Emma Okonji
At the recent regional stakeholder validation workshops held separately in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; and Lagos, Nigeria, stakeholders pushed for practical solutions that would strengthen the sustainability of the African social impact ecosystem.
Organised by African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA), a Pan-African network for social investors that are interested in collaborating to increase the flow of capital into social investments across Africa, the various workshops discussed the issue of Africa’s grant dependency that has resonated with remarkable consistency across Southern, East and West Africa.
The stakeholders were of the view that the future of Africa’s social impact sector should move beyond grant dependency, towards financially resilient, investment-ready organisations and ecosytems.
With the support of its funder, Porticus, AVPA is running a research on ‘NGO Transitions to Sustainable, Investment-Ready Social Ventures in Africa’ and recently, in collaboration with implementation partners, Private Equity Support (PES) and enAble Advisors, convened a series of regional Stakeholder Validation Workshops that brought together NGO leaders, funders, policymakers, corporates, intermediaries and impact investors to validate research findings and, more importantly, co-create practical solutions for strengthening the sustainability of the African social impact ecosystem.
While each region brought unique perspectives, the conversations focused around a shared reality, about how traditional funding models are evolving, requiring organisations to rethink how they finance impact, strengthen organisational readiness, build new competencies and forge stronger cross-sector partnerships. Participants also reinforced that sustainability was no longer simply about securing the next grant, but it’s about building resilient institutions capable of attracting and generating diverse forms of capital and exploring market-based solutions for sustainable impact while remaining true to their mission. The sessions also showcased case studies of organisations that are already demonstrating the reality of thriving beyond grants.
Founder and CEO, enAble Advisors, Dr. Angela Gichaga, said: “At enAble Advisors, we believe that any sector can enhance performance by increasing self-awareness, challenging limiting beliefs, and fostering a “can-do” mindset in leaders and teams, empowering them to navigate complexity and drive exponential impact in their individual lives, organisations and in the world.”
AVPA’s CEO, Dr. Frank Aswani, said: “Africa remains a major impact opportunity in the world but is largely held back by inadequate financing for social investments and especially catalytic or risk capital. Progress towards mobilising sufficient social investments to address our SDG financing gap will only be achieved if we can creatively mobilise and deploy private capital for social investments, and catalytic capital is important in unlocking this capital.”
According to Aswani, the insights gathered from the three regional workshops will shape AVPA’s final research report, policy recommendations and practical roadmap for NGO transitions to more sustainable, less grant-dependent organisations.
“More importantly, they will help inform the conversations at the forthcoming 2026 AVPA Conference, themed: ‘Beyond Aid – Financing Africa’s Future for Sustainable Impact’, holding in Cape Town, South Africa, November 9-11, where we will take the regional insights to a continental stage,” AVPA said in a statement.
According to the statement, the conference will explore how Africa can mobilise more capital, including domestic and international, strengthen investment-ready organisations and build an ecosystem that delivers sustainable impact long after traditional aid has diminished.