Wasafiri
Wasafiri is a Nairobi-based development consultancy founded in 2010 that applies its proprietary Systemcraft methodology to systems-change challenges in food, climate, peace, and inclusion for governments, foundations, NGOs, and multilateral institutions across Africa and globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Wasafiri does
Wasafiri is a Nairobi-headquartered development consultancy founded in 2010 that applies a proprietary systems-change methodology, 'Systemcraft,' to complex social and environmental challenges across food systems, livelihoods, climate, nature, peace, and inclusion. The firm delivers five core service lines to governments, foundations, NGOs, and multinational institutions: Action Planning (co-designing strategy), Learning, Leadership, Collaboration (network design), and Inclusion. Wasafiri monetizes primarily through project-based consulting commissions from major institutional buyers (e.g., UK DFID/FCDO, British High Commission East Africa, WEF, UN WFP, African Union Commission, NEPAD, Gates Foundation), with supplementary revenue from courses delivered via the Systemcraft Institute. It operates with 11-50 employees from a Kenya HQ and a Brighton (UK) satellite office, claiming 100+ assignments across six continents with an East Africa focus, and is B-Corp certified.
The firm's core intellectual technology is Systemcraft - a framework developed through frontline consulting experience and grounded in complexity, adaptive management, and social-movement theory, designed to help leaders identify leverage points and shift entrenched dynamics in complex systems. Wasafiri packages this framework across multiple surfaces: Systemcraft Labs (participatory workshops for clients such as the NHS and Metropolitan Police), the Systemcraft Institute (structured online courses including 'Systemcraft Essentials' and 'Climate & Nature Sprint'), and stewardship of multi-stakeholder platforms such as Grow Africa ($10 billion in mobilized investment, 230 companies, 10 million smallholders reached), Generation Africa (50 million individuals reached through GoGettaz), and the African Food Fellowship. GTM is sales-led, driven by reputation and the firm's convening relationships with major multilateral and foundation clients, augmented by content marketing via a regular blog and presence at forums such as the African Green Revolution Forum and Davos.
Wasafiri firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Wasafiri
- Legal name
- Wasafiri Consulting
- Website
- https://wasafirihub.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Wasafiri is a Nairobi-based development consultancy founded in 2010 that applies its proprietary Systemcraft methodology to systems-change challenges in food, climate, peace, and inclusion for governments, foundations, NGOs, and multilateral institutions across Africa and globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Wasafiri industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Management Consulting
- NAICS
- Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Environmental Consulting Services (541620)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Program & Project Implementation (TA Delivery) (BPADAEAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK), Environmental Education, Capacity Building & Community Engagement (BPADALAO)
Keywords
Where Wasafiri is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nairobi
- HQ country
- Kenya
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices2 records
Markets served
Wasafiri business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Consulting Services: Wasafiri generates revenue through consultancy engagements with governments, foundations, NGOs, and companies. Their services help partners turn systems change ambition into practical action by shaping strategy, enabling learning, equipping leaders, strengthening collaboration, and advancing inclusion.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Wasafiri product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Wasafiri is a development consultancy that helps leaders and organizations tackle complex, systemic problems through its proprietary Systemcraft methodology. The firm offers advisory services spanning action planning, learning enablement, leadership development, collaborative network design, and inclusion work, primarily focused on food systems, livelihoods, climate, nature, peace, and inclusion challenges. It also delivers training through the Systemcraft Institute and runs flagship multi-stakeholder initiatives such as Generation Africa, Grow Africa, and the African Food Fellowship.
