Namati
Namati is a U.S.-based nonprofit that advances legal empowerment globally by deploying community paralegals in six countries and convening the Grassroots Justice Network of 14,000+ justice defenders across 190 countries, serving marginalized communities facing land dispossession, statelessness, and barriers to healthcare.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Namati does
Namati is a U.S.-incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit (Namati, Inc., Delaware) founded in 2012 by Vivek Maru, the former co-founder of Sierra Leone's Timap for Justice. It is the world's leading organization dedicated to legal empowerment, deploying community paralegals to help marginalized populations resolve concrete justice problems and aggregating those cases into advocacy for law and policy reform. The organization operates from headquarters in Washington, D.C. and a regional hub in Nairobi, Kenya, with the majority of leadership, board, and staff based in the Global South.
The core platform is the Grassroots Justice Network, convened by Namati, with members in 190 countries and described as the largest global community of justice defenders. Namati delivers programs across three verticals: Health Justice (Mozambique, 76 facilities), Land & Environmental Justice (Kenya, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, India, USA), and Citizenship Justice (Kenya, Bangladesh). In 2026 it is launching the Grassroots Justice Network Academy as a world-class learning institute. Supporting products include Carbon Justice Principles (incorporated into Verra's rewritten 2025 standard), training curricula, and publications such as The Playbook of Justice and Power Up. The organization does not sell commercial products or services and does not operate proprietary technology; its core "technology" is a community paralegal methodology refined over more than a decade.
Funding comes primarily from institutional grants. Twenty-nine institutional donors supported the organization in 2025, including the Skoll Foundation, Hewlett, Packard, Mott, Kellogg, Open Society-related, and MacKenzie Scott, alongside foreign-aid funders (UK FCDO, Global Affairs Canada, IDRC). Total 2025 budget was $16.2M, and the organization has held a clean independent audit since 2012. It also received the $20M Racial Equity 2030 Prize. The team totaled 221 staff and partner paralegals in 2025, and the network reports it has directly improved outcomes for over 5 million people and contributed to 75+ law and policy changes benefitting 100-155 million people.
Namati firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Namati
- Legal name
- Namati, Inc.
- Website
- https://namati.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Namati is a U.S.-based nonprofit that advances legal empowerment globally by deploying community paralegals in six countries and convening the Grassroots Justice Network of 14,000+ justice defenders across 190 countries, serving marginalized communities facing land dispossession, statelessness, and barriers to healthcare.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Namati industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Legal Empowerment Services
- NAICS
- Human Rights Organizations (813311), Individual and Family Services (6241)
- SIC
- Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Governance, Democracy & Rule of Law (BPAGABAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Civil Society Strengthening & Civic Space (BPADAGAD), Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)
Keywords
Where Namati is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Namati business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individual supporters worldwide, processed through the website, Facebook fundraisers, checks, DAF Direct, and stock transfers.
- Institutional Donor Funding: Funding from foundations and institutional donors including Paul M. Angell Foundation, Marshmere Foundation, Robert Bosch Stiftung, Christensen Fund, Goldsmith Foundation, Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, Luminate, Montpelier Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Ray and Tye Noorda Foundation, Packard Foundation, Sall Family Foundation, Ms. MacKenzie Scott, Skoll Foundation, Target Foundation, UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office, Global Affairs Canada, and International Development Research Centre.
- Total Budget: Namati's total budget in 2025 was $16.2M, with a clean independent audit since inception in 2012.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Namati product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Namati advances social and environmental justice by deploying community paralegals and convening the Grassroots Justice Network (members in 190 countries) to help marginalized communities use the law to resolve concrete grievances and reform laws and policies. Its direct service work spans Health Justice (76 facilities in Mozambique), Land & Environmental Justice (India, Kenya, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, USA), and Citizenship Justice (Kenya, Bangladesh); it also publishes resources such as The Playbook of Justice, Power Up, and Grassroots Justice: Pathways to Systems Change, and produces the A Common Pot podcast.
