diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 849f661368..e7a20bbd2b 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -23,6 +23,13 @@ OSM_SCOPE=read_prefs
 OSM_LOGIN_REDIRECT_URI=http://127.0.0.1:8080/osmauth/
 OSM_SECRET_KEY=xxx
 
+### S3 File Storage ###
+S3_ENDPOINT="http://s3:9000"
+S3_ACCESS_KEY="fmtm"
+S3_SECRET_KEY="somelongpassword"
+S3_BUCKET_NAME_BASEMAPS="basemaps"
+S3_BUCKET_NAME_OVERLAYS="overlays"
+
 ### Database (optional) ###
 CENTRAL_DB_HOST=central-db
 CENTRAL_DB_USER=odk
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build_and_deploy.yml b/.github/workflows/build_and_deploy.yml
index 1bc20f936d..7584fd6446 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build_and_deploy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build_and_deploy.yml
@@ -102,6 +102,8 @@ jobs:
           #   -e OSM_CLIENT_ID="test" \
           #   -e OSM_CLIENT_SECRET="test" \
           #   -e OSM_SECRET_KEY="test" \
+          #   -e S3_ACCESS_KEY="fmtm" \
+          #   -e S3_SECRET_KEY="somelongpassword" \
           #   "ghcr.io/hotosm/fmtm/backend:${API_VERSION}-${GIT_BRANCH}"
 
           # # First wait 10 seconds for API
diff --git a/.github/workflows/r-pytest.yml b/.github/workflows/r-pytest.yml
index 5a2a4c502e..bd5bf87b85 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/r-pytest.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/r-pytest.yml
@@ -78,6 +78,8 @@ jobs:
           OSM_CLIENT_ID: "${{ secrets.OSM_CLIENT_ID }}"
           OSM_CLIENT_SECRET: "${{ secrets.OSM_CLIENT_SECRET }}"
           OSM_SECRET_KEY: "${{ secrets.OSM_SECRET_KEY }}"
+          S3_ACCESS_KEY: "fmtm"
+          S3_SECRET_KEY: "somelongpassword"
         run: |
           echo "DEBUG=${DEBUG}" >> .env
           echo "LOG_LEVEL=${LOG_LEVEL}" >> .env
@@ -89,6 +91,8 @@ jobs:
           echo "OSM_CLIENT_ID=${OSM_CLIENT_ID}" >> .env
           echo "OSM_CLIENT_SECRET=${OSM_CLIENT_SECRET}" >> .env
           echo "OSM_SECRET_KEY=${OSM_SECRET_KEY}" >> .env
+          echo "S3_ACCESS_KEY=${S3_ACCESS_KEY}" >> .env
+          echo "S3_SECRET_KEY=${S3_SECRET_KEY}" >> .env
 
       - name: Run PyTest
         run: |
diff --git a/INSTALL.md b/INSTALL.md
index 1e297b356d..ddf3d760ad 100644
--- a/INSTALL.md
+++ b/INSTALL.md
@@ -100,6 +100,11 @@ OSM_SCOPE=read_prefs
 OSM_LOGIN_REDIRECT_URI=http://127.0.0.1:8080/osmauth/
 OSM_SECRET_KEY=<random_key_for_development>
 
+### S3 File Storage ###
+S3_ENDPOINT="http://s3:9000"
+S3_ACCESS_KEY=`<a_long_access_key>`
+S3_SECRET_KEY=`<a_long_secret_key>`
+
 ### Database (optional) ###
 CENTRAL_DB_HOST=central-db
 CENTRAL_DB_USER=odk
diff --git a/docker-compose.noodk.yml b/docker-compose.noodk.yml
index 61f2ea8260..e46355c2b5 100644
--- a/docker-compose.noodk.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.noodk.yml
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ version: "3"
 
