Youths in a discussion./PHOTO; AI
Questions around who controls philanthropic capital in Africa, whose interests it ultimately serves and whether young people are genuinely shaping development conversations took center stage during the second segment of The Next Architecture of Philanthropy roundtable series organized by the African Youth Philanthropy Network (AYPN).
The virtual discussion brought together Lawrence Muli from the AU-EU Youth Lab, Nekesa Wamalwa from the African Youth Panel and Fundile Nkala, a SADC Youth Parliamentarian, for a conversation on the future of African philanthropy, donor influence and the role of youth in governance and decision-making.
The panelists challenged participants to rethink philanthropy not just as financial support but as a question of power, agency and ownership over Africa’s development agenda.
Muli opened the discussion by questioning who truly determines development priorities on the continent and whether philanthropy in Africa can genuinely be separated from political and economic interests.
“We all know western philanthropists control a lot of philanthropy in Africa and there are interests that come with it,” Muli said. “It is very interesting when you look at why health and education are core areas where a lot of this philanthropy goes.”
While he acknowledged the emergence of African philanthropists supporting social and economic development across the continent, he argued that African governments have not done enough to create strong systems that allow local philanthropy to grow independently.
“Where is the transparency in funding allocation? Where are the tax incentives for African philanthropists? What is government’s role when donors historically come with their own agenda?” he asked.
For Muli, one of the biggest concerns is the continued exclusion of young people from meaningful participation in governance and policy spaces despite decades of advocacy around youth empowerment.
“What hurts me the most is that at a policy level it is still the same story,” he said. “We are talking about the same youth empowerment we were talking about 15 years ago.”
He pointed to the 20th anniversary of the African Youth Charter this year as evidence of how slowly institutions have moved in mainstreaming youth participation into governance systems.
“There is no mainstreaming of youth in institutions that actually make decisions for young people,” Muli said.
“Systems will always preserve themselves unless there are individuals within those systems willing to fight for structural change.”
According to him, many institutions across the continent continue operating in ways that protect existing structures while limiting opportunities for younger voices to influence long-term policy and development planning.
Nkala brought the conversation closer to local realities, speaking about how donor-funded interventions often arrive with predetermined priorities that do not always match the actual needs of communities.
“Capital often arrives in a prepackaged agenda,” Nkala said. “Sometimes the strings are ideological.”
Drawing from experiences in Zimbabwe, he described how some development projects prioritize visibility and donor reporting requirements while overlooking deeper structural challenges affecting communities.
“A donor might choose to buy exercise books for learners because it creates beautiful pictures for social media while the schools do not even have electricity,” he said.
“They are dealing with symptoms instead of looking at the root causes.”
Nkala argued that funding models designed without proper understanding of local infrastructure and realities can end up limiting innovation instead of strengthening communities.
His comments reflected a broader concern raised throughout the discussion that development interventions in Africa are too often shaped by external assumptions about what African communities need rather than by direct engagement with those communities themselves.
As the discussion progressed, Wamalwa shifted the conversation toward reclaiming African systems of giving and redefining philanthropy beyond formal donor institutions.
“As a feminist, I think I am finally starting to accept that my place is in the kitchen, but not the kitchen of domesticity the kitchen of sovereignty,” Wamalwa said.
Using the metaphor of rebuilding an African kitchen, she argued that African development systems continue to rely heavily on externally designed models, priorities and measures of success.
“For too long our young people have been serving a foreign stew that has been cooked in a different place,” she said. “We do not own the pots; we do not own the ingredients and we did not choose the recipe.”
For Wamalwa, African philanthropy did not begin with foundations, donor agencies or international development organizations.
She argued that giving has always existed within African communities through mutual support systems that are often ignored because they do not fit within formal development structures.
“In Africa, giving is not something that arrives in a fancy suitcase,” Wamalwa said. “When we contribute to a neighbor’s medical bill or a cousin’s school fees, we do not call it philanthropy. We call it living.”
Her remarks resonated strongly with participants as she challenged the idea that philanthropy should only be understood through money, grants and institutional frameworks.
“The resources are only as valuable as the social fabric they strengthen,” she added.
The panelists also questioned how development impact is measured across Africa, arguing that many evaluation systems still prioritize donor expectations over community realities and social transformation.
“We are forced to measure our success using KPIs pulled from a Western encyclopedia,” Wamalwa said.
“These metrics prioritize bandwidth and money spent, but what about what exists within our hearts and communities?”
The discussion repeatedly returned to the issue of agency whether young Africans are genuinely being empowered to shape development systems or are intentionally kept at the margins of decision-making spaces.
Muli argued that young people must actively engage in governance, policymaking and institutional reform if they want to influence structural change across the continent.
“The systemic change we need across all sectors calls on each and every one of us to ensure that we do not run away from governance and policymaking,” he said.
“Decisions will be made whether young people are present or not.”
Beyond criticism, the discussion also reflected a growing determination among young African leaders to redefine philanthropy in ways that are more locally rooted, community-led and accountable to African priorities.
Rather than rejecting partnerships with international donors entirely, the speakers called for relationships that recognize African communities not simply as beneficiaries, but as decision-makers capable of defining their own development paths.
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