Yguazú, Alto Paraná, Paraguay · ES / EN / GN / PT

Marcos Codas

I build technology for places the industry tends to skip, starting with my own town, Yguazú, Paraguay.

Role
Director of Strategic Partnerships & Education, GDevelop
Building
MosquitOFF, dengue risk forecasting from NASA satellite data
Since 2006
Black Door Studios, film, audio and design
Speaks
Español, English, Avañe'ẽ, Português
Paraguay, 218 municipalities. The ring is Yguazú. Illustrative MosquitOFF risk mosaic.
01MosquitOFF

Case study · public health

Adopted by the Municipality of Yguazú, working with SENEPA, eleven months after NASA Space Apps 2025

MosquitOFF forecasts where the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever, is likely to multiply. In August 2026 my own town began using it, together with SENEPA, the national vector control service, and local health posts.1,2,6

Municipalities scored
218
Days of forecast
7
Updated
Daily
  1. Local winner of the NASA International Space Apps Challenge, Ciudad del Este. Then Global Nominee.3,4 [TBD: proof of Global Nominee status]
  2. Selected for the Belt & Road and BRICS Competition of Skills Development and Technology Innovation, in Guangzhou.2 Placement: [TBD: placement at Guangzhou, e.g. 3rd place]
  3. Adopted by the Municipality of Yguazú with SENEPA and local health posts.
  4. My team trains health-post staff, teachers and public employees to use it.
[TBD: caption, date and place of the Yguazú training session]

Why Yguazú needed this

Dengue is not rare in Paraguay: [TBD: one sourced dengue figure for Paraguay]5 I wanted municipalities to decide where to act before the mosquito multiplies. My father, a specialist in the field, inspired the project,3 and Yguazú, where I live, was the obvious place to try it.

How it works

Three kinds of input go in: NASA satellite data on precipitation, soil moisture and temperature; population density from Paraguay’s 2022 national census (INE); and epidemiologically validated models of how the mosquito behaves. The system uses machine learning on top of them.3 What comes out is a risk score every day for each of the 218 municipalities, plus a forecast for the next seven days.

The Yguazú version is hyper-local. I built it with the municipal Environment Directorate, and its map labels sub-neighbourhoods with the informal names residents use. Suspected dengue cases reported at the health posts feed in as they are reported.1,2 I donated my time. The map below shows how a seven-day forecast reads.

Illustrative dengue-risk forecast map of Paraguay Outline of Paraguay filled with a mosaic of small squares, darker where the illustrative risk is higher. The humid east, around Alto Paraná, Itapúa and Central, is darkest. The dry Chaco in the west is palest. The Paraguay River divides the two regions. Yguazú, Ciudad del Este and Asunción are marked. The values are synthetic and not live data. Chaco Oriental Yguazú Ciudaddel Este Asunción 100 km Illustrative Not live data
  1. Lower
  2. Level 1 of 5
  3. Level 2 of 5
  4. Level 3 of 5
  5. Level 4 of 5
  6. Level 5 of 5
  7. Higher
Illustration of how the forecast reads. Not live data. The squares are synthetic values, shaded so the humid east runs higher than the dry Chaco. For the real thing, open the live map: [TBD: URL of the live MosquitOFF map]

Live map: [TBD: URL of the live MosquitOFF map]
Code: [TBD: URL of the code repository]

What we don’t know yet

Adoption began in August 2026, so there is no season of results yet. The next step is measuring whether targeted clean-ups, sent where the forecast points, reduce cases. Until that is measured, MosquitOFF is a forecast, not a proven intervention. [TBD: any check of the forecast against cases reported by the health posts]

Mayor Mauro Kawano called the platform “revolutionary”2 and hopes for adoption across the department and then nationally. I think the same approach could serve Brazil, India and parts of Africa. That is a belief, and it needs the same measurement first.

02GDevelop

Head of Marketing 2022–2025 · Director of Strategic Partnerships & Education 2025–present

I set up GDevelop’s bundle-store partnerships and built its education department.

GDevelop is an open-source game engine. The company is registered in the UK and the team works from France. I set up the Humble Bundle and Fanatical partnerships, and I negotiated the Global Game Jam 2024 sponsorship.