Product overview
Wasafiri is a development consultancy (not a technology/software product company) offering advisory services centered on its proprietary Systemcraft methodology. The core offering is Systemcraft, a practical framework for systems change applied to complex social and environmental problems. This is supported by the Systemcraft Institute educational platform offering courses (Systemcraft Essentials, Climate & Nature Sprint), the Systemcraft Labs participatory workshop offering, and various initiatives including African Food Fellowship, Generation Africa, and Grow Africa. Services span action planning, learning enablement, leadership development, collaboration design, and inclusion work. The company operates from Kenya with global reach.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Systemcraft Institute: Wasafiri's approach to creating transformational change. A practical framework for creating system-level change in face of big, messy, and seemingly intractable problems. Also offers online courses and a community for leaders and practitioners.
Products and services
- Systems Change Consulting Services Advisory services for governments, foundations, NGOs, and companies, helping partners turn systems change ambition into practical action. Spans Action Planning (co-designing strategies and initiatives), Learning (systems-focused learning), Leadership (equipping leaders), Collaboration (designing collaborative networks), and Inclusion (shifting power and centering lived experience).
- Systemcraft Methodology Wasafiri's core proprietary methodology for creating system-level change in the face of complex, messy, and seemingly intractable problems. Applied in client engagements to tackle food, livelihoods, climate, nature, peace, and inclusion challenges.
- Systemcraft Institute Courses Educational platform that shares Systemcraft with leaders and practitioners working to create a more equitable, sustainable and peaceful world. Offers courses including Systemcraft Essentials and the Climate & Nature Sprint, and hosts a community of practice.
- Systemcraft Labs Participatory workshop offering for organizations to develop practical ways to generate system-level change. Works with real, live, and specific challenges using Systemcraft to help participants think in new ways about familiar issues. Can be delivered to large or small groups.
Quantifiable outcome
- Mobilized US$10 billion in investment commitments through Grow Africa partnership
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Wasafiri
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Wasafiri technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Wasafiri partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and Embassy of Kingdom of Netherlands NairobicoreJointly authored regional analysis on scaling climate-smart agriculture practices across East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania), examining portfolio of Dutch-funded programming.
- World Food Programme (UN)coreContracted by UN Food Systems Summit secretariat to engage SMEs globally, resulting in 'Best 50 Small Businesses' competition with 1,700+ applicants from 135 countries and development of SME Agenda report.
- Generation Africa (Yara International, Econet Group)coreWasafiri was commissioned by Yara to build and lead Generation Africa, a transformative partnership supporting youth agripreneurship across Africa. The initiative includes GoGettaz campaign reaching 50 million people and building a community of over 25,000 aspiring agripreneurs.
- UK DFID (now FCDO)coreCommissioned to lead collaborative poverty graduation efforts in Kenya, coordinating between DFID, USAID, World Bank, EU and Gates Foundation with government ministries and County Governments.
- Grow Africa (African Union Commission, NEPAD, World Economic Forum)coreWasafiri connected African Union's CAADP plan with World Economic Forum's 'New Vision for Agriculture' to birth Grow Africa in 2011. The partnership platform accelerates investments for sustainable growth in African agriculture, mobilizing US$10 billion in commitments by 230 companies. Wasafiri has provided ongoing strategic support, stakeholder engagement, and project management since inception.
- African Food Fellowship (AFF)coreWasafiri curates the African Food Fellowship, a continental network of emerging leaders driving food system transformation. The fellowship empowers hundreds of leaders to shape Africa's food systems.
- Systemcraft InstitutecoreWasafiri's approach to systems change has been formalized into the Systemcraft Institute, which shares the methodology with leaders and practitioners worldwide through courses and a community of practice.
- World Economic ForumcoreSupported development of strategy and impact measurement frameworks for the Platform of Global Public Goods, working with multiple thematic platforms including ocean health and urbanization initiatives.
- Village EnterpriseminorPartnership for poverty graduation work in West Pokot, Kenya, combining Wasafiri's systems change expertise with Village Enterprise's graduation program implementation.
- Climate KICminorCollaboration on intermediaries, funding and systems change work, resulting in published research and analysis.
