Located in Parklands, the Nairobi Museum of Illusions belongs to a string of 58 privately owned illusionary museums across the globe.

Jonathan Cooper is the brains behind the museum, serving as the chain’s global CEO.

The idea of starting the museum began in 2015 when two entrepreneurs, Roko Živković and Tomislav Pamuković, opened the first museum of illusions in Zagreb, Croatia.  

The museum became such an instant sensation that Cooper, who had just relocated to the country from the Middle East, decided to visit with his family.

Born in the US, Cooper moved to Croatia in 1977 to work in a private firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions before relocating to Oman, where he worked as a debt fund manager.

From Oman, he was hired by the Qatar Development Bank to help develop a private equity fund.

Around that time, he was expecting his second child, so he relocated his family to Croatia in 2015, where he decided to visit the then newly opened Museum of Illusions in Zagreb.

Meeting the Founders

Cooper was so impressed with the museum’s setting and originality that he decided to look up its founders on LinkedIn – Roko Živković and Tomislav Pamuković.

“I contacted Roko, told him about my Croatian roots and Middle East connections, and expressed my admiration for the museum. He agreed to talk,” he told Business Daily.  

Upon meeting Roko, Cooper requested an opportunity to invest in the museum, but Roko declined.

Undeterred, Cooper suggested that the founders allow him to seek a license to start a company that would allow him to establish the Museum of Illusions in the Middle East and North Africa as a franchise model, and they agreed. That was in 2016.

By 2020, the franchise had established 35 museums across the globe and was looking for further expansion.

Five years later, the Museum of Illusions had expanded to 58 museums, with the newly opened Nairobi branch being the third largest in Africa, after Egypt and South Africa.

“Many people look at how we got to 58 museums and ask how we did it. The first and second are tough, but by the 25th, it becomes easier,” said Cooper.  

Today, the franchise has branches in places like Germany, New York, Canada, the UK, Toronto, Athens, Dubai, Istanbul, and Paris. The New York museum attracts an average of 14 million visitors annually.

The Museum of Illusions franchise also ranks as the largest privately owned chain of museums in the world.

Setting up in Nairobi

Cooper’s idea to set up the Museum of Illusions in Nairobi was sparked in 2022 when he visited two of his friends in the country. He realized that Nairobi was the perfect setting for a museum, with the city being composed of a young, vibrant, and energetic population as well as a healthy economy.

Despite Kenya’s stature as a middle-income economy, Cooper explained that the Museum of Illusion in Nairobi is of the same size and capacity as its sister branches in Paris, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

“It holds the same rank as our museums in the world’s larger cities,” he explained.

His advice to young entrepreneurs is to take risks while they can. He recounted that before establishing the museum, he had tried his hand at many other ventures, including starting a software company and a wine production company, all of which failed.

“Take risks while young. Once you have a family or a mortgage, it becomes harder. And always assess the downside. Often, it’s smaller than you think. You have 24 hours in a day—work six or seven, and use the rest to pursue your passion,” he said.