SECTION27

What SECTION27 does

SECTION27 is a Johannesburg-based non-profit public-interest law organisation founded in 2010 that uses litigation, advocacy, legal literacy, research and community mobilisation to advance socio-economic rights in South Africa, with primary focus on the constitutional rights of access to healthcare (section 27) and basic education (section 29). Its core service offering is free legal support delivered via an in-house Advice Centre, strategic litigation on issues such as school sanitation, textbook delivery, access to medicines, the Life Esidimeni mental healthcare tragedy, copyright reform and abortion access, alongside policy submissions to Parliament and government departments. The organisation maintains a distributed partner model: it does not charge fees for its services but supports itself through section 18A-tax-deductible public donations (PayFast, EFT, SnapScan, Woolworths MyDifference) and foundation/funder grants, with PBO Number 930022549 and NPO Number 055-382. SECTION27 produces a recurring publication stream - the Know Your Constitution Handbook, Basic Education Rights Handbook, and A Practitioner's Guide on Constitutional Remedies (May 2026) - and runs an Abortion in ESA sub-domain portal covering ten East and Southern African countries, signalling scope beyond purely domestic work. Its operational backbone is a small team (11-50 employees) of legal researchers, in-house counsel, heads of the Health Rights and Communications programmes, and an Executive Director (Umunyana Rugege), working in formal alliance with Treatment Action Campaign, Equal Education, Equal Education Law Centre, Legal Resources Centre, Children's Institute, Lawyers for Human Rights, the Budget Justice Coalition and other civil-society coalitions. SECTION27 is not a technology business; it has no app, no public API, no AI/ML surface, no disclosed revenue figures and no parent or subsidiary structure, functioning instead as an advocacy NPO whose outputs are court papers, policy submissions, handbooks, press statements and research reports.

Name

SECTION27

Legal name

SECTION27

Website

https://section27.org.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SECTION27 is a Johannesburg-based non-profit public-interest law organisation that uses litigation, advocacy and research to advance South Africans' constitutional rights to healthcare and basic education, serving vulnerable communities, civil-society coalitions and government policy processes at no cost.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Interest Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (54111), Legal Services (5411), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Rule of Law & Justice Sector Reform (BPADAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Health Law, Legal Counsel & Regulatory Affairs Offices (HLAJACAJ), Legal Literacy & Public Legal Education (Know Your Rights) (EDAAAFAI), Legal Reference (Statutes, Case Law, Practice Guides) (EDAGAGAB)

Keywords

• Public interest law
• Human rights advocacy
• Constitutional litigation
• Socio-economic rights
• Legal aid services

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: SECTION27 operates as a registered Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) and Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) in South Africa. The organization accepts monthly and one-off donations from the public. Donations are tax-deductible under section 18A of the Income Tax Act, with PBO Number 930022549 and NPO Number NPO 055-382.
2. Foundation and Funder Grants: SECTION27 receives support from various funders as indicated on their funders page. The organization publishes annual reviews documenting funding sources and financial sustainability.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SECTION27 is a South African public interest law organisation that uses litigation, advocacy, legal literacy, research, and community mobilisation to advance the right to access healthcare services and the right to basic education as guaranteed in sections 27 and 29 of the Constitution. It provides free legal advice and representation through its Advice Centre, conducts public interest litigation, makes policy submissions to government bodies, and publishes legal literacy handbooks for communities, learners, and practitioners.

Product overview

SECTION27 is a non-profit human rights organisation offering legal advocacy services rather than a technology product. Its core offering consists of legal services including litigation, advocacy, legal literacy, research, and community mobilisation to advance socio-economic rights in South Africa. The organisation provides educational publications including the Know Your Constitution Handbook and Basic Education Rights Handbook as legal literacy tools. SECTION27 also maintains the Abortion in ESA sub-domain portal as a resource on sexual and reproductive health rights across East and Southern Africa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Human Rights Legal Services Legal advocacy, litigation, legal literacy, research, and community mobilisation to advance socio-economic rights, particularly the right to access healthcare services and basic education in South Africa. Includes free legal advice via the Advice Centre, public interest litigation, and policy submissions to government.
• Know Your Constitution Handbook

