Sustainable tourism plays a major role in helping implement global Sustainable Development Goals as envisaged by the United Nations. Naicef Sustainable Impact Fund is at the forefront of making the transformation across education and environmentally sustainable tourism projects.
Amanda, one of our Canadian partners asked us in the office, “What direct positive impact does each tourists dollar make to the local people through the travel?”
That reflection alone led us to a survey study to understand what creates lasting satisfaction among our travelers beyond their primary desire to travel and have a great experience.
78% of the respondents confirmed, they would love to impact beyond travel. They all love to feel a positive contribution to the world they explore and desire to leave a positive mark.
This gave birth to Naicef Sustainable Tourism Impact Fund.
What is Naicef Sustainable Impact Fund?
Naicef Sustainable Impact Fund is a special fund established by Naicef as the best sustainable tour company in Kenya to educate and feed a vulnerable child while in school, and support existing sustainable green environmental projects.
We seek to promote sustainable tourism projects and make Naicef go beyond its core mandate of offering the best Kenya Luxury safari tours and impact generations from each trip and business.
The Fund aims to show you how not only to travel and take away great memories with you, but also to travel and make a lasting impact on every trip you make.
We all can impact the future beyond our interests, passions, and professional careers. This is to touch a child’s life or the earth in the very simple things we do.
Naicef seeks to raise a million responsible tourists. Be part of us to impact with every dollar you spend on travel. You won’t just get a great East Africa tour or the best Kenya safari tour, but feel more satisfied with your experience.
What is the purpose of the Naicef Sustainable Impact Fund?
The purpose of our Sustainable Impact Fund is to;
1. Sponsor Vulnerable Children Education
Directly funding their school fees and giving them a meal while in school, SDG4 on Quality Education. This gives hope for their future dreams and keeps them in school instead of dropping out of school because of hunger.
To impact, Naicef sponsors only two types of deserving students who are under parental care or orphaned and are under 23 years. The two types are;
- Vetted high academic performing students
- Monitored highly talented students
This ensures that a promising child’s efforts and skills are at least supported.
2. Supporting Existing Tree Planting Projects
Funding tree planting initiatives with sustainable partners that have existing proven restoration projects. We do not support tree planting ideas; we support existing and proven initiatives around tourism areas and communities.
This is under SDG 15 Life on Land and specifically biodiversity conservation. How does this long-term impact the environment:
- Financing existing, monitored, and vetted tree planting projects in hotels, camps, and around tourist community areas.
- Visitors volunteer to plant and own a tree through contracted conservation partnerships with Naicef greening partners.
This is a dedicated Sustainable Development Goals Fund that ensures each tree is well-maintained and grows to maturity without the fear of losing money to unstructured projects.
How does Naicef Sustainable Impact Fund Work?
From each package fee paid to Naicef, a percentage of that money goes directly to the collection Impact Fund account in the following ways:
- Naicef directly wires 2% of every package fee to the Sustainable Impact fund.
- We request each client to voluntarily donate 10% of package fees or as much as they prefer to the fund.
- Issuing of school fees of the qualified vulnerable children and or confirmed project budgets to the client/partner for them to directly make payments. The fund management oversees the transfer and impact.
This is governed by Naicef values of professionalism, quality, and customer centricity to ensure each cent is accounted for maximum impact in all sustainable tourism projects.
Credible Monitoring Processes
All sustainable tourism projects are financed after a vigorous monitoring process. This ensures that each traveler’s and partner’s money is spent in a transparent and justifiable process.
Below is a process that shows how Naicef sustainable Tourism projects are identified, vetted, onboarded, monitored, and funded.
a. Naicef calls and scans schools in tourism community areas
b. Students, parents or schools makes submission of students’ performance reports, talent participation reports & previous school payment fees gaps and receipts.
c. Naicef Fund Managers vet students’ performance, talent reports and fee gaps to shortlist deserving students.
d. Naicef profiles the projects from top deserving to the least and set timelines to strategically finance based on business performance and partner’s support.
e. Budgets & disbursement are settled once per year headed by the Fund Managers for reporting
f. A general joint reporting & impact assessment meeting is done every year jointly with clients and partners.
What to Check out When Selecting Your Best Sustainable Tour Company in Kenya
To better impact while donating and supporting impact funds, a few processes are necessary to monitor. A good guide to this entails:
1. Check for the impact the company offers you beyond your travel:
Does the company have any sustainable plan beyond its core mandate? Remember, all of us have a core mandate beyond the bare minimum.
2. Commitment to Sustainability
Pick a company that has environmental eco practices and promotes communities that are gatekeepers of our future, destinations, and attractions we visit every day.
3. Innovatively Engage & Involve You Directly or Indirectly in Their Projects
Does the company have the legitimacy to visit, monitor, evaluate, participate, or question its sustainability processes and budget?
Or do these projects exist on paper?
Does the company have a conservation engagement policy?
Pick the best Sustainable Tour Company in Kenya that will innovatively involve and engage you from onboarding, selecting, implementing, and assessing the impact. This makes your company an end-to-end impact company.
