Africa-women-in-philanthropy. Photo illustration AI
The word “philanthropist” rarely evokes the image of an African woman balancing caregiving, trading, and community support.
Yet across Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, and Uganda, women give every day.
They often give without formal titles or institutional recognition.
The Women and Philanthropy in Africa report by the Africa Philanthropy Network sheds light on these overlooked givers in the six regions.
It shows their giving is often informal and unseen, but it is not marginal. It is the quiet infrastructure that communities rely on.
Giving Without Titles, Operating Without Recognition
Across the six countries studied, women are deeply embedded in informal giving systems.
These include community savings groups, religious networks, neighborhood associations, and rotating savings and credit associations.
In Ethiopia, idir (funeral associations) and ekub (rotational savings schemes) remain vital safety nets.
In Burkina Faso, tontines help women pool funds and redistribute them as needed.
These networks are shaped by trust, shared culture, and social obligation.
The report affirms that “informal giving continues to dominate and is strongly embedded in direct, interpersonal relationships without the use of intermediaries.”
These systems help cover school fees, pay hospital costs, build homes, and provide food for the vulnerable.
But because they exist outside formal philanthropy, they are not counted in national statistics or donor tracking tools.
“Most of what women give remains unmeasured, unrecorded, and undervalued.”
What Women Support—and Why
Women’s motivations for giving are as important as the causes they support.
According to the Women and Philanthropy in Africa report, women give for reasons rooted in personal values, lived experiences, and community expectations:
- A strong sense of social duty shaped by faith, culture, and upbringing
- Deep empathy, often linked to their histories of hardship or support
- A belief in reciprocity—giving back because others gave when they had little
- Responsibility to uphold collective well-being, especially in close-knit communities
- Moral conviction that giving is a part of one’s identity, not an optional act
“Philanthropy is seen as a moral and spiritual obligation, and not just an act of generosity.”
The causes women support reflect immediate, everyday needs:
- Paying school fees for orphaned or vulnerable children
- Helping expectant mothers access clinics or traditional birth attendants
- Organizing community feeding efforts or food parcel distributions
- Supporting young women through mentorship or business startup advice
- Funding water access or home repairs after climate shocks
These are not grand, long-term projects. They are precise, compassionate responses to urgent needs.
“Women focus their giving on economic development (youth and women), governance, food security, health, water, sanitation, hygiene, and gender justice.”
What Sets Women’s Giving Apart from Formal Philanthropy
Women’s philanthropy is fundamentally different in its purpose, process, and visibility. It is not structured around institutions or driven by donor expectations.
It operates through social proximity, cultural obligation, and responsiveness to visible needs.
It is giving without labels, metrics, or bureaucracy.
“Their giving is based on perceived need, not on income; many gave even when they had little,” the report stated.
Unlike formal philanthropy, which often relies on grant applications, intermediaries, and structured reporting systems, women give directly through trust-based relationships.
Their actions are shaped by shared life experiences and collective survival, not external agendas.
Their giving prioritizes dignity and community well-being over scale and publicity. They respond to hardship as insiders, not outsiders looking in.
As the report notes, “informal giving continues to dominate and is strongly embedded in direct, interpersonal relationships.”
Most women involved in these giving networks operate entirely offline, relying on word of mouth, home-based gatherings, and basic mobile tools.
Formal philanthropic spaces often demand skills and resources that many local givers don’t have access to, such as proposal writing, digital literacy, or fluency in donor language.
“Women’s philanthropy in Africa is largely unrecognised and lacks visibility due to its informal nature, and its embeddedness in the private sphere of the household or the community.”
What sets their model apart is not just informality, but its flexibility, humanity, and moral grounding.
It is philanthropy rooted in lived reality, not in policy frameworks or external validation.
Policy Disconnects: Why the System Doesn’t See Them
Despite their contributions, women face major structural challenges when trying to organize or expand their giving.
In Ghana, for instance, registering a nonprofit organization can take months and requires navigating multiple government offices.
Similar delays and red tape exist in Uganda and Ethiopia.
Few women know how tax systems apply to charitable activities or whether exemptions exist at all.
Most operate outside the legal framework, not out of choice but because the framework was never built with them in mind.
“Most women who participated in this study did not know that existing legal and policy frameworks provided them with opportunities for accessing tax exemptions or operating as legally recognised entities,” the report stated.
Even for those who do register, the administrative demands—like financial reporting and regular renewals—are often misaligned with how informal groups function.
Barriers Are Cultural, Too
Legal systems aren’t the only problem. Cultural norms and gendered expectations often restrict women’s ability to give freely.
In many households, financial decisions are made by men. Even employed women may be expected to consult their spouses before making donations.
Asset ownership is another hurdle.
Few women own land or property, which means they often can’t access formal credit.
As a result, women-led businesses tend to remain small and informal, limiting their ability to scale philanthropic efforts.
“Most women experience economic marginalisation, and few have established mechanisms or structures to coordinate their giving, increase their assets andwealthh or grow their impact.”
Opportunities to Bridge the Gap
The report outlines several ways to support and scale women’s giving:
- Simplify the legal and tax requirements for small, community-based organizations
- Introduce public education on philanthropic rights and benefits, tailored to women’s groups
- Offer mobile-based tools that track giving in ways aligned with informal systems
- Fund cooperative societies, savings groups, and rotating credit schemes directly
- Recognize caregiving and unpaid support in national data and development plans
Campaigns like #ShiftThePower are calling for more grassroots recognition. But real change depends on policy, not just conversation.
Recognition Is the First Step
The Africa Philanthropy Network’s report concludes that the giving practices of African women are not peripheral to the continent’s development—they are central.
These practices, though largely informal and under-recognized, provide essential social support systems that address education, health, food security, and social cohesion.
“Philanthropy led by African women is resilient, rooted in experience, and key to structural transformation,” stated the report.
The report calls on policymakers, development agencies, and philanthropic institutions to acknowledge and invest in these existing systems.
Recognizing women’s philanthropy is not simply about inclusion. It is about strengthening mechanisms that already sustain communities, often in the absence of formal assistance.
