Adis Ababa to host 10th EAPN conference

When the 10th East Africa Philanthropy Conference convenes in Addis Ababa from June 16–20, 2026, it will do so against a backdrop of profound change in how African philanthropy understands itself, organizes capital, and defines impact.

Ten years after the conference series began, the sector is no longer preoccupied with proving that African giving exists. The focus has shifted to how that giving is coordinated, governed, and sustained.

A decade ago, the dominant narrative was narrow and externally framed.

African civil society was widely perceived as dependent on foreign aid, local philanthropy as informal and difficult to quantify, and sustainability as synonymous with securing multi-year grants from bilateral donors or foundations based in New York, London, or Brussels.

According to the East Africa Philanthropy Network (EAPN), “that narrative no longer holds,” as African philanthropy moves “from the margins to the centre of how development, solidarity, and sustainability are financed across the continent.”

The data increasingly support this shift.

Africa is now the most generous continent globally, measured by the percentage of income donated.

Nigeria ranks first worldwide, with households contributing an estimated 2.83 percent of income, while Ethiopia follows at 1.51 percent.

Diaspora remittances exceed US$100 billion annually, far surpassing official development assistance.

As EAPN notes, this scale of giving “underscores the depth of African-led financial commitment to the continent’s future.”

Yet structural imbalances persist. African-led organisations still receive less than two per cent of international philanthropic funding.

Even so, EAPN observes that these organisations “are steadily building operational capacity, institutional models, and governance systems that reflect long-term ambition.”

Across the region, pooled funding mechanisms now support climate action, education, and social entrepreneurship.

Family foundations are professionalising governance and succession, while faith-based networks mobilise capital at scales that formal philanthropy is only beginning to fully understand.

The momentum visible in 2026 did not emerge in isolation. The 9th East Africa Philanthropy Conference marked a critical transition point, shifting conversations from growth to systems.

Participants grappled with questions of trust-based philanthropy, regulatory reform, cross-border coordination, and the need for African-defined evidence frameworks.

The conference emphasised collaboration over competition, and learning over fragmentation, laying the groundwork for the more ambitious agenda now unfolding.

Building on those outcomes, Addis 2026 arrives at what EAPN describes as an infrastructure moment. “The significance of 2026 lies not only in growth, but in infrastructure,” the Network states.

Capital structures for long-term deployment are being designed and tested. Institutions are developing operational memory that can withstand leadership transitions and shifting funding cycles.

Coordination mechanisms are enabling actors to move together across borders and contexts, while evidence systems are informing decision-making at an increasing scale.

Policy and regulatory frameworks are also being negotiated to support expanded and more effective operations.

This evolution reflects a deeper shift in mindset.

“The ecosystem has moved from isolated experiments to coordinated learning, from proving viability to establishing standards, and from external validation to defining African benchmarks for effectiveness,” EAPN noted.

The Addis convening will bring together more than 700 leaders spanning philanthropic foundations, impact investors, policymakers, legal and regulatory experts, diaspora networks, faith-based institutions, corporate social investors, academic researchers, multilateral agencies, and implementing organisations.

For EAPN, the breadth of participation signals a sector in consolidation.

“This reflects a field that is no longer emerging, but aligning for long-term impact,” the Network says.

At the heart of the 10th conference is a central question: what changes when coordination becomes the competitive advantage?

The answers emerging in Addis Ababa are likely to shape not only the next phase of East African philanthropy, but Africa’s role in redefining global giving itself.

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