German NGO Welthungerhilfe chooses Porto to accelerate its global digital transformation

The need for specialist talent to support an ambitious digital transformation programme has led Welthungerhilfe (WHH), one of Germany’s largest and most respected private organisations for humanitarian aid and development cooperation, to establish its first presence in Portugal. Through a partnership with xelerate.tech, the organisation is setting up a Porto-based team dedicated to modernising its global operations. The project officially began this month with the onboarding of the first SAP specialists, with further recruitment planned at xelerate.tech over the coming months.

The choice of xelerate.tech reflects Welthungerhilfe’s commitment to a long-term collaboration model focused on building teams that are fully integrated into its global operations. "xelerate.tech provides highly qualified professionals and a significantly more agile operating model. What convinced us most was the collaboration model, which allows us to build a team that is fully integrated into our organisation over the long term,” says Malte Neuser, Team Lead Business Solutions at Welthungerhilfe. 

With operations in 37 countries and having reached approximately 19 million people in 2024 alone, the NGO’s mission is to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030. To support this mission, the organisation is implementing a digital transformation programme aimed at increasing operational efficiency, streamlining administrative processes, and enhancing the transparency and responsiveness of its international operations.

"Combining the complexity of a global technology transformation with the opportunity to support an organisation that impacts millions of people around the world is particularly meaningful to us. This is exactly the kind of challenge we believe in: technology that delivers real impact,” says Martin Zierheim, CEO of xelerate.tech. "This project reinforces our commitment to building highly specialised teams that help international organisations develop sustainable technological capabilities.

The ongoing technology modernisation includes the implementation of SAP S/4HANA, replacing existing systems with a more integrated platform that will enable more efficient management of the organisation’s global resources and processes. The new solution is expected to be fully operational by 2028.

The Porto-based team will support Welthungerhilfe’s digital transformation by driving the ongoing modernisation and enhancement of the systems that underpin the organisation’s global operations.