Generating more evidence to better inform Education Philanthropy in Africa and avoid duplication is among the opportunities mapped out in a newly released report.
The report by the International Education Funders Group (IEFG) has also cited harnessing diaspora remittances and giving more systematically as another opportunity for the sector.
The report which is titled IEFG Spotlight Report on Education Philanthropy in Africa (2024) also calls for more unrestricted funding “and truly adapting internal processes to embed localization and trust-based approaches.”
Another opportunity cited is harnessing the power of technology in a considered way that promotes equity and accessibility.
It calls for addressing neglected sectors for funding such as early childhood development.
The report calls for amplifying other forms of giving by leveraging expertise and evidence within philanthropies to strengthen the operations and capacity of organizations on the ground.
“We encourage wider philanthropy and social investment to join us to bring ideas and innovation to catalyze more and better investment in education. We believe that philanthropy can catalyze, and bring a new voice to education across the continent,” says Sophia Ndemutila Ashipala, Head of Education Division, African Union Commission in the report.
The report emphasizes the diversity and breadth of support from corporate and structured philanthropy and also notes the lack of data that would enhance policy-based decision-making.
“Though we may all have some sense of the contribution that philanthropic giving is making to education progress in Africa, it is equally important to know more about who is doing what, where, how, and with whom, to make the most of these efforts,” reads the report.
The report calls for the elevation of the voice of local education actors into national education decision-making.
“There is also a need to build the evidence base and data systems that embed accountability for education outcomes, and working across silos and sector boundaries in an agile, risk-taking and constructively disruptive way,” it adds.
The report has made the following key calls to action for philanthropic funders.
1) Listen to local voices and keep learning about what ‘local’ means.
“There is an incredible range of voices and debate on what philanthropy means in, for and across African communities. Anyone funding in Africa should engage with this. To a lesser extent, there is debate on the ‘why and how’ of education across Africa. We urge funders to listen to this debate and to create spaces for this discourse to be heard.”
2) Enable education change to be informed by evidence and debate
“Philanthropy is playing a role in improving the generation and sharing of research on Africa by Africans (such as the African Research for African Researchers consortium, the Education for Sub-Saharan Africa database, and the ADEA African research prize). There are also two or three efforts at establishing a regular forum for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to come together to share and learn but no committed funding for this to become a regular pan-African event. We recommend education philanthropy thinks about supporting a regular forum in Africa for debate on education.”
3) Collaborate more, because you are stronger together
“There are several examples of collaboration between philanthropic organizations, which bring more voices and funding together and diminish fragmentation. We see fewer organizations identifying as collaboration enablers, creating the conditions for collaboration between education actors such as NGOs, researchers, and government. We urge philanthropic actors to think about the potential for competition that the funding architecture can create, and to take steps to limit this.”
The IEFG report makes a strong case for philanthropy to be more strategic, locally informed, and collaborative. By embracing these recommendations, funders can better contribute to sustainable development and meaningful social change in Africa. The challenge now is for philanthropic organizations to take these insights forward and turn them into actionable commitments that truly make a difference.
The report was jointly prepared by The International Education Funders Group (IEFG) in partnership with the African Union (AU), Africa Philanthropy Network (APN), Africa Venture Philanthropy Association (AVPA), the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI), East Africa Philanthropy Network (EAPN), Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the Independent Philanthropy Association South Africa (IPASA), OECD’s network of foundations working on development
(netFWD) and Trust Africa.