Product overview
Namati is the world's leading organization focused on legal empowerment, operating as a platform-plus-programs model. The core offering is the Grassroots Justice Network—a global network with members in 190 countries that provides connection, learning, and action resources for justice defenders. In 2026, Namati launched the Grassroots Justice Network Academy to serve as a world-class learning institute. The organization delivers programs across three justice areas: Health Justice (Mozambique), Land & Environmental Justice (Kenya, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, India, USA), and Citizenship Justice (Kenya, Bangladesh). Supporting offerings include training curricula, publications (The Playbook of Justice, Grassroots Justice: Pathways to Systems Change, Power Up), the 'A Common Pot' podcast, and carbon justice principles incorporated into Verra's global standards. Namati's total 2025 budget was $16.2M and the organization employs 221 staff and partner paralegals.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Grassroots Justice Network A global network convened by Namati that connects justice defenders across 190 countries to share resources, training, and collective action on legal empowerment. It is the world's largest network of justice defenders, designed for grassroots organizations and individual paralegals.
- Grassroots Justice Network Academy A world-class learning institute built on the Grassroots Justice Network that delivers curricula designed by Network members as curriculum designers, facilitators, and thought partners. It is intended for grassroots justice defenders and movement leaders seeking structured leadership development.
- Health Justice Program (Mozambique) Deploys grassroots health advocates across 76 health facilities in Mozambique to bridge the gap between health policy and practice, resolving grievances on absenteeism, mistreatment, bribery, breaches of confidentiality, and missing drugs. Targets 975+ newly trained health advocates/paralegals since 2019.
- Land & Environmental Justice Program Supports communities in Kenya, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, India, and the USA to combine the power of law and organizing to protect rights and the environment. Spans community land protection, investor negotiations, and climate resilience, and was instrumental in the carbon agreement protecting 79,000 hectares of mangrove forests in Sierra Leone.
- Citizenship Justice Program Works in Kenya and Bangladesh to address statelessness and secure legal identity documentation, helping people obtain identity documents to access healthcare, employment, education, and banking; credited with contributing to Kenya's abolition of its decades-old discriminatory ID vetting system.
- Carbon Justice Principles & Standards A six-principle framework developed by Namati and Grassroots Justice Network members for making carbon projects fair to frontline communities. Incorporated into Verra's rewritten social and environmental carbon standard in 2025.
- A Common Pot Podcast A podcast featuring real stories from grassroots justice defenders navigating rising authoritarianism and shrinking civic space. Distributed on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts and accompanied by video documentaries screened at film festivals.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 5 million people directly improved
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Namati
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Namati technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Namati partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- VerraflagshipVerra, the world's largest carbon certifier, incorporated principles from the Grassroots Justice Network and frontline communities in a rewrite of their social and environmental standard for carbon projects. This partnership led to new rules requiring free, prior, informed consent, revenue sharing, and legal agreements for land-based projects.
- Bernstein Institute at NYU LawcoreNamati partnered with the Bernstein Institute at NYU Law to grow the U.S. Legal Empowerment Network, supporting the growth of legal empowerment across issues and across the United States.
- Land and Equity Movement in Uganda (LEMU)corePartner organization working on community land protection in Uganda. LEMU has produced publications with Namati including the Uganda Community Guide on protecting community lands.
- Sustainable Development Institute Liberia (SDI)corePartner organization working on community land protection in Liberia. SDI has collaborated with Namati on land governance documentation and case studies.
- Centro Terra Viva Mozambique (CTV)corePartner organization in Mozambique that Namati worked with from 2009-2015 on community land protection initiatives.
- Kenya Land Alliance (KLA)corePartner organization working on land rights in Kenya. KLA collaborated with Namati on participatory community mapping tools in Tana River.
- Oxfam InternationalcoreInternational development organization partnering on community land protection efforts across Africa.
- Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN)corePartner organization working on environmental and social issues in Myanmar.
