AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa

What AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa does

AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) is a regional civil society partnership established in 2003 and headquartered in Windhoek, Namibia. It coordinates a network of more than 100 partner organisations across 18 countries in East and Southern Africa, working to advance human rights-based responses to HIV, TB, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), with particular focus on key populations including LGBTQI+ people, sex workers, people who use drugs, women, and adolescent girls.

ARASA delivers its mission through a portfolio of advocacy and capacity-building programmes rather than technology products. Flagship initiatives include the BAI 2.0 Every Body Counts programme, the Love Alliance Regional Advocacy programme, She Learns (in partnership with the Athena Network), Show Us the Money, and the HIV Justice Coalition. The organisation also produces knowledge resources — toolkits, policy briefs, research reports (e.g., an Intersex Regional Scan), and annual reports — and runs an annual research symposium attracting over 180 CSO representatives. There are no SaaS, API, or AI-based technology offerings; ARASA's "platform" is its human partner network.

The revenue model is institutional donor grant funding. Core funders include the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) for BAI 2.0, Aidsfonds for Love Alliance programming, the African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) for She Learns, the Robert Carr Fund for Show Us the Money, and the Global Fund for HIV-related work. Notably, in July 2024 ARASA's role as the Love Alliance Regional Grant Maker in Southern Africa was transferred to Aidsfonds due to internal challenges, signalling a material shift in the organisation's intermediary/grantmaking function.

Name

AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa

Legal name

AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa

Website

https://arasa.info

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ARASA is a Windhoek-based civil society partnership founded in 2003, coordinating 100+ partner organisations across 18 East and Southern African countries to advance human rights-based responses to HIV, TB, and SRHR through advocacy, capacity building, and grantmaking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit HIV, TB, SRHR and Human Rights Advocacy Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Immunization & Vaccine Access Alliances (HLAJAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technical Cooperation, Capacity Building & Policy Advisory Programs (BPADABAO)

Keywords

• HIV advocacy services
• SRHR capacity building
• Civil society partnership
• Human rights advocacy
• Regional grantmaking

Headquarters

HQ city

Windhoek

HQ country

Namibia

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Foundation/Donor Funding: ARASA is a non-profit civil society partnership that receives funding from international development agencies and foundations to support its work in HIV, TB, SRHR, and human rights advocacy across East and Southern Africa.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ARASA is a regional partnership of civil society organisations that advances a human rights-based response to HIV, TB, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) across 18 countries in East and Southern Africa. It delivers integrated advocacy programmes (BAI 2.0 Every Body Counts, Love Alliance Regional Advocacy, She Learns, Show us the Money, HIV Justice Network), capacity-building and training curricula, regional grantmaking to partner CSOs, and policy knowledge products (toolkits, policy briefs, research and annual reports).

Product overview

ARASA is a regional partnership of civil society organisations advancing a human rights-based response to HIV, TB, and sexual and reproductive health in Southern and East Africa. The organisation operates multiple advocacy programmes including BAI 2.0 Every Body Counts (its flagship integrated programme), Love Alliance Regional Advocacy and Grantmaking, She Learns, and Show us the Money. These are supported by knowledge products including toolkits, research reports, policy briefs, and annual reports. The organisation does not offer technology products or SaaS platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BAI 2.0 Every Body Counts

Quantifiable outcome

• ARASA Training and Leadership Programme alumni have grown their organisations from HIV support groups to fully-fledged entities with access to Global Fund and other international funding

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Athena NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Co-implementation partner for the She Learns project addressing systematic SRHR violations against women and LGBTI communities in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, and Namibia. The partnership has facilitated attendance at global forums like Women Deliver 2023.
• HIV Justice NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerARASA is part of a coalition led by the HIV Justice Network for the HIV Justice Global Coalition working to end discriminatory and punitive laws, policies and practices that criminalize people living with HIV. Project implemented in all 18 ARASA countries.
• Love AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional advocacy and grantmaking partnership supporting people who use drugs, sex workers, and LGBTQI+ organisations to advance advocacy at regional level (SADC). Projects implemented in Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Funded by Aidsfonds.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Frontline AIDS:

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/_ARASAcomms
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCL8Stywg-edmZJojE2TGipg
• Facebookfacebook.com/AIDSandRightsAllianceforSouthernAfrica
• Instagraminstagram.com/arasa_info
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aids-and-rights-alliance-of-southern-africa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa