Invest in conservation. Create community value. Build sustainable destinations.

National Park Conservancies provide a framework through which community-owned or community-controlled land surrounding national parks can be planned, zoned and developed for compatible nature-positive uses.

Rather than replacing the management of the national park itself, the conservancy creates a complementary landscape in which communities can benefit directly from the economic value generated by conservation and tourism.

Investment opportunities may include:

• Tourism and hospitality lease concessions – safari camps, lodges, tented camps, eco-retreats and other low-impact accommodation.

• Community tourism enterprises – guiding, cultural experiences, crafts, food production, transport and other locally owned services.

• Conservation enterprises – wildlife management, habitat restoration, ranger support, monitoring and biodiversity-related services.

• Nature-based businesses – sustainable agriculture, regenerative land use, forestry and other compatible enterprises within designated zones.

• Destination infrastructure – access, visitor facilities, interpretation, digital platforms and supporting tourism infrastructure.

• Landscape restoration and rewilding – projects that restore degraded land, reconnect wildlife corridors and increase biodiversity.

• Carbon and biodiversity opportunities – carefully structured projects that can generate long-term environmental and community value.

• Community enterprise development – investment into businesses that enable local people to participate directly in the emerging conservation economy.

Lease concessions: creating long-term community income

A central element of the model is the structured allocation of long-term lease concessions on appropriate community land.

Subject to local law, land rights, community governance and the relevant authorities, investors and responsible tourism operators can secure concessionary rights to develop carefully planned businesses within designated areas of the conservancy.

This creates a potential alignment between three interests:

Community – receives long-term lease income, employment, enterprise opportunities and participation in the conservation economy.

Investor / operator – gains access to a carefully planned conservation destination with defined development rights and a compelling tourism proposition.

Conservancy – receives investment that supports land management, restoration, infrastructure, conservation and destination development.

The objective is to create recurring economic value from land without requiring communities to sell their land or abandon its long-term conservation potential.

Community enterprises

The National Park Conservancy model is not solely about attracting external investors.

A core principle is to create opportunities for community-owned and community-led enterprises alongside larger concession investments.

These may include guiding and safari services, cultural tourism, food and agricultural supply chains, crafts, transport, accommodation, conservation services and other businesses that can retain a greater proportion of tourism expenditure within the local economy.

Rewilding Africa CIC seeks to help communities move from being participants in tourism to becoming owners, entrepreneurs and beneficiaries of the conservation economy.

A pipeline of investable conservation destinations

Each National Park Conservancy is developed as an individual destination with its own ecological, social, cultural and commercial characteristics.

National Park Conservancies are intended to provide investors with opportunities to participate in the growth of nature-positive tourism and conservation economies, while generating measurable social and environmental impact.

Depending on the opportunity, investment may be structured through:

• Lease concession agreements

• Joint ventures

• Community enterprise investment

• Development finance

• Impact investment

• Blended finance

• Philanthropic or catalytic capital

• Conservation and restoration finance

• Revenue-sharing arrangements

Each opportunity will require its own financial, legal, environmental and social due diligence.

Rewilding Africa CIC does not treat all opportunities as conventional investments; rather, we seek to develop structures in which commercial viability and conservation impact reinforce one another.

Building Africa’s community-led conservation economy

Our long-term ambition is to support the development of a network of National Park Conservancies across Africa, creating new community-led conservation destination brands around national parks.

The opportunity is much larger than individual safari developments.

It is about creating new conservation economies in which communities can derive sustainable value from protecting wildlife, restoring landscapes and welcoming responsible visitors – while investors gain access to carefully structured opportunities within some of Africa’s most important emerging nature destinations.

Explore the current  investment opportunities in the investment directory.

Investments and concession opportunities are subject to availability, local legislation, community approvals, land tenure, environmental and social safeguards, due diligence and appropriate regulatory requirements.

Rewilding Africa CIC does not guarantee financial returns and prospective investors should obtain their own independent professional advice.