Association for Research on Civil Society in Africa (AROCSA)

What Association for Research on Civil Society in Africa (AROCSA) does

AROCSA (Association for Research on Civil Society in Africa) is a Pan-African, membership-based nonprofit organization founded in September 2015 in Accra, Ghana, and legally registered in both Nigeria and the United States, with its operational headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria. The organization operates with a small Secretariat of approximately five staff, governed by a regional Board of Directors covering East, West, Central, Northern, and Southern Africa. Its mission is to promote and advance a community of excellence in research and practice on civil society in service of African development, targeting civil society scholars, PhD students, NGO leaders, practitioners, and supporting institutions across Africa and the diaspora.

The organization's core programmatic offerings are: an Annual Conference rotating across African cities (Lagos 2016, Johannesburg 2017, Cairo 2018, Kenya 2019, virtual 2021, Dakar 2022, Kigali 2025); the PhD Fellowship Program providing research grants of up to US$3,500 (launched 2021); the Emerging African Scholars Program (EASP) offering PhD workshops in partnership with ARNOVA and CODESRIA; and the Innocent Chukwuma African NGO Leadership Transition Fellowship Program (ICLTFP), delivered with CAPSI at Wits Business School and now in its 6th cohort. Supporting platform features include a tiered Membership Program, a Job Centre, a Members Portal, the Solidarit\u00e9 monthly newsletter (Ford Foundation-supported), and a curated Non-Profit Resources library. The technology stack is a WordPress-based website (arocsa.org) with Flutterwave integrated for payment processing; no proprietary technology is disclosed.

AROCSA's revenue model blends tiered membership subscriptions (individual plans ranging from free for undergraduates to $249 for supporting members, institutional plans $249-$499), job posting fees for non-members ($75-$225 for 30/60/90 days), conference registration revenue (with member discounts), and donations. The organization's GTM motion is community-led and event-driven, relying on the credibility of its founding partners — Ford Foundation as founding funder and ARNOVA as founding mentor — and a broad partner ecosystem including CODESRIA, CAPSI/Wits, and multiple African universities. Brand reputation is reinforced by the 10-year operating history (founded 2015) and the 2025 10th Anniversary milestone in Kigali, Rwanda.

Name

Association for Research on Civil Society in Africa (AROCSA)

Legal name

Association for Research On Civil Society in Africa

Website

https://arocsa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AROCSA is a Pan-African, membership-based nonprofit founded in 2015 that advances civil society research and practice through fellowships, an annual conference, PhD workshops, and scholar-practitioner networks, serving scholars, NGO leaders, and doctoral students across Africa and the diaspora.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association and Nonprofit Research Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Educational Support Services (611710), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDADALAK

Research, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Partnerships

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Education Partnerships, Intergovernmental & NGO Programs

Keywords

• Civil society research
• Nonprofit professional association
• Phd fellowship programs
• Leadership transition fellowships
• Annual academic conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

Abuja

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees from individual and institutional members. Individual plans range from free (undergraduate) to $249 (supporting), while institutional plans range from $249 to $499. Fees provide access to member-only sections, discounts on conferences, and other member benefits.
2. Job Centre Listings: Non-members can subscribe to post jobs on the AROCSA Job Centre for Short Term (30 days, $75), Medium Term (60 days, $150), or Long Term (90 days, $225). Members receive free job postings.
3. Donations: AROCSA accepts donations from supporters. The organization emphasizes that donations help keep AROCSA running and supports civil society research on Africa, for Africa, by Africans.
4. Conference Revenue: Revenue generated from conference registrations, with discounts provided to AROCSA members for attending the annual conference.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

AROCSA is a Pan-African membership-based professional association that promotes and advances a community of excellence in research and practice on civil society in Africa. Its core offerings include an annual conference, the PhD Fellowship Program providing research grants up to US$3,500, the Emerging African Scholars Program (PhD workshops), the Innocent Chukwuma Leadership Transition Fellowship Program for NGO leaders, a Job Centre for CSO recruitment, and a members portal with e-library and directory resources.

Product overview

AROCSA is a membership-based Pan-African organization that serves as a platform for engagement among civil society scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. The organization operates as a unified membership platform with interconnected programs including the Annual Conference (gathering civil society professionals for research exchange), the PhD Fellowship Program (providing research grants to doctoral scholars), the Emerging African Scholars Program (offering PhD workshops and mentoring), and the Innocent Chukwuma Leadership Transition Fellowship Program (supporting NGO leadership succession). Additional features include a Job Centre for CSO recruitment, a members portal with networking tools, the Solidarité monthly newsletter, and a resource library of fellowships and research materials. The platform is built on WordPress with integrated payment processing via Flutterwave for membership fees and donations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Innocent Chukwuma African NGO Leadership Transition Fellowship Program (ICLTFP): A fellowship program supporting civil society leaders in documenting their leadership journeys and preparing for successful transitions. Named in honor of the late Innocent Chukwuma, a founding pillar of AROCSA. The 6th cohort was celebrated in 2025.
• Emerging African Scholars Program (EAS)
• AROCSA PhD Fellowship Program
• AROCSA Annual Conference

