African Women's Development Fund

Name

African Women's Development Fund

Legal name

The African Women's Development Fund

Website

http://awdf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

Keywords

• Feminist grantmaking foundation
• Women's rights funding
• Pan-African philanthropy
• Gender justice grants
• Feminist movement support

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Institutional Donor Funding: AWDF receives funding from institutional donors including foundations, governments, and development agencies. Donors include Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ford Foundation, Comic Relief, Hewlett Foundation, and approximately 80+ institutional donors.
2. Individual Donations: AWDF was founded with contributions from individual African women and continues to receive support from individual donors, including legacy estate gifts.
3. Corporate Donations: Support from corporate donors and philanthropy funds including Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund and others.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) is a Pan-African grantmaking foundation that provides funding, capacity building, and movement-building support to African women's rights organisations and feminist movements. AWDF offers tiered grants (Yalla up to USD 50,000, Ananse up to USD 200,000, Pamoja up to USD 500,000) alongside flagship programmes addressing sexual violence, countering backlash, and supporting knowledge exchange across 47 African and 5 Middle East countries.

Product overview

AWDF is a Pan-African grantmaking organization that operates as a platform of interconnected programs supporting African women's rights and feminist movements. The core offering is grantmaking through Pamoja, Ananke, and Yalla funding programs, complemented by flagship initiatives including Leading from the South (a global South feminist consortium), KASA! (ending sexual violence in West Africa), Tahwil Komboa Reziste Consortium, and the No to Backlash initiative. Supporting infrastructure includes knowledge platforms (Sauti Centre, AfriRep, African Women's Knowledge Circles), content platforms (Sisters' Voices podcast, Ongea Mama! Series), capacity building programs, and the Flourish Retreat for feminist well-being.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Leading from the South (LFS): A feminist global South-led consortium conceptualized and managed by four leading women's funds: African Women's Development Fund (AWDF), Fondo de Mujeres del Sur (FMS), International Indigenous Women's Forum (FIMI) / AYNI Fund (AYNI), and Women's Fund Asia (WFA).
• KASA! Fund to End Sexual Violence in West Africa
• Tahwil Komboa Reziste Consortium
• No to Backlash
• The Flourish Retreat
• African Feminist Forum
• The Joana Foster Memorial Grant
• Sauti Centre
• AfriRep
• Ongea Mama! Series
• African Women's Writers Workshop

