What Connected Conservation Foundation does

Connected Conservation Foundation (CCF) is a UK-registered charity (charity number 1183328) founded in 2019 and headquartered in London with a regional office in Bryanston, South Africa. The foundation equips local conservation partners across 18 countries with integrated technology solutions including LoRaWAN IoT sensor networks, very high-resolution satellite monitoring (30cm Pléiades and Pléiades Neo imagery via Airbus Foundation), AI-powered analytics, and the EarthRanger operations platform, supporting wildlife monitoring, anti-poaching operations, and ecosystem management across approximately 9.6 million hectares protecting 85+ threatened species in 46 conservancies.

CCF's core technology stack combines Cisco LoRaWAN base stations and sensors, Actility's ThingPark network server for IoT data aggregation, EarthRanger for real-time operational data integration, and Esri ArcGIS for geospatial analysis, with satellite imagery and AI compute contributed by the Airbus Foundation and Microsoft. The Protected Area Technician (PAT) Scholarship Program, launched in July 2025, adds a workforce development layer delivering online theory courses and field-based training; over 700 certificates have been issued to date. The Satellites for Biodiversity Award, run jointly with Airbus Foundation since 2022 and now in its fourth round, provides winning conservation projects with satellite data access, cash funding, and Esri software.

CCF operates as a non-profit foundation funded through corporate partnerships, foundation grants, and public donations rather than commercial revenue. It provides technology solutions, training, and capacity building at no cost to qualifying conservation partners including Northern Rangelands Trust, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, African Parks, Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Uganda Wildlife Authority, and others. Key strategic technology partners include Airbus Foundation, Cisco, Actility, Microsoft, Esri, and EarthRanger, with the organization functioning as the orchestration and field-deployment layer that integrates donated partner technologies into landscape-scale conservation programs. The foundation is led by Executive Director Sophie Maxwell and operates with a lean team of 5 employees.

Name

Connected Conservation Foundation

Legal name

Connected Conservation Foundation

Website

https://connectedconservation.foundation

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Connected Conservation Foundation is a UK-registered non-profit that deploys LoRaWAN IoT networks, satellite monitoring, and AI analytics to conservation partners across 18 countries, protecting 85+ threatened species across 9.6 million hectares.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildlife Conservation Technology Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Biodiversity & Habitat Conservation (BPAGAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Wildlife Conservation & Species Protection (BPAGAGAB), Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

