New report urges international investment in African philanthropy for sustainable social impact

13 September 2021 – Hard hitting new research co-commissioned by Vodacom, Safaricom and Vodafone Foundation suggests that the sustainable development of the not-for-profit sector in Africa is being challenged by an imbalance in international investment. Foreign funding is predominately flowing to donor organisations headquartered in the Northern Hemisphere rather than going directly to the 90% of African civil society organisations (CSOs) that remain dependent on it.

The in-depth report – Barriers to African Civil Society: Building the Sector’s Capacity and Potential to Scale Up – highlights the multiple barriers preventing African CSOs from operating at the same scale and capacity as local branches of international non-government organisations (NGOs). The study aims to provide a framework for engagement among key stakeholders to strengthen and accelerate the role of African CSOs, which perform a variety of services and humanitarian functions that bring citizens’ concerns to the fore.

Too often, only a portion of philanthropic funding from international aid institutions reaches African CSOs, as it remains trapped within bureaucratic processes and systems. When this aid does reach the African continent, it is usually distributed among locally registered international NGO counterparts, and then allocated to African-led CSOs only for specific projects.

With these funding limitations, African CSOs are unable to sustain resources and build long-term strategies for lasting social impact. Along with administrative constraints, and negative perceptions about African CSOs, this imbalance in approach to donor funding is preventing African CSOs from being more effective, self-reliant and, of course, helping the communities and citizens they serve.

The report is an independent body of work funded by Vodafone Foundation and developed by the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment, the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy at the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School, and Clearview Research. It is launched in partnership with African Philanthropy Forum, which promotes homegrown philanthropy and inclusive development on the African Continent.

Key recommendations of the report include:

While international donors must take concerted action to work with African CSOs more fairly and effectively, the report also calls for local organisations, research institutions and the business sector to be more supportive in empowering CSOs.

“We have seen first-hand the significant contribution CSOs make to social, political and economic development on the continent, but these efforts continue to be hampered by the complexities of donor funding. Through this research, we want to understand what is standing in the way of the greater success, independence and self-reliance of African CSOs, and what can be done to forge meaningful, long-term partnerships that can bring about real and lasting change in Africa,” says Takalani Netshitenzhe, Director of External Affairs for Vodacom South Africa and Chairperson of Vodacom Foundation.

Tsitsi Masiyiwa, Chair, African Philanthropy Forum, says, “Covid-19, among the host of new and existing challenges, has emboldened some donor and NGO community leaders to confront gross inequalities in the allocation and use of scarce financial resources for impactful development. The time is perfect to disrupt the old and establish development models that prosper and empower communities.”

Joseph Ogutu, Chief Special Projects Officer at Safaricom and Chairman of Safaricom Foundation, says, “I’ve spent almost two decades in this space and I know achieving positive change will require improvements in the way that the international community perceive African philanthropist organisations. As evidenced in this report, we know there is a problem. This, therefore, is a clarion call for various stakeholders to meaningfully engage to address the inequalities and to find real-world actionable recommendations that will enable the CSOs—in Kenya and Africa—to scale.”

Andrew Dunnett, Director, Vodafone Foundation, adds, “One of our long-standing partners, Shining Hope for Communities, asked Vodafone Foundation to fund this research for the wider benefit of the pan-African CSO community. In our 30th year of giving, our ambition is to work with our philanthropic network to further evaluate how donor funding is allocated to African CSOs.”

To this end, Vodafone Foundation has committed to undertake further research to better understand and find solutions to overcome the challenges faced by African-led CSOs. This includes investigating the creation of a new international standard for the percentage of charitable funds that reach African-run organisations and reviewing Vodafone Foundation’s own funding processes globally.

Vodacom, Safaricom and Vodafone Foundation will also continue to invest in the digital transformation efforts of CSOs across Africa through education, training, equipment supplies and financial donations, while working with their partners and trustees to articulate a five-year plan for tackling the issues of bias in international aid.

View the research at www.raceandphilanthropy.com

For further information:

Vodafone Group

Media Relations
GroupMedia@vodafone.com

Investor Relations
IR@vodafone.co.uk

About Vodacom

Vodacom is a leading African communications company providing a wide range of communication services, including mobile voice, messaging, data, financial and converged services to over 117 million (including Safaricom) customers. From our roots in South Africa, we have grown our mobile network business to include operations in Tanzania, the DRC, Mozambique, Lesotho and Kenya. Our mobile networks cover a population of over 291 million people. Through Vodacom Business Africa (VBA), we offer business managed services to enterprises in 50 countries. Vodacom is majority owned by Vodafone (60.5% holding), one of the world’s largest communications companies by revenue.

About Safaricom

Safaricom is the leading telecommunication company in East Africa. Our purpose is to transform lives by connecting people to people, people to opportunities and people to information. We keep over 38 million customers connected and play a critical role in the society, supporting over one million jobs both directly and indirectly while our total economic value was estimated at KES 358.6 Billion ($3.58 Billion) for the 12 months through March 2021.

Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and with annual revenues of over KES 250 Billion ($2.5 billion), Safaricom provides connectivity through wide range of technology, 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G in aggregate covering over 99% of Kenya’s population.

We run the world’s largest mobile payment system and Africa’s largest Fintech - M-PESA, the world’s first mobile money transfer system. By empowering over 28 million customers to transact, save or borrow money through their mobile phone, M-PESA has driven financial inclusion in Kenya to more than 82% of the adult population from a low of 25% and generates over KES 82.65 Billion ($826 Million) in revenue per annum.

Safaricom is an equal opportunity employer, actively recruiting staff from different backgrounds reflecting the communities that we serve. We are committed to equal gender representation at all levels. Our target is to achieve 50:50 senior management gender parity by 2025.

As part of our ongoing commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we continue to work towards improving energy and resource efficiency in our network and facilities to reduce carbon emissions and our fuel consumption. We remain committed to becoming a Net Zero carbon-emitting company by 2050.

For more details please visit www.safaricom.co.ke

About Vodafone Foundation

Vodafone Foundation (UK registered charity number 1089625) believes the power of connectivity can change lives and address some of the world’s most pressing problems. Founded in 1991 with a simple mission to invest in the communities in which Vodafone operates, today the charity connects people and ideas with technology and funding, to help those already doing good work to achieve results faster, more cost effectively and with a bigger social impact. Through a strategy of Connecting for Good, Vodafone Group PLC’s philanthropic arm works in partnership with other charitable organisations and NGOs to create solutions that bring about long-term sustainable change and improve 480m lives by 2025.

www.vodafonefoundation.org

About African Philanthropy Forum

African Philanthropy Forum (APF) is a strong and vibrant community of partners who through their strategic giving, investments and influence, foster shared prosperity on the African Continent. Established in 2014, APF was incubated by the Global Philanthropy Forum (GPF) until 2017 when it became an independent entity and continues to be an affiliate of the GPF. With a vision to transform the culture of giving on the Continent to the extent that it exceeds development aid by 2030, APF has established a strong presence on the Continent, with footprints in fourteen African countries. Since inception, APF has reached over 2,500 philanthropists, social investors and key stakeholders in the philanthropic space across Africa and the world. Through APF’s high impact convening and initiatives, the organization has facilitated collaborations, amplified the work of change makers and shared best philanthropic practices and strategies for promoting homegrown development.