Products and services

• Grant Programs (Pamoja, Ananse, Yalla) AWDF's core grantmaking programmes offering tiered funding to women-led African organisations. Pamoja grants up to USD 500,000 per annum, Ananse up to USD 200,000 per annum, and Yalla up to USD 50,000 per annum, with grant durations of up to 20 months. Eligible organisations can apply for up to 50% of their verified prior year income.
• Leading from the South (LFS) A feminist global South-led consortium conceptualised and managed by four leading women's funds: AWDF (Africa), Fondo de Mujeres del Sur (Latin America), International Indigenous Women's Forum/AYNI Fund, and Women's Fund Asia. Focused on feminist-led advocacy with recent expansion to include core funding and collective care.
• KASA! Fund to End Sexual Violence in West Africa A feminist initiative led by AWDF in partnership with Ford Foundation West Africa and OSIWA, working to address and reduce sexual violence across West Africa, particularly in Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal. Disbursed USD 6.2 million to 48 grantee partners reaching 2.1 million women and girls.
• Tahwil Komboa Reziste Consortium A feminist consortium supporting communities threatened by the rise of anti-rights and anti-gender movements, in partnership with ISDAO, Purposeful, Doria Feminist Fund, and SIHA.
• No to Backlash Initiative An initiative strengthening feminist resistance by investing in the leadership, agency, and resilience of movements fighting for gender and social justice in Africa.
• Sauti Centre A semi-virtual knowledge exchange space with physical location in Accra and online catalogue hosting over 3,000 materials on feminisms, philanthropy, and the African women's movement.
• AfriRep An open-source African feminist knowledge hub containing research articles, WRO reports, dissertations, toolkits for capacity strengthening, and AWDF publications.
• Capacity Building Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• USD 111 million in total grants awarded to 1,773 organisations across 52 countries since inception
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Equality FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2019Feminist-led grantmaking organisation launched June 2019 with C$300 million funding from Government of Canada, mobilising an additional C$100 million. AWDF partners with Equality Fund, including leading the Fund's feminist grantmaking in Africa. Leverages gender lens investing, government funding and multi-sector philanthropy.
• Leading from the South (LFS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2016A partnership between four Global South women's funds: AWDF (Africa), Fondo Mujeres del Sur (Latin America), Women's Fund Asia, and International Indigenous Women's Forum/AYNI Fund. Launched December 2016 with funding from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, focusing on feminist-led advocacy with recent expansion to include core funding and collective care.
• African Philanthropy NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Co-founded by AWDF, Trust Africa, and Kenya Community Development Foundation in July 2009 as the African Grantmakers Network, later renamed. A continent-wide network of organisations and individuals engaged in philanthropy, shaping how resources are mobilised and spent while centering gender, race, and class.
• Prospera - International Network of Women's FundscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal hub for women's rights funds where AWDF has been actively involved since the early 2000s. AWDF hosted the 2003 annual conference where 25 women's funds from around the world attended. Works to transform the funding landscape for girls, women, gender-diverse people and their communities.
• African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-created the capacity building programme with AWDF in 2007, providing technical training, tools, grants and coaching support for African women's rights organisations.
• Tahwil Komboa Reziste ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeminist consortium including AWDF, ISDAO, Purposeful, Doria Feminist Fund, and SIHA to support communities threatened by anti-rights and anti-gender movements. 'Komboa' means 'Liberate' in Swahili.
• Trust AfricamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in co-founding the African Philanthropy Network (originally African Grantmakers Network) alongside AWDF and Kenya Community Development Foundation.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CREA: A global feminist organisation based in India working on gender, sexuality and rights through grantmaking and movement-building; comparable as a peer feminist fund and Prospera member serving Global South movements.
• Prospera - International Network of Women's Funds: The global network of more than 60 women's funds; directly comparable as AWDF is a long-standing member and 2003 conference host, serving as a peer convening structure for feminist philanthropy worldwide.
• Fondo de Mujeres del Sur: A Latin American feminist grantmaking foundation supporting women's rights and social justice movements; directly comparable as a co-founder of the Leading from the South consortium alongside AWDF.
• Mama Cash: The first international women's fund, founded in the Netherlands in 1983; directly comparable as a feminist grantmaker funding women's, girls' and gender-diverse movements globally, and a founding donor and co-member with AWDF in Prospera.
• Global Fund for Women: A pioneering feminist grantmaking foundation operating globally with a focus on women and girls' rights; directly comparable to AWDF as both are women's funds distributing multi-year, flexible grants to grassroots movements, and Global Fund for Women was one of AWDF's founding institutional donors.
• Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights: A feminist rapid-response grantmaking fund providing short-term, timely grants to women human rights defenders; comparable as a peer women's fund with overlapping grantee base and shared Prospera membership.
• Women's Fund Asia: A regional feminist fund supporting women's rights across Asia; directly comparable as a co-founder of the Leading from the South consortium alongside AWDF and as a peer in Prospera's international network of women's funds.
• International Indigenous Women's Forum (FIMI / AYNI Fund): A global Indigenous women's fund and movement-builder; directly comparable as the fourth co-founder of the Leading from the South consortium alongside AWDF and as a Prospera network peer.
• Equality Fund: A Canadian feminist-led grantmaking and impact-investing fund launched in 2019 with C$300M of government funding; directly comparable as a partner and fellow feminist fund, with AWDF leading Equality Fund's grantmaking in Africa.

Regional players

• Trust Africa: A Pan-African foundation mobilising resources for African civil society; comparable as a regional peer in African philanthropy and a co-founder alongside AWDF of the African Philanthropy Network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/awdf01
• Facebookfacebook.com/africanwomensdevelopmentfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/african-women-s-development-fund-awdf-
• Instagraminstagram.com/the_awdf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 African Women's Development Fund