Kenya Conservancies Fund

KCF Call for Concepts 2025

Catalytic small grants for community-led conservation and climate resilience — delivered by KWCA with GIZ under the IKI Small Grants – Funding Institutions Programme.

This call is closed

The KCF Call for Concepts 2025 has closed. Concept notes closed on 19 October 2025 and full proposals on 24 November 2025. This page is kept as a record of the 2025 round — for current opportunities, visit the Kenya Conservancies Fund.

Current opportunities

About the 2025 round

A small grant facility for new, nascent and underserved conservancies

Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA), in partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH under the International Climate Initiative (IKI) Small Grants – Funding Institutions Programme, announced a call for concepts in 2025.

The Kenya Conservancies Fund (KCF) is a small grant facility managed by KWCA to accelerate the sustainability of conservancies in Kenya. It offers catalytic support to conservancies with limited access to traditional funding sources, helping them become investment ready.

Through the IKI Small Grants project, KWCA supported conservancies to advance biodiversity conservation, strengthen governance systems, build climate resilience and improve livelihoods through nature-based solutions.

What we funded

Three funding focus areas

Concepts were invited under three thematic areas, either singly or in combination.

Capacity & governance

Leadership training, governance frameworks, financial management, and policy development.

Biodiversity conservation

Rangeland restoration, ecological monitoring, wildlife protection, and ecosystem management.

Climate-resilient livelihoods

Community enterprises in ecotourism, beekeeping, crafts, and other nature-based value chains.

Grant size

EUR 47,625 to EUR 70,000, tiered by stage of development

Awards were tiered according to each conservancy’s stage of development, with a maximum implementation period of 18 months.

EUR 47,625

Newly established, high-potential conservancies at early growth stage.

EUR 55,000

Conservancies with foundational systems and early project experience.

EUR 70,000

Conservancies with established governance and proven conservation impact.

Maximum implementation duration — 18 months

Eligibility

Who could apply

The 2025 round was open to conservancies meeting all of the following criteria.

Conservancies established in Kenya that demonstrate legal registration, community engagement and clear land tenure.

Conservancies with a clear operational plan, active boards, governance systems and effective community participation.

Conservancies at operational or early-mature stage of development, demonstrating capacity to implement the activities they prioritise.

For this call, conservancies on community land and group conservancies were eligible.

Application timeline

A two-stage process

Both stages of the 2025 round are now closed. The dates below are retained for reference.

Stage 1

Concept note submission

Conservancies submitted a concept note using the KCF template, sent to the KWCA grants address.

Deadline — 19 October 2025, 11:59 p.m. EAT

Closed

Stage 2

Full proposal

Shortlisted applicants were notified and invited to submit a full proposal against the application guidelines.

Deadline — 24 November 2025, 11:59 p.m. EAT

Closed

How to apply

Documents from the 2025 round

Applicants downloaded the concept note template and the application guidelines, completed them, and submitted to grants@kwcakenya.com. The inquiry window closed on 12 October 2025.

Both documents remain available below as a reference for conservancies preparing for future KCF rounds.

Concept note template (DOCX)

Application guidelines (PDF)

Contact

Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association

Office

Magadi Tenting Centre, Karen

P.O. Box 1038 – 00517, Uhuru Gardens

Nairobi, Kenya

Get in touch

Telephone: +254 (20) 251-8211

General enquiries: info@kwcakenya.com

Grant enquiries: grants@kwcakenya.com

Looking for current KCF opportunities?

Visit the Kenya Conservancies Fund for the latest calls, grantee stories, and how the fund is accelerating the sustainability of conservancies across Kenya.

Kenya Conservancies Fund

Contact KWCA

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