About

One mission.

We build tools that help people navigate the systems that shape their lives, in their own language, without judgment, without cost, and without anyone knowing they asked.

01Why we started

The technology exists. The access does not.

Despite how much technology is already available, a real gap remains between the information and guidance people need and their ability to reach it, whether because of language, privacy concerns, or simply not knowing where to start. Kompas exists to close that gap.

02The founders

Kompas Foundation was started in 2026 by Ioana and François. They work as partners, with no hierarchy between them: Ioana brings quick, strategic thinking and a deep empathy for the people Kompas is built for, while François adds thirty years of experience building systems for large companies as well as for non-profits and social programmes.

François D'hert

Founder and CTO

François D'hert

François D'hert is Dutch, founded Kompas, and is its CTO. He brings more than thirty years of enterprise architecture experience to the foundation's technical work: he currently works at Nationale-Nederlanden, and has previously worked at large institutions including Aegon and GE Capital, on systems that together manage over 1.5 trillion euros in assets. Social impact runs through that career: Van Schulden naar Kansen from within Aegon, and Back 2 Your Future, a digital inclusion programme that won a European eInclusion award. When Kompas makes a promise about privacy and reliability, this experience is part of what backs it.

Ioana Buia

Co-founder and CEO

Ioana Buia

Ioana Buia is Romanian, co-founded Kompas, and is its CEO. She leads strategy, partnerships, and the funding relationships that decide how far the foundation reaches. She holds a Master's in Business Information Management with a specialisation in Data Science from Rotterdam School of Management, and brings that technical grounding to the foundation's product work as well as its strategy. At Nationale-Nederlanden, she drives AI adoption from the management board down to development teams, through a company-wide AI training programme and multi-agent development tooling.

Both founders build Kompas alongside their roles at Nationale-Nederlanden. The foundation is independent and speaks only for itself. Kompas runs lean by design: AI agents do the repetitive work, the founders keep the judgment.

03What we believe

Three principles that shape everything we build.

01

Technology should lower barriers, not raise them.

If a tool requires Dutch, an appointment, money, or the courage to explain your situation to a stranger, it has already excluded the people who need it most.

02

Agency over assistance.

We do not solve things for people. We give understanding and confidence to do it themselves. The goal is that you need us less and less.

03

The hardest-to-reach people first.

The default is to build for the majority; the rest comes later. Later never comes. We start at the edge and build inward.

04The foundation

Built to last. Built for public benefit.

Name

Stichting Kompas Foundation

Registered office

Etten-Leur, the Netherlands

Status

Articles of association drafted, incorporation at the notary in preparation

ANBI

Application in preparation

Funding

Philanthropy, foundations and public institutions. No advertising, no user fees.

Contact

contact@kompas.foundation

Read what we are going to build.

The project brief Support us