- Blue Climate InitiativeminorStrategic support provided to Blue Climate Summit, an initiative accelerating ocean-based solutions to climate change, endorsed by UN Decade of Ocean Science.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Wasafiri competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Dalberg: Dalberg is a global consultancy working on international development, social impact, and systems change with a strong Africa presence. Like Wasafiri, it serves foundations, multilaterals, and governments on complex strategy and partnership design across food systems, climate, and inclusion.
- Palladium: Palladium is an international development consultancy implementing large donor-funded programmes across Africa and globally. It competes with Wasafiri on systems change advisory, multi-stakeholder partnership design, and inclusive economic growth mandates.
- FSG (FSGO): FSG is a mission-driven consulting firm advising foundations and global development organizations on strategy, evaluation, and systems change. Its focus on collective impact and shared measurement closely parallels Wasafiri's collaboration and learning offerings.
- Development Alternatives Inc (DAI): DAI is a global development company implementing donor-funded projects across governance, agriculture, and economic growth. It is a peer on the program implementation and capacity-building work that Wasafiri delivers for DFID, USAID, and similar clients.
- Africa Practice: Africa Practice is an Africa-focused advisory firm providing political economy, strategy, and stakeholder engagement services to investors, donors, and companies. It is a peer on the Africa-rooted advisory model serving governments, foundations, and corporates with complex country-level mandates.
- The Partnering Initiative: The Partnering Initiative is a specialist consultancy focused on multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainable development. Its partnership brokering and cross-sector collaboration work directly overlaps Wasafiri's collaboration and partnership design services.
- Itad: Itad is a UK-headquartered consultancy providing monitoring, evaluation, and learning services to international development organizations. It is a peer on the learning enablement, systems-focused M&E, and donor-facing advisory work Wasafiri performs.
Broad incumbents
- Pact: Pact is a large international development NGO with consulting, capacity building, and program delivery arms focused on health, livelihoods, and governance in Africa. It is a broad incumbent peer across the African development consulting landscape where Wasafiri operates.
Emerging players
- Bannerman Center: Bannerman Center is a systems change consultancy supporting leaders tackling complex social challenges through training and advisory. It mirrors Wasafiri's Systemcraft Institute positioning with cohort-based leadership programs and methodology-led consulting.
Others
- OnThink Tanks: OnThink Tanks is an applied research initiative supporting policy research organizations and think tanks in the Global South. It sits adjacent to Wasafiri's leadership and capacity-building work, particularly on inclusion and policy systems change.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks1 record
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Wasafiri social profiles
Digital presenceWasafiri compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Wasafiri financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Wasafiri leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Wasafiri funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Wasafiri M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Wasafiri
What does Wasafiri do?
Wasafiri is a development consultancy that helps leaders and organizations tackle complex, systemic problems through its proprietary Systemcraft methodology. The firm offers advisory services spanning action planning, learning enablement, leadership development, collaborative network design, and inclusion work, primarily focused on food systems, livelihoods, climate, nature, peace, and inclusion challenges. It also delivers training through the Systemcraft Institute and runs flagship multi-stakeholder initiatives such as Generation Africa, Grow Africa, and the African Food Fellowship.
Is Wasafiri a public or private company?
Wasafiri is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Wasafiri founded?
Wasafiri was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Wasafiri based?
Wasafiri is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, in the Africa region.
How does Wasafiri make money?
One revenue line is on record: consulting Services.
Who are Wasafiri's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Dalberg, Palladium, FSG (FSGO), Development Alternatives Inc (DAI), Africa Practice, The Partnering Initiative and Itad. Pact is listed as a broad incumbent. Bannerman Center is listed as an emerging player. OnThink Tanks is listed as an others.
Does Wasafiri have an API?
No public API is recorded for Wasafiri.
What industry is Wasafiri in?
Wasafiri's product category is Management Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAEAA, Program & Project Implementation (TA Delivery), with a secondary code of BPADAEAK, Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming. Its NAICS code is 54169 and its SIC code is 8742.