Smart Parks
Smart Parks is a Dutch nonprofit that designs and deploys solar-powered LoRaWAN IoT sensor networks, GPS collars, and a control room application to help conservation NGOs and government wildlife agencies track animals, rangers, and assets across protected areas in Africa, India, and Europe.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersUtrecht, Netherlands
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Smart Parks does
Smart Parks is a Dutch-registered nonprofit foundation (Stichting Smart Parks, ANBI) with a secondary UK charity entity, headquartered in Utrecht and founded in 2013 (rebranded to Smart Parks in 2018 following the merger of ShadowView Foundation and The Internet of Life). The organization builds end-to-end IoT-based wildlife protection and park management solutions based on private, solar-powered LoRaWAN networks, with integrated hardware (gateways, towers, animal and asset sensors), a web-based control room application, and an open-source software/community component (OpenCollar). Its product portfolio includes species-specific trackers — RhinoEdge (a GPS LoRaWAN horn implant priced at €150), ElephantEdge (an 8.5-year-battery GPS/LoRaWAN collar reporting every 15 minutes), CollarEdge and Smart Lion Collar for lions, and RangerEdge for anti-poaching teams — sold via a catalog and supported by training and AddaxAI Connect services.
Smart Parks firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Smart Parks
- Legal name
- Stichting Smart Parks
- Website
- https://smartparks.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Smart Parks is a Dutch nonprofit that designs and deploys solar-powered LoRaWAN IoT sensor networks, GPS collars, and a control room application to help conservation NGOs and government wildlife agencies track animals, rangers, and assets across protected areas in Africa, India, and Europe.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Smart Parks industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Wildlife Conservation Technology
- NAICS
- Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Wildlife Conservation & Species Protection (BPAGAGAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Conservation & Human–Wildlife Conflict Mitigation (BPAGAIAI), Animal Identification & Tracking Devices (Microchips, RFID, Tags, Scanners) (HLAMAFAL), Remote Monitoring & Connected Pet Care (Wearables, IoT, Chronic Care Programs) (HLAMAGAL)
Keywords
Where Smart Parks is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Utrecht
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Smart Parks business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a nonprofit organization registered in the Netherlands (ANBI) and UK (charity no. 1161238), Smart Parks relies on donations from individuals and organizations worldwide. Tax-deductible donations accepted in multiple currencies with various payment frequencies.
- Grants and Subsidies: Funding from grants and trusts including WWF Netherlands Innovation Fund, government subsidies, and institutional funders supporting conservation technology initiatives.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | One-time purchase | Rhino sensor priced at €150 for conservation organizations |
| Other | One-time donation | Protect a rhino - €500 donation |
| Other | One-time donation | Support a ranger team - €1,000 donation |
| Other | One-time donation | Protect a lion pride - €3,000 donation |
| Other | One-time donation | Protect roaming giants (elephants) - €5,000 donation |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Smart Parks product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Smart Parks designs, builds, and deploys LoRaWAN-based IoT sensor networks for wildlife conservation and protected-area management. Their offering combines private solar-powered communication networks, GPS-enabled animal tracking collars and implants (RhinoEdge, ElephantEdge, CollarEdge), ranger and vehicle trackers (RangerEdge), and an integrated web-based control room application that delivers real-time situational awareness to conservation teams in the field.
Product overview
Smart Parks is a non-profit organization providing a complete end-to-end wildlife protection technology platform consisting of IoT sensor networks (Smart Parks Sensor Network), animal tracking collars (RhinoEdge, ElephantEdge, CollarEdge), ranger protection devices (RangerEdge), and the open-source OpenCollar initiative. The core system uses private LoRaWAN networks running on solar power with data integrated into a control room application. Services include catalog products, training, and AddaxAI Connect. Deployments span Africa (Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya, Zambia, Namibia), India, and Europe (Netherlands), with deployments managed through partnerships with African Parks, Peace Parks Foundation, WWF, and EarthRanger.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- OpenCollar: Conservation collaboration to design, support and deploy open-source tracking collar hardware and software for environmental and wildlife monitoring projects.