4. Sustainability Collaboration & Partnerships
Does the company have conscious, sustainable partners that are driven by long-term impact?
Most sustainable projects are good and aim to impact. However, not all projects are long-term because the partners abandon the long-term plan.
Evaluate the partners who follow up on each project. This can be done when selecting a tourism sustainable project in Kenya to support.
Conclusion
Sustainable Development Goals Fund aims to provide solutions and make an impact on the world. Naicef sustainable impact fund serves to catalyze sustainable tourism projects through your support.
We support social and environmental tourism projects in Kenya. As a traveler and sustainable partner, we have built a platform for you to travel responsibly and impact.
How to Get Involved
1. The best way to join Naicef’s sustainable impact fund is by directly consuming any of Naicef’s experiences.
We love planning excellent safari experiences. Crafting beautiful tours is our primary care, and we ensure we go beyond that by impacting with each dollar you buy a professional experience from Naicef.
Remember, you can directly visit the schools we support or plant a tree and see the impact of your travel.
2. Directly donating to the impact fund through this joining link.
Using the link above, scroll to the footer of the page and see the form attached for you to fill out and start your impact journey with Naicef.
Together, we can forge a future where sustainable tourism not only gives you a great tour experience but also empowers communities and improves communities around tourism areas.
Travel with purpose, make a difference, and impact beyond travel.
Frequently Asked Questions on Sustainable Tourism Impact Fund
1. What are the top sustainable impact funds available for Kenyan investors?
There are a number of sustainable impact funds in Kenya. However, Naicef sustainable impact fund is one of the best tourism funds that help in social education and environmentally sustainable tourism projects. Other funds include;
- Kenya Impact Fund; this fund focuses on funding businesses that support health, education, energy, and sustainability
- Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa – this fund focuses on funding small-scale renewable energy projects in Africa.
- Eco-Business Fund: supports tourism projects that promote environmental and social impact outcomes
- Sustainable Development Goals Fund: supports projects that align with the UN’s SDGs and sustainable tourism initiatives
2. What are the top sustainable tourism projects in Kenya?
Kenya has a number of sustainable tourism projects driven by both the government and the private sector. Some of the best sustainable tourism projects in Kenya include:
- Lamu Archipelago Sustainable Tourism LAST – focus on cultural preservation, waste management, and responsible tourism in Lamu.
- Sustainable Travel and Tourism Africa STTA – promoting sustainable awareness, young change makers, and community sustainable projects across Africa.
- Ecotourism Kenya EK – sets recommended standards and ecotourism rating for facilities for sustainability.
3. How can I invest in a sustainable impact fund through a mobile platform in Kenya?
To fund sustainable tourism projects in Kenya, choose the best fund and follow its laid-out plan.
For Naicef sustainable impact fund, all you do is buy a tour experience, or you make payments through Mpesa transfer, SWIFT transfer, WISE mobile transfer, RTGS, or Western Union
4. What sustainable impact funds focus on social impact projects in Kenya?
A number of sustainable impact funds focus on social impact. These include;
- Naicef Sustainable Impact Fund focuses purely on social impact to educate and feed a vulnerable child while in school. It vets and qualifies needy, bright, and talented children in tourism community areas.
- Kenya Social Investment Fund promotes social initiatives that sustainably improve community livelihoods, education, and healthcare.
- Kiva Kenya Impact Fund is a microfinance platform to sustainably impact women microenterprises that promote social and economic development.
5. What sustainable impact funds focus on environmental projects in Kenya?
Kenya has several sustainable impact funds that focus on environmental projects. Some include
- Naicef sustainable impact fund that focuses on existing environmental initiatives that are around hotels, camps, and tourism areas to impact sustainable tourism projects, making a change.
- NETFUND, which focuses on the adoption of renewable and clean energy in Kenya.
- Green Climate Fund that focuses on transforming lives through low-carbon, sustainable value chain agricultural projects and climate-resilient.
6. What sustainable impact funds and projects focus on education and educating vulnerable children in Kenya?
Most Kenyan impact funds focus on impact education, environment, and hunger. However, more focus is given to education support that promotes inclusive and equitable quality education under SDG 4.
The following impact funds focus on educating vulnerable children in Kenya, including;
- Naicef Sustainable Impact Fund that educates and feeds vulnerable, deserving children in school.
- Children’s Education Trust, which focuses on vulnerable children by sponsoring their education.
- Shining Hope for Communities focuses on providing free, quality education.
- List sustainable impact funds with a strong track record in social and environmental returns
- Triodos Investment Management
- Blueochard
- The Rise Fund
- Morgan Stanley Impact Investments
- Root Capital
7. What are the minimum investment amounts for sustainable impact funds offered in Kenya?
There is no minimum investment amount; you can invest in any sustainable impact fund offered in Kenya. You invest based on your capacity and desire for impact.
| Explore Best Africa Safari Packages | Best Travel Blogs & Stories | Grow Your Innovation |
Naicef Team Building |Book Any Tour | Join Naicef Affiliate Program |