- Centre for Policy Research IndiacorePartnered with Namati between 2012-2021 to study dynamics between written environmental regulations and actual implementation in India, working in four states.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Namati competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- International Development Law Organization (IDLO): The only intergovernmental organization exclusively devoted to promoting the rule of law and legal empowerment globally. IDLO partners with governments and civil society to advance justice, directly comparable to Namati's focus on community-level legal empowerment and policy reform.
- Avocats Sans Frontières (Lawyers Without Borders): An international NGO that uses legal action to defend human rights and support access to justice in fragile states, particularly in Africa. Operates at the intersection of legal aid, human rights, and development — directly comparable to Namati's paralegal methodology.
- HiiL (The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law): A justice innovation incubator operating in Africa and the Middle East, focused on user-friendly justice and legal empowerment. Shares Namati's model of combining data, technology, and field programs to expand access to justice for low-income populations.
- PILnet (Public Interest Law Network): Operates the Global Pro Bono movement and supports public interest law organizations across jurisdictions. Comparable to Namati in mission orientation toward legal empowerment and policy advocacy, though with a pro bono model rather than community paralegals.
- Accountable Now: A global membership network of civil society organizations committed to transparency and accountability, with rigorous reporting standards. Comparable to Namati's Grassroots Justice Network in network-based civil society infrastructure, with both serving as accountability and learning platforms for their respective member communities.
Broad incumbents
- Open Society Justice Initiative: An arm of the Open Society Foundations working on strategic litigation, advocacy, and capacity building for human rights and rule of law globally. Comparable mission but operates as part of a much larger philanthropic platform with funding and convening power well beyond Namati's scale.
- BRAC: The world's largest development NGO, operating in 11+ countries with a multi-sector approach including legal aid, gender justice, and community empowerment. Comparable in scale of community-level program delivery and global south leadership, though broader in scope than legal empowerment alone.
- Habitat for Humanity International: A large international nonprofit working on housing, land, and property rights with grassroots community organizing across 70+ countries. Comparable in community-led model and focus on land/property issues that intersect with Namati's Land & Environmental Justice program.
Regional players
- Namati's Grassroots Justice Network peer organizations: Timap for Justice Sierra Leone: The original community paralegal program co-founded by Namati CEO Vivek Maru in Sierra Leone in 2003. A direct ancestor and ongoing partner in Namati's methodology, with overlapping program models and shared leadership lineage.
Others
- Ford Foundation: A major funder of legal empowerment work globally (and likely a Namati donor) with its own BUILD program on inclusive economies and rights-based development. Relevant as both a comparable funder-influencer in the field and a potential strategic partner for scaling Namati's network.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Namati social profiles
Digital presenceNamati financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Namati leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Namati funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
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Namati M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about Namati
What does Namati do?
Namati advances social and environmental justice by deploying community paralegals and convening the Grassroots Justice Network (members in 190 countries) to help marginalized communities use the law to resolve concrete grievances and reform laws and policies. Its direct service work spans Health Justice (76 facilities in Mozambique), Land & Environmental Justice (India, Kenya, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, USA), and Citizenship Justice (Kenya, Bangladesh); it also publishes resources such as The Playbook of Justice, Power Up, and Grassroots Justice: Pathways to Systems Change, and produces the A Common Pot podcast.
Is Namati a public or private company?
Namati is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Namati founded?
Namati was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Namati based?
Namati is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Namati make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are institutional Donor Funding and total Budget.
Who are Namati's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are International Development Law Organization (IDLO), Avocats Sans Frontières (Lawyers Without Borders), HiiL (The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law), PILnet (Public Interest Law Network) and Accountable Now. Broad incumbents are Open Society Justice Initiative, BRAC and Habitat for Humanity International. Namati's Grassroots Justice Network peer organizations: Timap for Justice Sierra Leone is listed as a regional player. Ford Foundation is listed as an others.
Does Namati have an API?
No public API is recorded for Namati.
What industry is Namati in?
Namati's product category is Legal Empowerment Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGABAI, Governance, Democracy & Rule of Law, with a secondary code of BPADAGAD, Civil Society Strengthening & Civic Space. Its NAICS code is 813311 and its SIC code is 8111.