 volumes:
   fmtm_db_data:
+  fmtm_data:
   fmtm_logs:
   fmtm_images:
   fmtm_tiles:
@@ -103,3 +104,20 @@ services:
     networks:
       - fmtm-dev
     restart: "unless-stopped"
+
+  s3:
+    image: "docker.io/minio/minio:RELEASE.2023-10-07T15-07-38Z"
+    container_name: fmtm_s3
+    environment:
+      MINIO_ROOT_USER: ${S3_ACCESS_KEY:-fmtm}
+      MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${S3_SECRET_KEY:-somelongpassword}
+      MINIO_VOLUMES: "/mnt/data"
+      MINIO_BROWSER: off
+    volumes:
+      - fmtm_data:/mnt/data
+    ports:
+      - 9000:9000
+    networks:
+      - fmtm-dev
+    command: minio server # --console-address ":9090"
+    restart: "unless-stopped"
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 713aebeb5f..73309e19e6 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -18,11 +18,12 @@
 version: "3"
 
 volumes:
+  fmtm_data:
   fmtm_db_data:
+  central_db_data:
   fmtm_logs:
   fmtm_images:
   fmtm_tiles:
-  central_db_data:
 
 networks:
   fmtm-dev:
@@ -67,6 +68,7 @@ services:
     depends_on:
       - fmtm-db
       - migrations
+      - s3
       - central-proxy
     env_file:
       - .env
@@ -180,3 +182,20 @@ services:
     networks:
       - fmtm-dev
     restart: "unless-stopped"
+
+  s3:
+    image: "docker.io/minio/minio:RELEASE.2023-10-07T15-07-38Z"
+    container_name: fmtm_s3
+    environment:
+      MINIO_ROOT_USER: ${S3_ACCESS_KEY:-fmtm}
+      MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${S3_SECRET_KEY:-somelongpassword}
+      MINIO_VOLUMES: "/mnt/data"
+      MINIO_BROWSER: off
+    volumes:
+      - fmtm_data:/mnt/data
+    ports:
+      - 9000:9000
+    networks:
+      - fmtm-dev
+    command: minio server # --console-address ":9090"
+    restart: "unless-stopped"
diff --git a/docs/dev/Production.md b/docs/dev/Production.md
index 6fdf307019..2a8d8812e3 100644
--- a/docs/dev/Production.md
+++ b/docs/dev/Production.md
@@ -70,6 +70,11 @@ that file to contain the needful (it should look like this):
     OSM_LOGIN_REDIRECT_URI=`<FRONTEND_URL>`/osmauth/
     OSM_SECRET_KEY=`<CHANGEME>`
 
+    ### S3 File Storage ###
+    S3_ENDPOINT="http://s3:9000"
+    S3_ACCESS_KEY=`<CHANGEME>`
+    S3_SECRET_KEY=`<CHANGEME>`
+
     FMTM_DB_HOST=fmtm-db
     FMTM_DB_USER=fmtm
     FMTM_DB_PASSWORD=`<CHANGEME>`
diff --git a/docs/dev/Setup.md b/docs/dev/Setup.md
index 03b0faf4d6..eec20af1de 100644
--- a/docs/dev/Setup.md
+++ b/docs/dev/Setup.md
@@ -280,6 +280,11 @@ OSM_SCOPE=read_prefs
 OSM_LOGIN_REDIRECT_URI=http://127.0.0.1:8080/osmauth/
 OSM_SECRET_KEY=<random_key_for_development>
 
+### S3 File Storage ###
+S3_ENDPOINT="http://s3:9000"
+S3_ACCESS_KEY=`<a_long_access_key>`
+S3_SECRET_KEY=`<a_long_secret_key>`
+
 ### Database (optional) ###
 CENTRAL_DB_HOST=central-db
 CENTRAL_DB_USER=odk
diff --git a/docs/dev/Troubleshooting.md b/docs/dev/Troubleshooting.md
index c257922f54..290edaf7e0 100644
--- a/docs/dev/Troubleshooting.md
+++ b/docs/dev/Troubleshooting.md
@@ -44,5 +44,6 @@ an alternative can be to feed them into the pdm command:
 ```bash
 FRONTEND_MAIN_URL="" \
 OSM_CLIENT_ID="" OSM_CLIENT_SECRET="" OSM_SECRET_KEY="" \
+S3_ACCESS_KEY="" S3_SECRET_KEY="" \
 pdm run uvicorn app.main:api --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000
 ```
diff --git a/src/backend/app-entrypoint.sh b/src/backend/app-entrypoint.sh
index 259e74c550..f6ecf5af64 100644
--- a/src/backend/app-entrypoint.sh
+++ b/src/backend/app-entrypoint.sh
@@ -19,5 +19,33 @@ wait_for_db() {
     exit 1  # Exit with an error code
 }
 
