Nashulai Maasai Conservancy

What Nashulai Maasai Conservancy does

Nashulai Maasai Conservancy is a non-profit Community Based Organization (CBO) registered under the Kenyan Government on July 14, 2016, and operationally founded on November 28, 2016. It governs a 5,000-acre triangle of savannah and woodland in the Maasai Mara that abuts the Maasai Mara National Reserve and serves as a critical migratory corridor and ancient elephant nursery for the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. The conservancy is the first Maasai-owned and -directed wildlife conservancy in the Maasai Mara, co-founded by Maasai Elder Nelson Ole Reiyia and adopted Elder Ric (Olomunyak) Young. Landowning families hold 10-year renewable lease agreements, and approximately 25 km of fencing has been removed to enable holistic rotational grazing and free wildlife movement.

The organization's core products span safari tourism (curated all-inclusive experiences through Nashulai Maasai Safaris at Wageni high-end camp and midrange Oldarpoi tenting), wildlife protection (19 community rangers, four of whom are former poachers, plus the volunteer Nashulai Warriors for Wildlife Protection), environmental restoration (Sekenani River Restoration Project, Grazing for Change sustainable Boran cattle enterprise), cultural preservation (Stories Café Netii Apa, Nashulai Cultural Training Institute, Netii Apa Storytellers digital archive), and community economic development (women-led cooperatives in beekeeping and soap-making, women and girls empowerment, bursary fund covering 62 scholarships). The underlying technology stack combines traditional Maasai ecological knowledge with rotational grazing management, community water monitoring, and planned adoption of SMART Conservation Software for ranger patrols. Revenue is generated through safari tourism, day visits, monthly and one-time donations (Friends of Nashulai, US/Canada tax-deductible portals, Benevity and Alaya corporate giving), modest land-lease payments, women-led cooperative enterprises, and a sustainable cattle venture projected to be self-sufficient within two years.

Nashulai serves multiple stakeholders: international safari travelers and donors (global), Maasai community members and landowners (local), East African training institute students and fellows (regional), and neighboring conservancies adopting the model. The organization has earned international recognition including the UNDP Equator Prize 2020 (selected from nearly 600 nominations across 120 countries), the iF Social Impact Prize 2019, and the 2018 African Ranger Award for Chief Warden Joseph Kasaine Ole Kosikir. Strategic grant funding has come from the Libra Foundation, McLean Foundation, Summa Equity, Swedish Institute, and Together Women Rise. No public revenue figures are disclosed.

Name

Nashulai Maasai Conservancy

Legal name

Nashulai Maasai Conservancy

Website

https://nashulai.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Nashulai Maasai Conservancy is a non-profit Community Based Organization that governs a 5,000-acre Maasai Mara wildlife conservancy, delivering curated safari tourism, community-led conservation, cultural preservation, and women and youth empowerment programs that serve international travelers, donors, and the local Maasai community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Wildlife Conservation and Ecotourism

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Support Activities for Animal Production (11521)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Guided Wildlife Safaris & Game Drives (Sanctuary/Reserve-Based) (THAAAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

National Park & Conservancy Lodges (THAGAIAI), Conservation & Human–Wildlife Conflict Mitigation (BPAGAIAI), Safari & Wildlife Travel Agencies (THAKAFAG)

Keywords

• Community-led conservation
• Wildlife conservancy tourism
• Maasai cultural preservation
• Community-based ecotourism
• Conservation safari experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