Keywords

• Conservation technology services
• Wildlife monitoring systems
• Protected area management
• IoT sensor networks
• Satellite conservation monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants and Donations: CCF operates as a registered charity funded through corporate partnerships, foundation grants, and public donations. The organization deploys these funds to equip local conservation partners with technology solutions, training, and technical support.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Connected Conservation Foundation is a UK-registered charity that deploys integrated conservation technology—including LoRaWAN IoT sensor networks, very high-resolution satellite monitoring, AI analytics, and the EarthRanger operations platform—to conservation partners across 18 countries. The foundation provides these tools, satellite imagery access, and training at no cost through grants and capacity-building programs, enabling real-time wildlife monitoring, anti-poaching operations, and ecosystem management across protected areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sensor Networks (LoRaWAN IoT Conservation Network)
• Satellite Monitoring Program
• Satellites for Biodiversity Award Competitive grant program that awards winning conservation projects access to Airbus very high-resolution satellite imagery (Pléiades Neo HD15, 30cm), $6,000 in funding per project, and complimentary Esri ArcGIS Pro software. Now in its fourth round, the award enables conservationists worldwide to use advanced Earth Observation tools to monitor and protect threatened species and habitats, including projects focused on Tapanuli orangutan habitat, Aral Sea desert restoration, and Patagonian wetlands.
• Protected Area Technician (PAT) Scholarship Program Fully funded training program combining online theory courses (10 self-paced modules covering decision-making tools, networking, IoT, device deployment, data management, software integration, cybersecurity, maintenance, and collaboration) with in-field practical training and internships. Designed to address the shortage of skilled technology professionals in conservation, with over 600 candidates completing the online theory course and over 700 certificates issued since launch. Delivered in partnership with Cisco Networking Academy, Motorola Solutions, Thanda Solar, and African Wildlife Tracking.
• Conservation Biodiversity Digital Readiness Assessment (CB-DRA) Assessment tool co-developed with UNDP to help countries evaluate national and landscape-level digital capabilities across six pillars for biodiversity action implementation. Supports implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) by strengthening the digital foundations needed to turn biodiversity data into coordinated action. Targeted at country-level biodiversity stakeholders and policy makers.
• Ecosystem Insights Hub Online knowledge repository accumulating methodologies, case studies, and lessons learned from conservation technology deployments globally. Provides conservation practitioners with reusable frameworks and documentation for designing, deploying, and maintaining conservation technology solutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% reduction in rhino poaching within first 2 years at Sabi Sand pilot project
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Airbus FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Five-year partnership providing CCF partners with access to Airbus Pléiades and Pléiades Neo satellite imagery at 30cm resolution. Jointly runs the Satellites for Biodiversity Award providing satellite data, funding ($6,000), and Esri software to winning conservation projects.
• CiscocoreTechnology or IntegrationCisco donates LoRaWAN base stations and hardware for conservation area networks. Cisco Networking Academy provides training content for PAT Program.
• ActilitycoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides ThingPark Platform network server and technical support for LoRaWAN IoT networks across conservation areas. Co-developed world's largest LoRaWAN biodiversity network spanning 2.8 million hectares.
• MicrosoftsupportingTechnology or IntegrationProvided computational resources through AI for Earth programme for satellite imagery and AI wildlife survey research.
• EsrisupportingTechnology or IntegrationProvides complimentary ArcGIS Pro software to Satellites for Biodiversity Award winners for advanced mapping and analysis.
• EarthRangercoreTechnology or IntegrationSoftware platform used across CCF-supported conservation areas for real-time data integration, threat monitoring, and operational coordination.
• Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCF's founding partner in Kenya, operating 46 community conservancies across 15 countries. Primary deployment site for LoRaWAN and conservation technology programs.
• Dimension DatasupportingTechnology or IntegrationPartnered on satellite imagery and AI wildlife survey research project, contributing engineering expertise for object detection models.
• NTT LtdsupportingTechnology or IntegrationCollaborated on research into satellite imagery and AI for wildlife surveys in African savannah environments.
• African ParkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCF deploys technology solutions across African Parks-managed protected areas including Garamba, Kafue, and others.
• Uganda Conservation FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerField partner implementing technology solutions in Queen Elizabeth National Park, including VHR satellite monitoring for invasive species and grassland restoration.
• Sheldrick Wildlife TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLoRaWAN deployment in Tsavo for real-time wildlife tracking, patrol oversight, and environmental monitoring.
• Motorola SolutionssupportingTechnology or IntegrationProvides training content and expertise for PAT Scholarship Program in communications and radio systems.
• Thanda SolarsupportingTechnology or IntegrationTraining delivery partner for PAT Scholarship Program providing solar power systems expertise.
• African Wildlife TrackingsupportingTechnology or IntegrationTraining delivery partner for PAT Scholarship Program in wildlife tracking technologies.
• BirdLife InternationalsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal partnership for bird conservation supporting projects including ruddy-headed goose nesting restoration in Patagonia.
• UNDPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developed Conservation Biodiversity Digital Readiness Assessments (CB-DRA) to help countries strengthen digital foundations for biodiversity action.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• African Wildlife Foundation: Pan-African conservation NGO focused on landscape and species protection across the same geographies where CCF deploys IoT and satellite programs; comparable mission but significantly larger operating scale and broader programmatic scope.
• Wildlife Conservation Society: Major global NGO operating zoos and field conservation programs across Africa and Asia—the parent of WILDLABS—deploying conservation tech at a scale CCF aspires to via its partner network.
• Fauna & Flora International: Large UK-headquartered wildlife conservation NGO with active tech-for-conservation programs; overlaps with CCF on species protection and protected-area support, but operates a much broader portfolio of non-tech work.

Direct peers

• EarthRanger (Vulcan / Allen Institute): The operational data platform CCF integrates with and whose underlying code base lives at Vulcan's EarthRanger program; both build and distribute software that fuses sensor, ranger, and satellite data for protected-area management.
• Smart Parks: Dutch non-profit that designs and deploys LoRaWAN sensor systems for wildlife monitoring in national parks—the closest technical peer to CCF's IoT-heavy approach (Cisco/Actility LoRaWAN deployments) and its target protected-area customers.
• RESOLVE: Non-profit that pioneered TrailGuard AI camera-and-alert systems for anti-poaching, the predecessor technology stack to the kind of integrated anti-poaching deployments CCF runs at Sabi Sand and across African Parks sites.
• Conservation X Labs: Washington DC-based innovation hub that funds, convenes, and scales technology solutions for biodiversity—directly comparable to CCF's mission of bridging frontier tech companies with conservation practitioners.
• WILDLABS (Wildlife Conservation Society): WCS-run global technology community and grantmaker for conservation tech—analogous to CCF in catalyzing partnerships between tech innovators and field conservationists.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/connected-conservation-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Connected Conservation Foundation