Origin Story
Vumba was born out of necessity in 2019 when GCC faced significant challenges with its Future Rangers Program. After many years of running our conservation-education initiative and reaching over 15,000 students, GCC struggled with student tracking, impact measurement, and partner collaboration. Donors couldn’t see the long-term impact of their funding, and GCC couldn’t effectively prove their results. Like many NGOs experience, individual students would slip through the cracks, significantly impacting the long term vision of our work.
Application
Originally designed to measure the impact of GCC’s own Future Rangers Program, Vumba now serves many NGOs in the Greater Kruger region and beyond who need similar monitoring, evaluation, and learning tools.
Vumba uniquely integrates education, conservation, and technology into one comprehensive solution that enables:
- Data Visualization: Track student progress and program effectiveness
- Program Management: Streamline operations for conservation education initiatives
- Built-In Monitoring and Evaluation: Measure impact with robust analytics
- Mobile App for Teachers: Support educators with tools for individual student tracking
- Curriculum Access: Provide open-sourced educational materials
- Employment Pathways: Connect top-performing students with local employment opportunities
Impact
The name “Vumba,” meaning “to shape or create” in Tsonga (the local language of the communities where it was founded), perfectly embodies the platform’s mission to transform conservation education and employment opportunities.
Vumba creates systemic change by serving as the bridge between youth, education, and large-scale conservation impact:
- For Students: Provides equitable education opportunities and verified portfolios that create pathways to employment
- For Wildlife: Increases community benefits from conservation and builds greater value for nature protection
- For NGOs: Allows organizations to educate the next generation, identify top-performing leaders, and quantify their impact for donors
- For Employers: Facilitates local hiring and provides access to an emerging, qualified workforce
Through strategic partnerships with NGO’s in the Kruger landscape, we’re piloting Vumba in the region, and have built individual profiles for over 10,000 students.
If you’re interested in using Vumba in your programming, please reach out to matt@vumba.io.
Support GCC
100% of your donation goes directly to conserving Africa’s iconic wildlife. Our operations are lean and covered completely by private donors. Give monthly, and you’ll become a part of “The Corps”, a passionate community invested in conserving our world through education.