Women Leaders Network for Development (RFLD)

What Women Leaders Network for Development (RFLD) does

RFLD (Network of Women Leaders for Development, Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement) is a pan-African feminist non-profit network founded in 2013 by Gloria Agueh Dossi Sekonnou and headquartered in Porto-Novo, Benin, with three additional regional offices in Accra (Ghana, anglophone anchor), Dakar (Senegal, francophone hub), and Banjul (The Gambia, ACHPR liaison). It operates an integrated four-function model: continental advocacy (notably via ACHPR Observer Status N°553 and engagement with AU/ECOWAS mechanisms), open-data infrastructure (the DỌNỤÉSÈ Data Center, comprising 12 free bilingual EN/FR open-data tools covering all 55 AU member states), grassroots re-granting (WAFFF Fund and the Africa Portfolio Grant launching September 2026), and direct programme delivery across six fields — SRHR, civic space, climate and economic justice, governance, peace and security, and ending FGM/child marriage.

The organisation's core technology is the DỌNỤÉSÈ Data Center, which includes the Maputo Protocol Hub (tracking ratification across 46 of 55 AU states), the ACDEG Hub, the West Africa Legislative Platform, the African Digital Safety Compendium, a Francophone Human Rights MOOC, and a rapid-response re-granting platform with 5-day decision timelines. RFLD also donates a full institutional management software suite (valued at ~$5,000 per organisation) as in-kind support to member organisations. The network comprises 670 women-led member organisations across 35+ African countries, with 317 new members added in March 2026.

RFLD's revenue model is institutional grant funding: in 2025 it managed $1.77M across 35+ countries with 85% directed to field activities. Funding comes from a diversified base of foundations and bilaterals — GIZ/BMZ (SEA-T programme), Sida (CHARM Africa, NAFASI), Packard Foundation, AmplifyChange, Foundation for a Just Society, Expertise France, Hivos, AWDF, and UAF-Africa — supplemented by individual donations and Donor-Advised Fund giving enabled by the 2026 NGOsource 501(c)(3) Equivalency Determination. Re-granting flows through tiered grant products ranging from $5,000 urgent action grants (WAFFF) to $500,000 movement-building grants (Africa Portfolio Grant Dada tier). The organisation holds the 2026 Presidency of the GIZ/BMZ SEA-T Advisory Council and is registered as a non-profit across Benin, Ghana, Senegal, and The Gambia.

Name

Women Leaders Network for Development (RFLD)

Legal name

Network of Women Leaders for Development (RFLD)

Website

https://rflgd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

RFLD is a pan-African feminist non-profit network founded in 2013, operating across 35+ African countries through 670 member organisations and four regional offices in Benin, Ghana, Senegal, and The Gambia, combining continental advocacy, open-data infrastructure, re-granting, and direct programme delivery on women's rights.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit Advocacy and Civil Society Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF)

Keywords

• Feminist advocacy
• Civil society
• Re-granting platform
• Open data tools
• Member organisations

Headquarters

HQ city

Porto-Novo (Francophone Hub)

HQ country

Benin

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Institutional Grant Funding: RFLD's primary revenue consists of multi-year institutional grants from foundations, bilateral donors, and development cooperation agencies. Managed $1.77M in 2025 across 35+ countries with 85% directed to field activities. Current institutional donors include GIZ/BMZ (SEA-T programme), Sida (CHARM Africa, NAFASI Consortium), Packard Foundation, AmplifyChange, Foundation for a Just Society, Expertise France, and Hivos.
2. Donations & Philanthropic Giving: Individual donations, DAF giving, and diaspora support. US donors can give tax-deductibly via NGOsource equivalency determination. Accepts contributions through Donor-Advised Funds at Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, NPT, CAF America.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

RFLD is a pan-African feminist network that operates as a feminist intermediary combining continental advocacy, open-data infrastructure, grassroots re-granting, and direct community programme delivery. The organisation coordinates 670 member organisations across 35+ African countries through four regional offices, delivering programmes in six fields of intervention (SRHR, civic space, climate/economic justice, governance, peace and security, and ending FGM and child marriage) while publishing twelve free bilingual open-data tools covering all 55 AU member states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WAFFF Fund: West African Francophone Feminist Fund — RFLD's re-granting facility for feminist civil society across the nine Ouagadougou Partnership countries. Rapid response, core operational funding, advocacy grants, and vulnerable groups inclusion support.
• DƆNÙESÈ Data Center
• BRAVE Programme
• PAWELE Programme
• AIHRDFWA
• Maputo Protocol Hub
• ACDEG Hub
• West Africa Legislative Platform
• NAFASI