Humble Bundle partnership, gross revenue
US$30,000
Fanatical partnership, revenue
US$15,000+
Global Game Jam 2024 sponsorship, negotiated at no cost
US$5,000
Participants across game jams and community events, 2022–2023
1,000+
  • GDevelop had no education offering. [TBD: confirm this context line] I built the Education department, covering curriculum and commercial partnerships.
  • Took the site to its highest-ever weekly and monthly visitors in 2023, by running the SEO strategy.
  • Drew more than 1,000 participants to game jams and community events in 2022–2023, by organising them with judges and cash prizes.

I also write for the GDevelop blog. The latest post is Why Use GDevelop When You Can Just Use AI?, from 30 June 2026.1 Florian Rival, GDevelop's CEO, has written me a letter of recommendation.2

1Blog post, GDevelop, 30 June 2026. gdevelop.io/blog/why-use-gdevelop-when-you-can-use-ai

2Letter of recommendation, Florian Rival, CEO, GDevelop Ltd. Available on request.

03Recognition

Honours, with the proof attached where I have it.

Yellow marks a detail I still have to confirm or source.

Awards, selections and academic standing
YearRecognitionForSource
2026 Belt & Road and BRICS Competition of Skills Development and Technology Innovation, Guangzhou: [TBD: placement at Guangzhou, e.g. 3rd place]3 MosquitOFF Asunción Times (selection) · [TBD: press for placement]
[TBD: date] 2nd place, [TBD: competition name] [TBD: what the entry was] [TBD: link or certificate]
2025 NASA International Space Apps Challenge: local winner, Ciudad del Este, and Global Nominee MosquitOFF Paraguay.com, Ponta Porã Informa · [TBD: proof of Global Nominee]
2022–2023 University of the People: Dean's List (T2 2023) and Honor's List (T5 2022, T5 2023) Associate's degree in Business Administration, on a full scholarship [TBD: transcript or verification link]
2016– Kurusu Serapio: Official Selection at 16 international film festivals [TBD: confirm 16; studio site says 10 festivals in 5 countries]. Declared of cultural interest by departmental and municipal governments. Short film I wrote and directed [TBD: festival list and declarations]

3Organised by the BRICS Academy of Skills Development and Technology Innovation, China. Venue and date: [TBD: confirm Guangzhou and date]

04Stories

Before GDevelop, I made films and wrote for a living.

Kurusu Serapio, 2016

I wrote and directed this short film. With the comic book I wrote alongside it, it became Paraguay's first transmedia franchise. Its festival selections are listed under Recognition. The studio also made Kuatia, a family game on Google Play: [TBD: Kuatia Google Play link].

Still from Kurusu Serapio. [TBD: choose still and credit]

Epic Pictures Group, Dread Central and DreadXP, 2018–2021

I started as a staff writer in 2018 and became assistant editor in 2020. As assistant editor I wrote the SEO protocol and tutored the other writers in it. [TBD: link to SEO case study]

In 2021 I grew the SMS subscriber list by an average of 7% week over week, by building its acquisition funnels. The same year I brought in US$5,000+ in revenue through a partnership with Sony Pictures to promote The Unholy.4

Since 2015 I have also been deputy head of web publications at Infinite Frontiers and Vita Player, in Wales: content, team management and partner relations. Since 2006 I have run Black Door Studios, a multimedia studio in Canada until 2015 and in Paraguay since.

4Letter of recommendation, Patrick Ewald, CEO, Epic Pictures Group. Available on request.

05Teaching

I keep ending up teaching the people who use what I build.

Building the tool was never the whole job. Someone had to learn it.

  1. Universidad Nacional de Itapúa, Faculty of Medicine. I built, launched and maintained the faculty's website and e-learning platform, and trained the teaching staff to use it.5
  2. CCPA, Centro Cultural Paraguayo Americano. I taught English at levels A2 and C2.
  3. Juntos Bajo El Sol, which I founded: a solar-powered, weatherproof, open-source digital library for rural schools. [TBD: confirm current status]
  4. GDevelop. I built the education department and run its curriculum and partnerships.
  5. Yguazú. I am training health-post staff, teachers and public employees to use MosquitOFF.