Narok

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Safari Tourism: Curated safari experiences offering all-inclusive visits to the conservancy through Nashulai Maasai Safaris, including accommodations at Wageni camp and Oldarpoi tenting camps. Profits directly support ecological regeneration and community development.
2. Day Visits: Day visit experiences for safari travelers passing through the region, with advance booking required to manage human traffic within the conservancy.
3. Donations and Grants: Monthly donations through Friends of Nashulai program, one-time donations, tax-deductible donations (US/Canada), and corporate giving through Benevity and Alaya platforms. Also receives grant funding from foundations and organizations.
4. Land Lease Payments: 10-year renewable lease agreements with landowning families generate modest but real income that enables community financial stability. 60% of members have successfully applied for loans due to financial stability created by the conservancy.
5. Women-Led Cooperative Enterprises: Revenue-generating projects including beekeeping industry, traditional herb collection and marketing for export, and soap/sanitizer making through the Women's Cooperative for Economic Sustainability.
6. Cultural Training Institute: Formally accredited training institute welcoming youth from throughout East Africa to study Maasai-cultural based conservation management, scouting/guiding and community development combined with science and technology training.
7. Sustainable Cattle Enterprise (Grazing for Change): Sustainable Boran cattle enterprise where herders receive 50/50 financing for cattle stock and participate in calf-sharing programs. Projected to be self-sufficient within 2 years.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Nashulai Maasai Conservancy is a community-owned and directed 5,000-acre wildlife conservancy in the Maasai Mara, Kenya, operating curated safari experiences and conservation tourism through Nashulai Maasai Safaris and Wageni/Oldarpoi camps. The conservancy delivers wildlife protection, ecological restoration, cultural preservation, and community development programs including ranger patrols, river restoration, a women and girls empowerment project, a cultural training institute, and a sustainable Boran cattle enterprise.

Product overview

Nashulai Maasai Conservancy is a community-owned conservancy founded in 2016, operating a 5,000-acre triangle of land as a critical wildlife corridor and elephant nursery in the Maasai Mara ecosystem. The organization pursues an interconnected three-pronged mission: Conserve Wildlife, Preserve Culture, and Reverse Poverty. Its product portfolio includes curated safari experiences (Nashulai Maasai Safaris with Wageni Camp), wildlife protection programs (Rangers, Warriors for Wildlife Protection), cultural preservation initiatives (Stories Cafe Netii Apa, Cultural Training Institute, Netii Apa Storytellers Project), community development (Women and Girls Empowerment Project, Bursary Fund, Mara Learning and Development Centre), environmental restoration (Sekenani River Restoration, Grazing for Change), and educational programs (Fellowship Program). The conservancy combines traditional Maasai knowledge with modern conservation science to create a sustainable model for community-led conservation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nashulai Maasai Safaris A curated, all-inclusive safari experience operating within the private Nashulai conservancy, offering wildlife viewing, Maasai-guided cultural immersion, and community-led tours; profits directly fund ecological regeneration and economic development.
• Wageni Camp An exclusive small high-end tented safari camp operated in partnership with Oldarpoi Mara Camp, providing luxury accommodations for safari visitors to the Nashulai conservancy and serving as a community isolation center during health emergencies.
• Oldarpoi Mara Camp A midrange tenting accommodation option for safari guests visiting the Nashulai conservancy, operated alongside Wageni Camp.
• Nashulai Maasai Rangers Program A team of 19 community rangers (including 4 former poachers) providing daily patrols, wildlife monitoring, human-wildlife conflict prevention, and anti-poaching activities, led by award-winning Chief Warden Joseph Kasaine Ole Kosikir; planned adoption of SMART conservation software.
• Nashulai Warriors for Wildlife Protection A volunteer group of young Maasai warriors conducting nightly patrols along the Sekenani River to deter poaching, combining traditional methods with 21st-century wildlife protection.
• Sekenani River Restoration Project