Quantifiable outcome
- Saves over $500,000 annually compared to SMS-based tracking with only 100 sensors deployed
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Smart Parks
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Smart Parks technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature6 records
Smart Parks partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- LoRa AlliancecoreOpen, nonprofit association and fastest-growing technology alliance. Smart Parks joined as member to accelerate LoRaWAN technology adoption for conservation. Access to LoRa Alliance resources, standards development, and ecosystem collaboration.
- African ParkscorePrimary conservation partner managing protected areas across Africa. First Smart Park deployed in Akagera National Park (Rwanda). Largest deployment in Liwonde National Park (Malawi). Joint deployment of rhino sensors, elephant collars, and comprehensive park management systems.
- Peace Parks FoundationcoreOngoing collaboration supporting Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife to enhance anti-poaching efficiencies. Power monitoring sensors deployed at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi game reserve in South Africa.
- Big Life FoundationcoreFirst Smart Park deployment in Kenya for Amboseli-Tsavo-Kilimanjaro ecosystem protection. Gateway and sensors deployed for vehicle/ranger tracking and wildlife monitoring.
- SemtechsupportingTechnology provider supporting Tanzania rhino tracking deployment. Provided geolocation solver technology enabling accurate tracking without GPS systems.
- KerlinksupportingProvided geolocation-ready LoRaWAN gateways for Tanzania and other deployments. Hardware enables long-range connectivity for wildlife tracking sensors.
- The Internet of LifecoreCo-founded Smart Parks with ShadowView Foundation in 2018 merger. Combined expertise in LoRaWAN sensor technology and conservation to form unified organization.
- Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF)coreWorld's first Cheetah Smart Parks deployed on CCF's 67,000-hectare private reserve in Namibia. Technology monitors animals and assets on model farm and research centre.
- OpenCollar Initiative Partners (WWF, Save The Elephants, Peace Parks, Vulcan EarthRanger, IRNAS, Lacuna Space, Wildlabs, Conservify, Arribada)coreConservation collaboration to design, support and deploy open-source tracking collar hardware and software. Multiple organizations supporting wildlife monitoring collar development.
- TAOGLASsupportingPartner company enabling affordable €150 rhino sensor pricing through financial and technical support.
- IRNASsupportingTechnical partner contributing to rhino sensor development and OpenCollar initiative. Provided design expertise for low-power tracking devices.
- University of AmsterdamsupportingAcademic partner providing research support for affordable rhino tracking sensor development.
- PWN (Provincial Waterleidingbedrijf Noord-Holland)supportingDutch water company administering National Park Zuid-Kennemerland. First European Smart Park deployment for grazer behavior monitoring. Collaboration with Utrecht University.
- Utrecht University (Copernicus Institute)supportingAcademic research partner for Dutch National Park Zuid-Kennemerland Smart Park deployment. Contributed to first European Smart Park implementation.
- George Adamson Wildlife Preservation TrustcoreMkomazi Eastern Black Rhino sanctuary operator. Long-term partnership since 2016 with zero poaching track record. Trust led by Tony Fitzjohn.
- CiscosupportingCisco Ecole Polytechnique Symposium collaboration. Smart Parks revealed first elephant tracker prototype. Connection established with Conservation Tech Lab at Ol Pejeta Conservancy.
- Lacuna SpacesupportingContributed to elephant collar design with built-in LoRaWAN via Satellite antenna and modulation capability, enabling connectivity beyond traditional network coverage.
- MunisensesupportingSound meter technology provider. First Munisense sound meters added to Smart Parks sensor solution in Rwanda game park to detect intruders.
- Ol Pejeta ConservancysupportingKenyan wildlife conservancy famous for sheltering last two female northern white rhino. Smart Parks providing LoRaWAN gateway and tracking sensors for wildlife protection.