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully litigated to ensure the National School Nutrition Programme is delivered to all eligible learners
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership with the Treatment Action Campaign for joint advocacy on access to medicines, HIV/AIDS treatment, and health rights. The organisations have made joint submissions on health legislation, patent law reform, and health systems strengthening.
• Equal Education Law CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint litigation and advocacy on education rights including school sanitation (Michael Komape case), textbook delivery, and school fee exclusions. Partners in the Budget Justice Coalition.
• Equal EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on education rights campaigns including school sanitation, the National School Nutrition Programme, and the #TextbooksMatter case. Joint litigation on education infrastructure.
• Children's Institute (UCT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on child rights, education rights, and health rights. Collaborated on submissions regarding the Children's Amendment Bill and child protection.
• Lawyers for Human RightscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint advocacy on migrant rights, xenophobia, and refugee protection. Collaboration on statements condemning xenophobia and on refugee crisis interventions.
• Budget Justice CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive membership in the Budget Justice Coalition, making joint submissions on the Division of Revenue Bill, annual budgets, and fiscal framework to advance rights-based fiscal reform.
• Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition (SRJC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on abortion rights and sexual reproductive health justice. Joint work on telemedicine for abortion services and advocacy on National Clinical Abortion Guidelines.
• Rural Health Advocacy Project (RHAP)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint submissions on human resources for health remuneration and deployment policies. Collaboration on advancing equity and patients' rights in health policy.
• Stop Stockouts ProjectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on monitoring and reporting medicine stockouts. Joint publication of reports on HIV and contraceptive services following US funding freeze.
• Legal Resources Centre (LRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership on litigation including joint submissions on the Constitution Nineteenth Amendment Bill and the Central Methodist Church refugee case.
• Eastern Cape Health Crisis Action Coalition (ECHCAC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition focused on health crisis in Eastern Cape, making submissions on the Division of Revenue Bill and health budget allocations for the Eastern Cape.
• Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint submissions on inclusivity of SOGIESC in schools and other constitutional rights matters.
• Centre for Child Law (CCL)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint submissions on child rights including the Children's Amendment Bill and regulations regarding children.
• BlindSAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint submission to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities regarding copyright barriers that prevent access to reading materials for blind and visually impaired individuals in South Africa.
• Kopanang Africa Against XenophobiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint statement condemning the wave of intimidation and violence targeting migrant persons in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
• Teddy Bear FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint submissions on the Children's Act draft amendment regulations regarding children, focusing on child protection.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Legal Resources Centre (LRC): South Africa's largest public interest law clinic, also pursuing constitutional and socio-economic rights litigation across health, education, and housing. SECTION27 and LRC are formal partners and file joint submissions, indicating direct overlap in client base, mandate, and litigation strategy.
• Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS): University of the Witwatersrand-based public interest law centre working on constitutional rights, equality, and socio-economic rights. CALS is a current SECTION27 partner and historically housed the AIDS Law Project — making it a direct peer in legal expertise, client base, and South African civil society positioning.
• Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI): Public interest law and research organisation focused on socio-economic rights, particularly housing, land, and urban inclusion. SERI directly competes with SECTION27 for the same pool of human rights funders and pursues overlapping constitutional litigation strategies in South African courts.
• Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR): Long-standing South African public interest law organisation with a similarly broad human rights mandate spanning migrants, refugees, and constitutional rights. LHR is a SECTION27 coalition partner, indicating overlapping client base and casework on issues such as xenophobia and refugee protection.
• Equal Education Law Centre: Specialised public interest law centre focused on basic education rights and school infrastructure litigation. A direct peer and partner of SECTION27 in cases such as the Michael Komape sanitation matter and the #TextbooksMatter case, sharing the same target beneficiary base of learners.
• Centre for Child Law (CCL): University of Pretoria-based public interest law unit focused on child rights litigation, including access to education and child protection. A formal SECTION27 partner with directly overlapping child rights and education rights mandate.

Emerging players

• Treatment Action Campaign (TAC): Health-focused civil society organisation with a strong advocacy and litigation track record on HIV/AIDS and access to medicines. TAC is a long-standing SECTION27 partner; while more advocacy- and movement-driven than law-firm-like, it shares the same beneficiary base and donor pool.
• ProBono.Org: South African clearinghouse connecting private lawyers with indigent clients. While its service model (private lawyer referrals) differs from SECTION27's in-house litigation, both address access to justice for vulnerable populations and compete for related funder support.
• Children's Institute (UCT): University of Cape Town research and advocacy unit on child rights, including education and child protection. A SECTION27 partner in submissions on the Children's Amendment Bill; while more research-oriented, it shares an overlapping mandate and donor base in the child rights space.

Broad incumbents

• Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC): Regional public interest litigation organisation supporting strategic cases across southern Africa on human rights, HIV, and rule of law. Comparable to SECTION27 in legal approach but operates at a broader SADC geographic scope, positioning it as a regional-scale peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/section27news
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/section27
• Facebookfacebook.com/SECTION27news

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SECTION27