Products and services

• BRAVE Programme Flagship sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) programme providing community mobilisation and continental advocacy for maternal health, contraception, safe abortion services, and comprehensive sexuality education. Active in 15+ African countries, anchored in Maputo Protocol Articles 8, 9, 12 and 14.
• PAWELE Programme Programme for African Women's Empowerment, Leadership, and Equality — RFLD's flagship governance programme advancing women's political leadership, ACDEG implementation, and legislative tracking across West Africa.
• WAFFF Fund (West African Francophone Feminist Fund) Re-granting facility for feminist civil society across the nine Ouagadougou Partnership countries. Provides urgent action grants (up to $5,000, 5-day decision), capacity building grants (up to $20,000), advocacy grants (up to $30,000), and vulnerable groups inclusion support; includes encrypted verification for high-risk environments.
• Africa Portfolio Grant Flexible core support and project-specific funding for organisations led by women & girls, Vulnerable Groups, and people with disabilities. Five-tier grant portfolio: Upendo Grants (US $25,000 rapid response), Agojie Grants (US $50,000 capacity building), Sisonke Grants (US $100,000 community-led campaigns), Alafia Grants (US $250,000 systemic change), and Dada Grants (US $500,000 movement building).
• DŌNÙESÈ Data Center Open-data platform comprising twelve free bilingual open-data tools covering all 55 African Union member states, accessible without login, fees, or API keys. Includes country data centers, maternal health tracker, climate action platform, ACDEG hub, Maputo Protocol hub, and West Africa Legislative Platform.
• Maputo Protocol Hub Tracking ratification, domestication, and implementation of the Maputo Protocol across 46 of 55 AU member states. Includes indigenous-language translations (Haoussa, Zarma, Yoruba, Goun) with audio recordings.
• ACDEG Hub Leading civil society hub for monitoring and advocacy on the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG).
• West Africa Legislative Platform Consolidated public database tracking women's rights legislation across the ECOWAS region; part of the DŌNÙESÈ Data Center.
• African Digital Safety Compendium Continental reference on digital violence against women and civil society providing protocols and protection frameworks.
• Francophone Human Rights MOOC Online human rights learning hub providing MOOCs for francophone African civil society.
• RFLD Management Suite Full institutional management software suite donated as an in-kind grant worth roughly US $5,000 per organisation to member organisations, supporting donor compliance, reporting, and operational management.

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% of funds directed to field activities (2025)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• African Union (ACHPR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRFLD holds Observer Status N°553 with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. Gloria Sekonou selected as AU AGA Youth Ambassador for the Governance Continental Roadshow Campaign. Active engagement on Maputo Protocol, ACDEG, and AU GEWE frameworks.
• ECOWAScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive engagement on women's rights legislation, peace and security agenda, and West Africa Legislative Platform work. ECOWAS Centre for Gender and Development serves as regional WPS coordination anchor.
• CHARM Africa ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSida-funded consortium for human rights and media across Sub-Saharan Africa. 7 partners including DefendDefenders (lead since 2023), CIVICUS, Civil Rights Defenders, Fojo Media Institute, Magamba Network, Wits Centre for Journalism, and RFLD. RFLD brings francophone Africa expertise, ACHPR engagement, and Maputo Protocol implementation.
• CIVICUSsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal civil society alliance collaborative partner on civic space work. CIVICUS will hold its 2026 board meeting at RFLD's Dakar office — positioning RFLD as a convening space for African civil society.
• African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional peer organisation based in The Gambia. RFLD's ACHPR liaison office in Banjul maintains close working relationships with ACDHRS and other human rights institutions.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS): The Gambia-based human rights institution working on ACDEG and ACHPR engagement. Direct functional peer and active RFLD partner — comparable mandate on democratic governance and continental human rights mechanisms.
• Akina Mama wa Afrika: Pan-African feminist organisation based in Uganda focused on movement-building, leadership development, and SRHR advocacy. Comparable continental reach, feminist infrastructure model, and African-led governance approach.
• Equality Now: International feminist legal advocacy organisation working on women's rights across Africa, including SRHR and ending FGM. RFLD's Director of Strategy previously worked at Equality Now Kenya — comparable continental advocacy and litigation-adjacent model.
• DefendDefenders: East and Horn of Africa-based human rights organisation leading the CHARM Africa Consortium since 2023 with RFLD as a consortium partner. Comparable in continental human rights defender protection, ACHPR engagement, and rapid-response grant-making.
• FEMNET (African Women's Development and Communication Network): Pan-African feminist network coordinating women's rights organisations across the continent with continental advocacy focus. Direct functional analogue — membership-based feminist intermediary engaging AU and regional bodies.
• AWID (Association for Women's Rights in Development): Global feminist membership organisation supporting women's rights movements, with strong African programming. Directly comparable as a feminist intermediary providing research, convening, and re-granting infrastructure to the African feminist ecosystem.
• Solidarity for African Women's Rights (SOAWR): Pan-African coalition advocating for ratification and implementation of the Maputo Protocol — directly comparable to RFLD's Maputo Protocol Hub. Same continental advocacy niche and similar member-organisation model.
• African Women's Development Fund (AWDF): Pan-African feminist re-granting fund based in Accra that supports women's rights organisations across Africa. AWDF is both a peer and active RFLD partner — most directly comparable re-granting and capacity-building intermediary for African women's movements.
• UAF-Africa: African feminist movement-building and organisational resilience funder. Already an RFLD strategic funding partner — directly comparable feminist intermediary providing multi-year re-granting and capacity-building across the continent.
• CIVICUS: Global civil society alliance with active African civic space monitoring programmes. CIVICUS is both a peer (continental civil society infrastructure) and an active RFLD collaborator — its 2026 board meeting is hosted at RFLD's Dakar office.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rfld

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Women Leaders Network for Development (RFLD)