- Frankfurt Zoological SocietysupportingConservation organization working with Smart Parks on protected area management solutions.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Smart Parks competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Conservation Metrics: Provides AI-driven wildlife monitoring analytics from camera traps and sensors for conservation and research organizations. Targets overlapping buyer personas in conservation NGOs with complementary analytics rather than hardware.
- TrailGuard AI (by Resolve): Resolve's anti-poaching camera and AI detection system deployed in African and Asian protected areas. Addresses the same poaching problem Smart Parks solves, but with a different sensor modality (camera + AI vs. LoRaWAN tracking).
Broad incumbents
- World Wildlife Fund (WWF): Largest global conservation NGO; a Smart Parks funder (WWF Netherlands Innovation Fund) and OpenCollar supporter. Addresses the same poaching and habitat challenges but as a broad program operator rather than a focused technology vendor.
- Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS): Major international conservation NGO and co-developer of SMART patrol monitoring. Operates large field programs that overlap with Smart Parks' target market, particularly in Africa and Asia, and represents a potential partner-or-customer relationship.
- WILDLABS: WWF-run global conservation technology community and resource hub. Comparable in mission and community-development role (WILDLABS co-ran the 2017 Tech Challenge Smart Parks won) but operates as an enablement platform rather than a hardware provider.
Regional players
- Save the Elephants: Kenya-based conservation organization that pioneered GPS elephant tracking and is an OpenCollar partner. Comparable in mission and technology overlap on elephant monitoring but operates its own tracking stack rather than a commercial hardware platform.
Direct peers
- SMART Conservation Tools: Jointly developed by WCS and WWF, SMART is the dominant patrol and law-enforcement monitoring standard used by conservation NGOs globally. Overlaps with Smart Parks' ranger and vehicle tracking capabilities and serves the same protected area managers.
- Arribada Initiative: Conservation technology nonprofit designing low-cost wildlife monitoring hardware and open-source tools. Closely comparable mission, open-source ethos, and LoRaWAN-adjacent approach to Smart Parks; partner in the OpenCollar initiative.
- Vulcan EarthRanger: Conservation technology platform (originally created by Paul Allen's Vulcan Inc.) that aggregates wildlife sensor data for protected area management. Directly overlaps with Smart Parks' control room application and integrated sensor ecosystem, and is listed as an OpenCollar partner.
- African Wildlife Tracking: South Africa-based vendor of VHF and GPS wildlife tracking collars and equipment used across African conservation projects. A direct competitor in wildlife tracking hardware serving the same ranger and conservation organization buyers.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Smart Parks social profiles
Digital presenceSmart Parks financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Smart Parks leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Smart Parks funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Smart Parks 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 Smart Parks
What does Smart Parks do?
Smart Parks designs, builds, and deploys LoRaWAN-based IoT sensor networks for wildlife conservation and protected-area management. Their offering combines private solar-powered communication networks, GPS-enabled animal tracking collars and implants (RhinoEdge, ElephantEdge, CollarEdge), ranger and vehicle trackers (RangerEdge), and an integrated web-based control room application that delivers real-time situational awareness to conservation teams in the field.
Is Smart Parks a public or private company?
Smart Parks is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Smart Parks founded?
Smart Parks was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Smart Parks based?
Smart Parks is headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Smart Parks make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations and Charitable Contributions are the primary driver. The others are grants and Subsidies.
Who are Smart Parks's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Conservation Metrics and TrailGuard AI (by Resolve). Broad incumbents are World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and WILDLABS. Save the Elephants is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are SMART Conservation Tools, Arribada Initiative, Vulcan EarthRanger and African Wildlife Tracking.
Does Smart Parks have an API?
No public API is recorded for Smart Parks.
What industry is Smart Parks in?
Smart Parks's product category is Wildlife Conservation Technology. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAGAB, Wildlife Conservation & Species Protection, with a secondary code of BPAGAIAI, Conservation & Human–Wildlife Conflict Mitigation. Its NAICS code is 813312.