendá illustrates how digital platforms can enable rapid crisis response when in-person coordination is restricted.
  • Participatory mapping exposes existing grassroots solutions and fosters collaboration but requires complementary mechanisms to translate connections into sustained outcomes.
  • The platform was rapidly developed with broad institutional collaboration, demonstrating agility but lacking formal evaluation frameworks and impact tracking from inception.
  • Long-term sustainability, continuous user engagement, and integration of platform data into policymaking remain unclear as public evidence is absent.
  • Digital access inequities may exclude some vulnerable populations, challenging inclusivity goals.
  • Governance, liability, and quality assurance for registered initiatives are not clearly transparent, raising safety questions.
  • Wendá’s model shows promise for crisis innovation but requires dedicated resources for evaluation, refinement, and scale.
  • No evidence exists regarding replication beyond Paraguay, leaving questions on adaptability to other contexts.

CURATED BY

Cristina Fernandez

Director for Knowledge + Programming
Global Entrepreneurship Network
United States