The successful customization and adoption of a data system for the small-scale fisheries of Timor-Leste is encouraging governments, NGOs, and funders to invest in technology that countries can design, own, and adapt to suit their needs, rather than one-off, supply-driven products. This co-designed and locally owned approach is scaling out from the Pacific to East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean. The work capitalizes on the potential to digitize, store and visualize small-scale fishery data, such as catches, fishing effort invested, and market prices, directly from landing sites, critical to informing fair and inclusive policies and investments.