Products and services

• Annual Conference An annual in-person and virtual gathering of civil society scholars, practitioners, and policymakers from across Africa and the diaspora for networking, learning, and skills-building. Features panel sessions, keynote addresses, research presentations, and the Emerging African Scholars PhD Workshop as a co-located program. AROCSA members receive discounted registration; the 2025 conference in Kigali, Rwanda celebrated the organization's 10th anniversary.
• PhD Fellowship Program Research grants program for PhD scholars who have defended their research proposals, covering fieldwork, data collection, and dissertation printing costs. Grants of up to US$3,500 are awarded to support research in nonprofit management, philanthropy, civil society, social entrepreneurship, and voluntary action studies. Fellows present papers at AROCSA annual conferences and theses are hosted as open-source documents.
• Emerging African Scholars Program (EASP) A PhD workshop program providing guidance for emerging scholars on career paths, research skills sharpening, and addressing challenges African PhD students face. Delivered as virtual workshops and in-person convenings in partnership with ARNOVA, CODESRIA, and PASR. Open to doctoral students across Africa and globally.
• Innocent Chukwuma African NGO Leadership Transition Fellowship Program (ICLTFP)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 400 respondents from 376 organizations across 5 African regions participated in the 2020 Skills Gap Survey
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered major, core, flagship and minor.

• CODESRIA (Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022CODESRIA collaborates with AROCSA on the Emerging African Scholars PhD Workshop, providing scholarly expertise and supporting the goal of providing research support for doctoral students in civil society studies.
• Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022UCAD in Dakar, Senegal partnered with AROCSA to host the 6th Annual Conference and Emerging African Scholars Workshop in September 2022.
• Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021CAPSI at Wits Business School in Johannesburg partners with AROCSA to deliver the Innocent Chukwuma Leadership Transition Fellowship Program. This partnership grounds the program in African realities rather than relying on content from non-African institutions. The partnership runs through 2024.
• ARNOVA (Association for Research on Non-Profit Organizations and Voluntary Action)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2015ARNOVA served as the founding mentor and organizational model for AROCSA's creation. ARNOVA provided mentorship during AROCSA's formation, with over 40 years of experience convening non-profit scholars, practitioners, and students. The partnership includes complimentary membership benefits for AROCSA members and collaborative programs like the Emerging African Scholars PhD Workshop.
• Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for the original Nonprofit Leadership Transition Fellowship Program (NLTF Program) that preceded AROCSA's renamed Innocent Chukwuma program. The inaugural AROCSA Leadership Transition Fellowship was hosted here before the program transitioned to African-based delivery.
• Program on African Social Research (PASR)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPASR partnered with AROCSA and ARNOVA to hold the second Virtual PhD Workshop in July 2021.
• Strathmore UniversityminorOthersListed as a partner organization with visual logo presence on the AROCSA website homepage partners section.
• University of the WitwatersrandminorOthersListed as a partner organization with visual logo presence on the AROCSA website homepage partners section. Home institution of CAPSI for the Leadership Transition Fellowship Program.
• Cheikh Anta Diop UniversitymajorOthersHost venue for the 6th Annual AROCSA Conference in Dakar, Senegal in September 2022.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support (WINGS): Global network of philanthropy-support organizations; broader in scope than AROCSA but operates a similar membership and capacity-building model for civil society infrastructure.
• CIVICUS: Global civil society alliance with an advocacy and monitoring mandate; overlapping community but broader international remit and a different mission emphasis than AROCSA's research focus.
• Candid (formerly Foundation Center and GuideStar): Established US-based data and research infrastructure for the philanthropic sector; comparable in producing practitioner-relevant research resources but at much greater scale.

Direct peers

• ARNOVA (Association for Research on Non-Profit Organizations and Voluntary Action): US-based professional association for nonprofit and civil society scholars founded 40+ years ago; AROCSA was created under ARNOVA's mentorship and shares its member-driven academic-practitioner model.
• CODESRIA (Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa): Pan-African social science research council based in Dakar; AROCSA partners with CODESRIA on the Emerging African Scholars Program and shares a comparable continental convening mission.
• International Society for Third-Sector Research (ISTR): Global academic association for third-sector and civil society research; comparable membership, conference, and journal-driven model to AROCSA's at a global scope.
• African Philanthropy Network: Pan-African membership platform supporting philanthropy and civil society actors; directly comparable in geography, member base, and convening function.

Regional players

• European Research Network on Philanthropy (ERNOP): European academic network for philanthropy and civil society research; mirrors AROCSA's scholar-practitioner model in a different regional context.
• Arab Foundations Forum (AFF): Regional membership forum for philanthropy and civil society in the Arab world; comparable association model focused on a different African/MENA geography.
• Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium: Regional association convening philanthropy and civil society actors in Asia-Pacific; structurally similar regional platform but geographically non-overlapping.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ArocsAfrica
• Facebookfacebook.com/arocsa.africa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/association-for-research-on-civil-society-in-africa-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Association for Research on Civil Society in Africa (AROCSA)