-wait_for_db
+wait_for_s3() {
+    max_retries=30
+    retry_interval=5
+
+    for ((i = 0; i < max_retries; i++)); do
+        if curl --silent -I ${S3_ENDPOINT} >/dev/null; then
+            echo "S3 is available."
+            return 0  # S3 is available, exit successfully
+        fi
+        echo "S3 is not yet available. Retrying in ${retry_interval} seconds..."
+        sleep ${retry_interval}
+    done
+
+    echo "Timed out waiting for S3 to become available."
+    exit 1  # Exit with an error code
+}
+
+create_s3_buckets() {
+    echo "Running init_s3_buckets.py script main function"
+    python /opt/app/s3.py
+}
+
+# Start wait in background with tmp log files
+wait_for_db &
+wait_for_s3 &
+# Wait until checks complete
+wait
+
+create_s3_buckets
 exec "$@"
diff --git a/src/backend/app/config.py b/src/backend/app/config.py
index fe4b525775..7ceb234468 100644
--- a/src/backend/app/config.py
+++ b/src/backend/app/config.py
@@ -107,6 +107,12 @@ def assemble_db_connection(cls, v: Optional[str], info: FieldValidationInfo) ->
     OSM_SCOPE: str = "read_prefs"
     OSM_LOGIN_REDIRECT_URI: str = "http://127.0.0.1:8080/osmauth/"
 
+    S3_ENDPOINT: str = "http://s3:9000"
+    S3_ACCESS_KEY: str
+    S3_SECRET_KEY: str
+    S3_BUCKET_NAME_BASEMAPS: str = "basemaps"
+    S3_BUCKET_NAME_OVERLAYS: str = "overlays"
+
     UNDERPASS_API_URL: str = "https://raw-data-api0.hotosm.org/v1"
     SENTRY_DSN: Optional[str] = None
 