5Letter of recommendation, Dr. Carolina Scott, Academic Director, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Itapúa. Available on request.

06Record

Where I have worked and studied

Experience
YearsRoleOrganisationPlace
2025– Director of Strategic Partnerships & Education GDevelop UK / France, remote
2022–2025 Head of Marketing GDevelop UK / France, remote
2025– Creator MosquitOFF Paraguay
2006– Owner, producer Black Door Studios Canada 2006–2015, Paraguay 2015–
2015– Deputy head of web publications Infinite Frontiers / Vita Player Wales
2018–2021 Staff writer, then assistant editor, then business development consultant Epic Pictures Group / Dread Central USA
2015–2021 Built and ran the website and e-learning platform; trained faculty Universidad Nacional de Itapúa, Faculty of Medicine Paraguay
2016–2017 English teacher CCPA (Centro Cultural Paraguayo Americano) Paraguay
2020–2021 Board member [TBD: confirm status and dates of the IGDA Paraguay board seat and of Juntos Bajo El Sol] IGDA Paraguay Paraguay
Education
YearsQualificationInstitutionPlace
Class of 2025 [TBD: 2025 or 2024] Associate degree in Business Administration Full scholarship. Dean's List T2-2023. Honor's List T5-2022 and T5-2023. University of the People USA, online
[TBD: years and status] Marketing Engineering Universidad Americana Paraguay
14 short courses (Illinois, Michigan, Berklee, CalArts, UPenn …)
University of Illinois
3D Printing, three courses
University of Michigan
Introduction to HTML5; Python Programming
UC Davis
Introduction to Google SEO
Berklee
Ableton Live; Music Production
CalArts
Programming for Digital Artists
Emory University
Digital Sound Design
Georgia Tech
Survey of Music Technology
UPenn
Introduction to Marketing; Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society
University of Maryland
Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies

Languages and places

Spanish (native), English, Guaraní, Portuguese. I am fluent in all four, spoken and written. I lived 12 years in Canada, in [TBD: city], and I live now in Yguazú, Alto Paraná.

07Press

Coverage of MosquitOFF

Coverage in Spanish and English, from Paraguay and Brazil.

Newest first
DateOutletHeadline
La Clave Yguazú incorpora plataforma predictiva para fortalecer la prevención del dengue
Asunción Times MosquitOFF App Brings NASA-Backed Dengue Prediction To Paraguay's Yguazú
Extra Con satélite controlarán a los mosquitos en Alto Paraná
[TBD: press coverage of the Belt and Road and BRICS skills competition in Guangzhou: date, outlet, headline, link]
[TBD: press coverage of the AI competition, 2nd place: date, outlet, headline, link]
Paraguay.com MosquitOFF: la app paraguaya premiada por la NASA que combate al mosquito del dengue
Ponta Porã Informa (Brazil) MosquitOFF: la app paraguaya premiada por la NASA que combate al mosquito del dengue
08References

Who can speak to the work

Letters and contact details are available on request. [TBD: the three letters could be published here as PDFs, with each writer's permission]

Names, titles and organisations
NameTitleOrganisationWritten letter
Florian Rival CEO GDevelop Ltd Yes
Dr. Carolina Scott Academic Director, Faculty of Medicine Universidad Nacional de Itapúa Yes
Patrick Ewald CEO Epic Pictures Group Yes
Rodrigo Ramírez Executive Director IGDA Paraguay No

[TBD: one or two sentences from Florian Rival's letter]

Florian Rival, CEO, GDevelop Ltd

[TBD: one or two sentences from Dr. Carolina Scott's letter]

Dr. Carolina Scott, Academic Director, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Itapúa
09Contact

Write to me

[TBD: portrait, natural light, Yguazú]

marcos@bds.com.py

Open to
[TBD: what I am open to, e.g. partnerships, speaking, public-health deployments]
LinkedIn
[TBD: LinkedIn URL]
GitHub
[TBD: GitHub URL]
CV
Download CV (PDF) [TBD: this PDF is generated by printing this page to PDF]
Time zone
Paraguay, UTC−3