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 10,000 wildebeests and zebras passed through during first Great Migration post-founding
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Institute for Human RightscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Strategic affiliation formed with UAB's Institute for Human Rights, which cited Nashulai as a Human Rights Incubator for its work integrating human rights into conservation.
• Mara Training CentremajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Nashulai's Co-Founder and Elders received intensive training on the science, practice, business and management of sustainable herding through this partnership.
• Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA)coreOthers · 1 January 2016Nashulai became a member in good standing with KWCA, the national body for wildlife conservancies in Kenya, providing institutional recognition and network access.
• Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA)coreOthers · 1 January 2016Nashulai became a member in good standing with MMWCA, connecting it with the regional network of conservancies in the Maasai Mara ecosystem.
• Kenya Forest Service (KFS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUpon seeing Nashulai's river restoration work, KFS donated 300 indigenous seedlings and partnered to provide more for the project's next stage. Also partnered with Nashulai to increase Kenya's tree cover 10% by 2020.
• Sekenani Maasai Development Project (SEMADEP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal CBO partnership for river restoration along the Sekenani watershed, sharing seeds and saplings to help reforest portions of the river.
• Ewangan Maasai Cultural VillageminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with neighboring cultural village for Sekenani River Restoration Project, sharing resources and labor for reforestation efforts.
• Olaimutiai VillageminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with local village for Sekenani River Restoration Project, extending restoration work throughout the watershed.
• Heiltsuk/Qqs Projects Society (British Columbia, Canada)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndigenous people partnership providing inspiration and advice from their successful Coastwatch community water management program. Nashulai is taking inspiration from their youth-led approach.
• Design Exchange / UNDPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Nashulai Story was featured as the Social Innovation Keynote at EDIT - a 10-day festival launched by Design Exchange in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme focused on innovative approaches to advance the global sustainable development agenda.
• Wageni Safari Camp / Oldarpoi Mara CampcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRelated enterprise offering accommodations (Wageni exclusive high-end camp and Oldarpoi midrange tenting) for Nashulai Maasai Safaris guests. Wageni was refitted as COVID-19 isolation center.
• BenevityminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCorporate giving platform through which Nashulai accepts corporate donations for its conservation and community development work.
• AlayaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCorporate giving platform through which Nashulai accepts corporate donations for its conservation and community development work.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights12 records

Broad incumbents

• &Beyond: High-end safari and conservation operator with lodges across Africa, including properties in the Maasai Mara ecosystem. Comparable luxury safari offering and conservation focus but at much larger scale and broader geographic portfolio.
• African Wildlife Foundation (AWF): Pan-African conservation organization funding community conservancies, training and habitat protection across multiple countries. Comparable mission of community-based wildlife conservation, though operating as a larger NGO grantmaker rather than a single-site operator.
• Singita: Luxury safari and conservation brand operating multiple reserves across Africa. Comparable premium eco-tourism positioning tied to large-scale wildlife conservation, though at significantly larger scale than Nashulai.

Direct peers

• Basecamp Explorer Kenya: Maasai Mara-based sustainable tourism operator with strong community partnership and eco-lodge offerings. Comparable curated safari experiences and integration with Maasai community empowerment.
• Ol Pejeta Conservancy: Community-involved wildlife conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya combining conservation, community development and tourism. Comparable integrated model of wildlife protection, community employment, and safari revenue funding conservation outcomes.
• Lewa Wildlife Conservancy: Northern Kenya conservancy operating a rhino sanctuary with community partnerships, ecotourism, and education programs. Directly comparable as a Kenyan conservancy blending wildlife conservation, community engagement and donor-funded programs.
• Mara Naboisho Conservancy: Adjacent Maasai Mara conservancy using a community-landowner partnership structure with curated low-density safaris. Same ecosystem and similar community-tourism-conservation integration model as Nashulai.
• Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT): Umbrella organization supporting community conservancies across northern and coastal Kenya. Comparable community-led conservation governance model and training/mentoring role for member conservancies — Nashulai could become an NRT-style hub in the Mara.

Others

• Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA): Industry association of which Nashulai is a member, coordinating the network of Mara conservancies. Relevant as the institutional ecosystem Nashulai operates within and through which collective advocacy, marketing and standards are developed.

Emerging players

• Gorongosa National Park / Carr Foundation: Mozambican national park rebuilt through a community-based conservation model integrating science, agriculture and tourism. Comparable emerging community-led model positioning wildlife recovery alongside poverty alleviation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nashulai
• Facebookfacebook.com/Nashulai
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nashulai-maasai-conservancy-corporation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nashulai Maasai Conservancy