FEMNET - African Women's Development and Communication Network

What FEMNET - African Women's Development and Communication Network does

FEMNET (African Women's Development and Communication Network) is a Pan-African feminist membership-based network founded in 1988 and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. The organization serves African women and girls, women's rights organizations, and policy stakeholders across 50 African countries, with a current membership of 843 organizations and individuals. FEMNET annually reaches 10,000+ African women and girls with rights-based information and influences 12 regional and global advocacy spaces. Its work is organized around four strategic pillars: Feminist Solidarity, Shifting Power Structures and Relations, Amplifying Women and Girls' Voices, and Building and Sustaining an Organization with a SOUL.

FEMNET operates a digital-first advocacy and communication platform, producing knowledge products including policy briefs, research publications, and training programs. Its flagship initiative is the African Feminist Macroeconomic Academy (AFMA), which delivers macroeconomic literacy and feminist trade policy training through online workshops and residential academies. The organization also produces two podcast series (Femininja and Dada Power) as strategic communication channels, and is developing a Global Learning Platform (2025-2026) for continent-wide content delivery. A complementary program, the African Feminist Care Academy, focuses on feminist care economy concepts. Priority thematic areas include Climate Justice, Transformative Women's Leadership, SRHR Justice, Economic Justice, African Girls and Young Women, and META (Meaningful Engagement for Transformative Action).

As a non-profit, FEMNET is funded through grants, donations, and membership contributions rather than commercial revenue. Major partners include the European Union (across EU-STITCH, EU META, EU Youth Sounding Board, and feminist climate financing), Plan International Netherlands and Defence for Children-ECPAT in the She Leads PAN Africa Programme, and AfCFTA stakeholders on feminist trade policy. The organization holds NGO Source Equivalency Determination certification, enabling cross-border charitable giving compliance. FEMNET operates with a lean secretariat of 43 employees and is governed by a Board of Directors, with ownership residing collectively in its membership base.

Name

FEMNET - African Women's Development and Communication Network

Legal name

FEMNET - African Women's Development and Communication Network

Website

https://femnet.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

FEMNET is a Nairobi-headquartered Pan-African feminist non-profit network founded in 1988, serving African women and girls across 50 countries through advocacy, knowledge products, and training programs. It has 843 members, reaches 10,000+ beneficiaries annually, and influences 12 regional and global advocacy spaces.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Women's Rights Advocacy and Policy Networking

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF)

Keywords

• Women's rights advocacy
• Feminist network
• Policy advocacy
• Capacity building
• Gender equality programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

FEMNET is a Pan-African feminist membership-based network that amplifies African women's voices in national, regional, and global policy dialogues. It delivers advocacy programs, capacity-strengthening training (e.g., the African Feminist Macroeconomic Academy), knowledge products such as policy briefs and research publications, and digital communications including podcasts (Femininja and Dada Power) to advance women's rights across 50 African countries.

Product overview

FEMNET (The African Women's Development and Communication Network) is a Pan-African feminist membership-based network, not a traditional technology product company. Its "products and services" consist primarily of advocacy programs, knowledge products, and digital communication resources. The core offerings include the African Feminist Macroeconomic Academy (AFMA) — a macroeconomic and feminist trade training program — and a Global Learning Platform under development for delivering feminist education content. FEMNET also produces knowledge resources including policy briefs, research publications, and annual reports accessible through its Resources section, along with two podcast series (Femininja Podcast and Dada Power Podcast) used as strategic communication tools for amplifying African feminist voices. The organization's strategic work is organized around four pillars: Feminist SOLIDARITY, Shifting POWER Structures and Relations, Amplifying Women and Girls' VOICEs, and Building and Sustaining an Organization with a SOUL.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Femininja Podcast A podcast series produced by FEMNET to amplify African feminist voices and narratives through storytelling and knowledge dissemination.
• Dada Power Podcast A podcast series focused on amplifying women's voices and stories, used as a digital communication channel for feminist advocacy and awareness raising.
• African Feminist Macroeconomic Academy (AFMA) A flagship training program providing macroeconomic literacy and feminist trade policy training to African women, covering macroeconomic fundamentals, feminist trade analysis, and the African Continental Free Trade Area.
• African Feminist Care Academy A FEMNET program focused on feminist care economy concepts, providing reflections and learning spaces for African women on care work and related economic justice themes.
• Knowledge Products and Publications FEMNET's published reports, policy briefs, research publications, and training materials including AFMA reports, annual reports, and thematic publications covering SRHR, climate justice, economic justice, and women's leadership.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000+ African women and girls reached annually with women's rights information and mobilization
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.

• Plan International NetherlandsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint strategic partnership in the She Leads PAN Africa Programme working on girls' rights and young women's leadership
• Defence for Children – ECPAT (She Leads Consortium)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the She Leads joint strategic partnership focused on girls' rights and young women's empowerment across Africa
• NGO Source (Equivalency Determination)minorOthersNGO Source Equivalency Determination certification indicating compliance with international standards for charitable organizations
• African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) StakeholderscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngagement on African Feminist Macroeconomic Academy (AFMA) programming focusing on feminist trade policy and AfCFTA implementation analysis from a gender perspective

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights: A global feminist fund providing rapid-response grants to women human rights defenders. Comparable to FEMNET through shared mission of supporting women's rights organizations across Africa and a similar donor-funded, network-driven operating model.
• Solidarity for African Women's Rights (SOAWR): A Pan-African coalition of women's rights organizations coordinated primarily around the Maputo Protocol and AU advocacy. Comparable to FEMNET in its continental advocacy network model and policy influence focus, though narrower in thematic scope.
• Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA): A Pan-African feminist organization headquartered in East Africa focused on women's leadership, economic empowerment, and policy advocacy. Closely comparable to FEMNET in geographic scope, feminist framing, and emphasis on building continental women's movements.
• African Women's Development Fund (AWDF): A Pan-African grantmaking foundation that funds African women's rights organizations across the continent. Directly comparable to FEMNET in geographic focus, women's rights mission, and continental network-of-orgs model, though AWDF operates primarily as a funder rather than direct advocate.
• Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF): A Pan-African network focused on women's legal rights and governance across the continent. Comparable to FEMNET through its membership-based Pan-African structure, advocacy orientation, and East African operational footprint.
• Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID): A global feminist membership organization with strong Pan-African presence, focusing on women's rights advocacy, resourcing feminist movements, and convening civil society. Directly comparable to FEMNET in mission, network-based model, and donor-funded advocacy operations.

Broad incumbents

• Equality Now: A well-established international women's rights organization with operations across Africa. Comparable to FEMNET in mission and donor-funded advocacy model, but broader in geographic scope and more established in legal advocacy and litigation.

Regional players

• GROOTS International: A global network of grassroots women's organizations with strong presence across Africa and Asia. Comparable to FEMNET through its membership-based model and focus on community-level women's leadership, though more internationally distributed.

Others

• UN Women (East and Southern Africa Regional Office): The UN entity coordinating gender equality work across Africa, with which FEMNET engages in policy spaces. Comparable as an ecosystem participant and potential convener of regional advocacy, though not a peer organization in the membership-based CSO sense.

Emerging players

• Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action (CREA): A feminist human rights organization working on SRHR, gender, and sexuality in Africa and South Asia. Comparable to FEMNET through shared thematic focus on SRHR and feminist movement building, though more specialized in sexuality and body rights.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/femnetprog
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCEVf0_4KM5pZ2M9Elz-CQag
• Facebookfacebook.com/femnetsecretariat
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/femnet-african-women-s-development-and-communication-network
• Instagraminstagram.com/femnetsecretariat

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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