Bringing the Internet Offline: A Conversation with Kiwix CEO Stephane Coillet-Matillon

At Endless, we believe that access to information is critical for education, discovery, and communication. That’s why we’re proud to support organizations like Kiwix, a non-profit transforming the way people learn by making key parts of the internet available offline.

From refugee camps to remote research stations, Kiwix helps people access the information they need—no matter where they are or what their connectivity looks like. It’s a mission deeply aligned with our own: using technology to close the digital divide, not widen it.

We recently sat down with Stephane Coillet-Matillon, CEO of Kiwix, to talk about how Kiwix began, why offline access matters more than ever, and how the partnership with Endless is helping to scale offline content delivery.

“There are so many different use cases for Kiwix, but the common thread is empowerment. Kiwix gives people access to the kind of quality information many of us take for granted.”

- Stephane Coillet-Matillon

CEO

Can you share the origin story of Kiwix?

Stephane: Kiwix started from a simple but revolutionary idea—what if you could use Wikipedia without the internet? In 2007, Emmanuel Engelhart and Renaud Gaudin independently had the same idea. Emmanuel was a developer trying to create an offline Wikipedia, and Renaud was working in West Africa with USAID, hoping to bring reliable educational content to schools. They met at a conference in France, united by their passion for open-source software and later created Kiwix: a free, open tool that lets anyone browse parts of the internet—offline.

Why is access to offline knowledge so important?

Stephane: Access to information can change lives. Not everyone can afford traditional internet, so programs like Kiwix provide remote, and under-resourced areas a way to access learning materials and information without the high price tag. We’ve seen places like refugee camps, schools, and libraries from Poland to Myanmar take advantage of offline internet.

There are so many different use cases for Kiwix, but the common thread is empowerment. Kiwix gives people access to the kind of quality information many of us take for granted.

How does Kiwix work, technically?

Stephane: At its core, Kiwix makes a compressed snapshot of a website (called a ZIM file) that users can browse as if they were online. Think of it as a mini-internet on your phone, laptop, or local server. And it’s not just Wikipedia anymore; Kiwix crawls over 10,000 websites on a regular basis.

How do you decide which websites to make available offline?

Stephane: Our philosophy is simple: focus on educational, freely licensed content. We can't host copyrighted material, so we prioritize open knowledge. While Wikipedia still makes up about 10–12% of downloads, we’re seeing growing interest in niche educational content. Endless helped fund the development of our crawlers (and their integration on what we call the ZIM Farm) that updates key content like Wikipedia monthly. Since most educational material doesn’t change daily, this approach works well.

What are some real-world examples of the impact of Kiwix?

Stephane: Kiwix is all over the world. We’ve seen villages in the Himalayas use Kiwix to learn new languages. In Antarctica, scientists use Kiwix during long stretches of zero connectivity—for both work and fun things like movie nights. In France and the US, Kiwix supports even in military contexts by providing offline reference material for nuclear research labs where online access is prohibited for security reasons.

Kiwix has also been especially popular within the US prison system as a way to help inmates receive job training. We estimate this type of programming could save the US millions of dollars annually by reducing recidivism.

Another great example is our support for education in West Africa. We partnered with Orange to bring Kiwix to over 500,000 children. When kids have access to fresh material, they are more likely to attend school. Higher school attendance leads to better academic performance and improved job placement rates.

How has your partnership with Endless helped Kiwix grow and scale?

Stephane: Endless has been instrumental in helping us build the backend infrastructure that powers Kiwix today—especially the ZIM Farm. The support from Endless has helped make our technology more efficient, which allows us to scale up and serve more people more reliably.

How do you see the landscape of digital inclusion evolving over the next decade? What role do you think offline solutions will play?

Stephane: We’re moving to a landscape where access to connectivity is not the only issue. The key problem is poor connectivity, which can be even more frustrating because people know what they’re missing. While there is hype around artificial intelligence (AI), AI relies on real-time access and strong computational power, so there are limitations around what we can expect from AI in areas that are poorly resourced.

I think the landscape is also trending more towards developing a more inclusive user experience for people who are new to using the internet. True digital inclusion means designing for people that are short on resources, not just offering high-tech and complex solutions.

What’s your vision for the future of Kiwix?

Stephane: We want to continue the great work we’re doing while also looking forward to innovative ways we can make Kiwix even better. We’re really focused on improving how we serve localized content. For example, if someone in Myanmar wants content in their dialect, they should have it. We’re also working on tools to scout the information that people want so we can be sure we’re offering content that’s useful.

We’ve come a long way, but access to Kiwix still takes time and money. It takes time for users to download the resources and money because they need to be able to connect to the internet to do so. Our goal is to make this easier so that more people across the globe can have access to information. We want Kiwix to be there when the internet isn’t—whether that’s due to war, censorship, or natural disaster. It’s a backup for humanity’s knowledge, and we’re proud of that.

To learn more, get involved, or contribute to the cause, visit https://kiwix.org/en/get-involved/.