diff --git a/src/backend/app/s3.py b/src/backend/app/s3.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..855d53fff1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/backend/app/s3.py
@@ -0,0 +1,139 @@
+"""Initialise the S3 buckets for FMTM to function."""
+
+import sys
+from io import BytesIO
+
+from loguru import logger as log
+from minio import Minio
+
+from app.config import settings
+
+
+def s3_client():
+    """Return the initialised S3 client with credentials."""
+    minio_url, is_secure = is_connection_secure(settings.S3_ENDPOINT)
+
+    log.debug("Connecting to Minio S3 server")
+    return Minio(
+        minio_url,
+        settings.S3_ACCESS_KEY,
+        settings.S3_SECRET_KEY,
+        secure=is_secure,
+    )
+
+
+def add_file_to_bucket(bucket_name: str, file_path: str, s3_path: str):
+    """Upload a file from the filesystem to an S3 bucket.
+
+    Args:
+        bucket_name (str): The name of the S3 bucket.
+        file_path (str): The path to the file on the local filesystem.
+        s3_path (str): The path in the S3 bucket where the file will be stored.
+    """
+    client = s3_client()
+    client.fput_object(bucket_name, file_path, s3_path)
+
+
+def add_obj_to_bucket(bucket_name: str, file_obj: BytesIO, s3_path: str):
+    """Upload a BytesIO object to an S3 bucket.
+
+    Args:
+        bucket_name (str): The name of the S3 bucket.
+        file_obj (BytesIO): A BytesIO object containing the data to be uploaded.
+        s3_path (str): The path in the S3 bucket where the data will be stored.
+    """
+    client = s3_client()
+    result = client.put_object(bucket_name, file_obj, s3_path)
+    log.debug(
+        f"Created {result.object_name} object; etag: {result.etag}, "
+        f"version-id: {result.version_id}"
+    )
+
+
+def get_file_from_bucket(bucket_name: str, s3_path: str, file_path: str):
+    """Download a file from an S3 bucket and save it to the local filesystem.
+
+    Args:
+        bucket_name (str): The name of the S3 bucket.
+        s3_path (str): The path to the file in the S3 bucket.
+        file_path (str): The path on the local filesystem where the S3
+            file will be saved.
+    """
+    client = s3_client()
+    client.fget_object(bucket_name, s3_path, file_path)
+
+
+def get_obj_from_bucket(bucket_name: str, s3_path: str) -> BytesIO:
+    """Download an S3 object from a bucket and return it as a BytesIO object.
+
+    Args:
+        bucket_name (str): The name of the S3 bucket.
+        s3_path (str): The path to the S3 object in the bucket.
+
+    Returns:
+        BytesIO: A BytesIO object containing the content of the downloaded S3 object.
+    """
+    client = s3_client()
+    try:
+        response = client.get_object(bucket_name, s3_path)
+        return BytesIO(response.read())
+    finally:
+        response.close()
+        response.release_conn()
+
+
+def create_bucket_if_not_exists(client: Minio, bucket_name: str):
+    """Checks if a bucket exits, else creates it."""
+    if not client.bucket_exists(bucket_name):
+        log.info(f"Creating S3 bucket: {bucket_name}")
+        client.make_bucket(bucket_name)
+    else:
+        log.debug(f"S3 bucket already exists: {bucket_name}")
+
+
+def is_connection_secure(minio_url: str):
+    """Determine from URL string if is http or https."""
+    if minio_url.startswith("http://"):
+        secure = False
+        stripped_url = minio_url[len("http://") :]
+        log.warning("S3 URL is insecure (ignore if on devserver)")
+
+    elif minio_url.startswith("https://"):
+        secure = True
+        stripped_url = minio_url[len("https://") :]
+
+    else:
+        err = (
+            "The S3_ENDPOINT is set incorrectly. "
+            "It must start with http:// or https://"
+        )
+        log.error(err)
+        raise ValueError(err)
+
+    return stripped_url, secure
+
+
+def startup_init_buckets():
+    """Wrapper to create defined buckets at startup."""
+    # Logging
+    log.remove()
+    log.add(
+        sys.stderr,
+        level=settings.LOG_LEVEL,
+        format=(
+            "{time:YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss.SSS} | {level: <8} "
+            "| {name}:{function}:{line} | {message}"
+        ),
+        colorize=True,
+        backtrace=True,  # More detailed tracebacks
+        catch=True,  # Prevent app crashes
+    )
+
+    # Init S3 Buckets
+    client = s3_client()
+    create_bucket_if_not_exists(client, settings.S3_BUCKET_NAME_BASEMAPS)
+    create_bucket_if_not_exists(client, settings.S3_BUCKET_NAME_OVERLAYS)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    startup_init_buckets()
diff --git a/src/backend/pdm.lock b/src/backend/pdm.lock
index 4d38030760..a440777665 100644
--- a/src/backend/pdm.lock
+++ b/src/backend/pdm.lock
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ groups = ["default", "test", "dev", "docs", "debug"]
 cross_platform = true
 static_urls = false
 lock_version = "4.3"
-content_hash = "sha256:58849917d219600e52b8f65aadfb900919883b3eaff54b30ba07ce6f48654a12"
+content_hash = "sha256:26442935d8f062b7a5d6ceeaf544bab11d9099cd47a19c17df8f3d3415a32bfb"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "annotated-types"
@@ -772,6 +772,19 @@ files = [
     {file = "mergedeep-1.3.4.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:0096d52e9dad9939c3d975a774666af186eda617e6ca84df4c94dec30004f2a8"},
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "minio"
+version = "7.1.17"
+summary = "MinIO Python SDK for Amazon S3 Compatible Cloud Storage"
+dependencies = [
+    "certifi",
+    "urllib3",
+]
+files = [
+    {file = "minio-7.1.17-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:0aa525d77a3bc61378444c2400b0ba2685ad4cd6ecb3fba4141a0d0765e25f40"},
+    {file = "minio-7.1.17.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:b0b687c1ec9be422a1f8b04c65fb8e43a1c090f9508178db57c434a17341c404"},
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "mkdocs"
 version = "1.5.3"
diff --git a/src/backend/pyproject.toml b/src/backend/pyproject.toml
index aed1f320d5..a85f0f4ac4 100644
--- a/src/backend/pyproject.toml
+++ b/src/backend/pyproject.toml
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "osm-login-python==1.0.1",
     "osm-fieldwork==0.3.6",
     "osm-rawdata==0.1.3",
+    "minio>=7.1.17",
 ]
 requires-python = ">=3.10,<3.12"
 readme = "../../README.md"