Women of the South Speak Out (WOSSO)

What Women of the South Speak Out (WOSSO) does

Women of the South Speak Out (WOSSO) is a non-profit advocacy consortium headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, formed by two prominent Southern Women's Rights Organisations (Gender Links and ARROW) and the UK-based development firm Mannion Daniels. The organization centers on amplifying the voices of women and girls from the Global South to inform gender-responsive policy and decision-making. It operates through a regional fellowship model that awards cohorts across Asia-Pacific, LATAC, MENA, and Sub-Saharan Africa, selecting grassroots advocates and building their capacity to engage in regional and international advocacy spaces, policy development, and conferences.

WOSSO's core products and platforms consist of the WOSSO Fellowships program, the WOSSO Learning Hub (an online knowledge repository hosting Policy Briefs, Stories of Change from Fellows, and Townhall recordings organized by practice area, region, and theme), and the integration of fellow-built digital advocacy tools including Sexdugram (an Indonesian youth sexuality education platform reaching 70,000+ users), Lapor Yuk! (a sexual violence reporting app with 10,000+ downloads supporting 300+ survivors since 2019), and the partner-operated YIELD Hub. The consortium also runs virtual Townhalls, advocacy conferences (including African Women in Dialogue), and produces policy briefs on topics ranging from comprehensive sexuality education and family law reform to disability rights and climate justice.

The business model is grant-funded: as a non-profit consortium, WOSSO does not sell products or services, and all programs, fellowships, and resources are delivered free of charge through donor and development partner funding. The organization serves women and girls from marginalized communities in the Global South, with go-to-market executed through community-led advocacy, partner networks (Gender Links and ARROW country offices), and content-driven dissemination via the Learning Hub and social channels. Reported operational scale is 26 employees supporting multi-regional fellowship cohorts and policy advocacy outputs.

Name

Women of the South Speak Out (WOSSO)

Legal name

Women of the South Speak Out (WOSSO)

Website

https://wosso.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WOSSO is a non-profit consortium (Gender Links, ARROW, Mannion Daniels) that runs regional fellowships across the Global South to amplify women and girls' voices and drive gender-responsive policy through capacity building, policy briefs, and digital advocacy platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Women's Rights Advocacy

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGABAF

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/International Development & Poverty Alleviation

SECONDARYHLAJAKAO

Global Health Advocacy, Policy & Rights Organizations

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Global Health & Development Agencies (NGOs/Multilaterals)

Keywords

• Women's rights advocacy
• Gender equality programs
• Policy advocacy services
• Capacity building training
• Nonprofit consortium services

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding and Donor Support: As a non-profit consortium, WOSSO operates through funding from donors and development partners to support its fellowship programs, advocacy initiatives, and capacity building activities across the Global South.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WOSSO is a non-profit consortium that awards regional fellowships to women advocates in the Global South, building their capacity to amplify grassroots voices in regional and international advocacy spaces. The organization generates evidence to drive gender-responsive policies and decision-making, supported by a Learning Hub hosting Policy Briefs, Stories of Change, and Townhall content organized by Practice Areas and Regions. Activities span Asia-Pacific, LATAC, MENA, and Sub-Saharan Africa through a fellowship model coordinated by the consortium of Gender Links, ARROW, and Mannion Daniels.

Product overview

Women of the South Speak Out (WOSSO) is a consortium of advocacy organizations (Gender Links, ARROW, and Mannion Daniels) focused on amplifying women and girls' voices in the global south. The organization operates through regional fellowships that build capacity and generate evidence for gender-responsive policies. Their digital ecosystem includes youth-led platforms like Sexdugram and Lapor Yuk! for SRHR education and violence reporting, supported by a Learning Hub containing Policy Briefs, Stories of Change, and Townhall content. They also leverage the YIELD Hub partner platform for youth-centred advocacy solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WOSSO Fellowships

Quantifiable outcome

• Dina Chaerani's Sexdugram platform reached 70,000+ young people with sexuality education
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

