Philanthropy and business forge path to fix learning crisis

African philanthropy is taking a decisive stand against the continent’s deepening learning crisis.

At a high-level dinner in Abuja held on 7th October, 2025, Human Capital Africa (HCA), the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), the Aliko Dangote Foundation, and the African Philanthropy Forum came together to launch two new coalitions dedicated to tackling learning poverty through African-led solutions.

The event, held at the Transcorp Hilton, marked a rare moment of unity between business, philanthropy, and policy leaders, all calling for urgent collective action to protect Africa’s human capital future.

Across Sub-Saharan Africa, nine out of ten children cannot read and understand a simple text by the age of ten.

That figure represents one of the highest rates of learning poverty globally and, as speakers stressed, a threat to Africa’s social and economic stability.

The urgency has grown sharper as global education aid continues to shrink.

Between 2023 and 2026, funding is projected to fall by US$3.2 billion, a 24 percent decline, with Sub-Saharan Africa facing the steepest cuts.

Leaders at the dinner agreed that Africa can no longer depend on foreign assistance to close this gap.

“Education is not just an education problem; it is a human capital emergency,” said Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Founder and CEO of Human Capital Africa.

She argued that the continent’s private and philanthropic sectors must take a leading role in rewriting the story.

“Africa-led philanthropy and private sector leadership can change the trajectory of education on our continent. It is a solvable problem if we work together.”

Ezekwesili added that genuine progress would depend on shifting mindsets from dependency to ownership.

“We can no longer depend on others to solve this challenge for us,” she said.

“Africa must lead, by mobilising domestic resources, designing solutions for our contexts, and building powerful partnerships that put foundational learning at the centre of our development agenda.”

That call resonated strongly among philanthropic leaders who see proximity as power.

Zouera Youssofou, CEO of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, said Africa’s philanthropies are well placed to act because they understand the realities of the communities they serve.

“If you don’t get foundational learning right, nothing else will matter,” she said.

“African philanthropies are in Africa, close to the beneficiaries of our work and aware of the context. There are things a local organisation can do that an outside organisation cannot. We have been the beneficiaries of foreign aid for too long. These are things that we must address ourselves.”

The private sector, too, acknowledged that its long-term competitiveness depends on fixing foundational learning.

Niyi Yusuf, chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, noted that Africa’s growing youth population could become its greatest advantage or its heaviest burden.

“When the foundation is weak, there is only so much you can build on top,” he said. “By 2050, Africa will have 2.5 billion people, and the majority will be young. They are not just the workforce of the future; they are the consumers of the future. If they can’t produce quality or earn properly, they cannot consume. The journey starts today.”

For Mosun Layode, Executive Director of the African Philanthropy Forum, Africa’s wealth offers a powerful but underused lever for transformation. “Africans have an estimated investable wealth of $2.7 trillion,” she said.

“We need to ensure our philanthropy is aligned with national plans, does not work in silos, and invests collectively in the areas that drive impact.”

The newly formed African CEO and Philanthropy Coalitions for Foundational Learning will complement the work of the African Ministerial Coalition for Foundational Learning, which has already secured commitments from more than 30 countries to end learning poverty by 2035.

By uniting philanthropists and business leaders under one mission, the Abuja launch signaled a powerful shift from dependency to determination and placed African philanthropy at the heart of the continent’s education renewal.