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

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gender LinkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of two prominent Southern Women's Rights Organisations (WROs) forming the WOSSO consortium. Gender Links brings expertise in gender equality advocacy and is a co-founding partner of the consortium.
• ARROWcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of two prominent Southern Women's Rights Organisations (WROs) forming the WOSSO consortium. ARROW brings expertise in sexual and reproductive health and rights advocacy and is a co-founding partner of the consortium.
• Mannion DanielscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based development firm that is part of the WOSSO consortium, providing development and implementation expertise alongside the two WRO partners.
• British High Commission in NigeriaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWOSSO Fellow Jennifer Abomnger led an advocacy visit to build international awareness of intersectional barriers faced by women with disabilities in Nigeria.
• African Women in Dialogue (AfWID)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional platform where WOSSO Fellows gain visibility and validation by speaking publicly about exclusion faced by women with disabilities in health systems and policy spaces.
• Network of Rural Women Producers of Trinidad and Tobago (NRWPTT)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization where Sherina Supersad serves as Youth Ambassador of Agriculture, bridging food security, climate resilience, and youth empowerment advocacy.
• Springs of Life ZimbabweminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSex worker-led organisation founded by WOSSO Townhall speaker Precious Msindo, advocating for dignity and rights of sex workers with policy gains including removal of ART user fees.
• Women Environmental Program (WEP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization where Jennifer Abomnger serves as Short-Term Consultant, coordinating activities for the African Women and Gender Constituency Learning Exchange.
• Disability Rights Advocacy Centre (DRAC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization where Jennifer Abomnger previously worked as Program Assistant, executing projects funded by renowned organizations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• International Women's Development Agency (IWDA): Australian-based feminist organization focused on resourcing and amplifying women's rights movements across Asia and the Pacific. Comparable because it pursues the same locally-led advocacy, partnership, and evidence-generation playbook WOSSO applies in Asia-Pacific.
• Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights: Global feminist rapid-response and resourcing mechanism for women's human rights defenders. Comparable as a Global South-rooted grantmaker-amplifier hybrid that supports individual advocates and small organizations pursuing gender-just policy change.
• ARROW (Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women): A second co-founding consortium partner of WOSSO, focused on SRHR advocacy across Asia-Pacific. Directly comparable as it pursues gender-responsive policy change through regional advocacy networks and evidence generation, mirroring WOSSO's core model.
• Gender Links: One of WOSSO's three co-founding consortium partners and a leading Southern African women's rights organization. Directly comparable because it operates the same gender-equality advocacy and SRHR mission WOSSO champions at the regional level.
• CREA: Global South feminist organization advancing sexual and reproductive rights and gender justice. Directly comparable because it combines fellowship-style leadership development, policy advocacy, and SRHR-focused knowledge production across multiple regions.

Emerging players

• FRIDA - The Young Feminist Fund: Youth-led feminist fund resourcing young feminist organizers in the Global South. Comparable as it channels flexible funding and capacity support to grassroots advocates, intersecting directly with WOSSO's fellowship cohort model.

Broad incumbents

• AWID (Association for Women's Rights in Development): A long-established global feminist membership organization supporting women's rights advocates worldwide. Comparable as a broader incumbent that occupies the same advocacy-amplification and capacity-building space WOSSO targets, though with a wider portfolio.
• Global Fund for Women: Long-standing feminist foundation resourcing women's rights organizations globally. Comparable as an established grantmaker-amplifier model that combines direct funding, capacity building, and advocacy infrastructure for the same constituencies WOSSO serves.
• Women Deliver: Global advocacy organization convening diverse stakeholders on gender equality and SRHR. Comparable as a broader incumbent that shapes the international advocacy spaces WOSSO fellows participate in, though operating with a much larger global footprint.
• Plan International: Large international development organization advancing children's rights and girls' equality worldwide. Comparable because it works on intersecting issues of gender equality, SRHR, and youth empowerment across many of the same Global South geographies as WOSSO.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WOSSOGL
• Facebookfacebook.com/wossogl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wossogl
• Instagraminstagram.com/wossogl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Women of the South Speak Out (WOSSO)