What Big Win Philanthropy does

Big Win Philanthropy is a private charitable foundation, established in 2012 (reorganized under a Delaware not-for-profit corporate form in 2022), that partners with African public-sector leaders to design and support transformational programs for children and youth. The organization operates exclusively by invitation from government leaders, providing end-to-end implementation support including baseline assessments, strategic program design, dashboards and data systems, technical assistance, resource mobilization, and delivery support. It is governed as two legal entities, Big Win Philanthropy, Inc. (US, Delaware 501(c)(3) private foundation) and Big Win Philanthropy (UK) (charitable company limited by guarantee, Registered Charity No. 1162036), with a team of approximately 30 staff members based primarily in Marylebone, London, plus a US mailing address in Greens Farms, CT, and program engagement across 15+ African countries.

Big Win's core offerings are programmatic rather than technology-based. The portfolio comprises leadership development platforms (the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program co-developed in 2012, AMALI — the African Mayors and Governors Initiative, Cabinet Workshops, Leadership Exchanges, coaching and mentorship) and country-level initiatives spanning Early Childhood Development (Children: The Future Hope of Addis Ababa; ECD in Zanzibar), Nutrition (the Seqota Declaration Program in Ethiopia; Banking on Nutrition with the African Development Bank and Aliko Dangote Foundation; the Presidential Dialogue Group on Nutrition), Learning for Productivity (Transforming Primary Education in Ghana; Building Digital Literacy in Rwanda), Cities (Financing Africa's Urban Future; the African City Financing Partnership) and Youth Employment (Creating Millions of Quality Jobs in Ethiopia; The Amujae Initiative for women leaders). Notable technical components include the dashboards and data systems co-developed with partner governments and third-party-validated impact measurement (Johns Hopkins Lives Saved Tool analysis for Ethiopia's Seqota Declaration).

The organization's business model is charitable giving, not commercial sales. Big Win does not sell products or services, has no pricing model, and earns no licensing royalties; it is funded by donations and grants, primarily from private foundations and high-net-worth donors channeled through the CIFF legacy network and through co-funder arrangements with the African Development Bank, the Aliko Dangote Foundation, the Bernard van Leer Foundation, and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation. Its 'go-to-market' is direct, invitation-only partnership with heads of state, ministers, governors, and mayors, supported by convening at UN General Assembly and African Union events and content published via its website and development-sector media such as Devex and Early Childhood Matters.

Name

Big Win Philanthropy

Legal name

Big Win Philanthropy, Inc.

Website

https://bigwin.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Big Win Philanthropy is a private charitable foundation that partners, by invitation, with African government leaders to deliver end-to-end support for transformational programs in nutrition, education, early childhood development, and youth employment across 15+ African countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits (BPAGADAI)

Keywords

• Government partnership programs
• Early childhood development
• Nutrition smart investments
• Leadership development programs
• Youth employment initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations and Grants: Big Win Philanthropy operates as a charitable foundation funded by donations. The organization is a Delaware not-for-profit corporation classified as a private foundation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code in the US, and a registered charity in England & Wales (UK). Funding is used to support government partners' transformational programs in Africa.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Big Win Philanthropy partners with visionary African public-sector leaders to design, fund, and support government-led transformational programs for children and youth across early childhood development, nutrition, education, youth employment, and cities. It provides end-to-end implementation support including baseline assessments, strategic program design, dashboards and data systems, technical assistance, resource mobilization, and delivery support to address implementation bottlenecks in partner countries.

Product overview

Big Win Philanthropy is a charitable foundation that operates as a partnership organization rather than a technology product company. The organization partners with visionary African government leaders to directly and consequentially impact 23.5 million children and young people by 2027. Its work encompasses leadership development programs (forums, cabinet workshops, leadership exchanges, coaching/mentorship), and specific country-level initiatives spanning Early Childhood Development, Nutrition, Learning for Productivity, Cities, and Youth Employment. The organization's 'products' are its programmatic offerings including the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program, AMALI (African Mayors and Governors Initiative), Banking on Nutrition Partnership, the Seqota Declaration Program in Ethiopia, Transforming Primary Education in Ghana, Children: The Future Hope of Addis Ababa, Presidential Dialogue Group on Nutrition, and various other country-specific initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Leadership Development Programs A suite of leadership development initiatives including forums for ministers, governors and mayors, cabinet workshops, leadership exchanges, coaching and mentorship programs, and peer networks that help African government leaders develop and implement transformational action plans.
• Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program A leadership forum launched in 2012 that gathers hundreds of federal ministers annually to encourage raising ambitions for their time in office, with African leadership given priority. Co-developed with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
• AMALI (African Mayors and Governors Initiative) A dedicated initiative to strengthen the transformative leadership capabilities of African Mayors and Governors, supporting city and regional leaders pursuing ambitious development agendas.
• The Seqota Declaration Program Partnership supporting Ethiopia's Seqota Declaration to eliminate childhood stunting by 2030 through multisectoral interventions coordinated by the Deputy Prime Minister across ten ministries; the program has averted stunting in approximately 95,000 children under five in 2022 based on Johns Hopkins analysis.
• Transforming Primary Education in Ghana Partnership with Ghana's Ministry of Education supporting primary education reform including curriculum reform, the National Education Leadership Institute, Communities of Excellence, and Education Data Systems, with a target of 70% proficiency in literacy and numeracy for Primary 4 students by 2030.
• Children: The Future Hope of Addis Ababa Early Childhood Development program led by Mayor Adanech Abiebie targeting 95% of children aged 0-6 developmentally on track, providing intensified support to 330,000 low-income households covering all approximately 1.3 million children aged 0-6 in Addis Ababa. Supported in partnership with the Bernard van Leer Foundation.
• Creating Millions of Quality Jobs in Ethiopia Partnership supporting Ethiopia's goal of creating quality jobs between 2021-2030, with focus on Amhara and Oromia regions and Addis Ababa; the program has supported creation of over 2.7 million quality jobs along agricultural value chains.
• Banking on Nutrition Partnership Partnership with the African Development Bank and Aliko Dangote Foundation to make the Bank's lending portfolio 'nutrition smart' and achieve USD $7 billion in nutrition-smart investments under the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Action Plan 2018-2025; USD $5.4 billion allocated as of 2024.
• Presidential Dialogue Group on Nutrition Coalition of African Heads of State (DRC, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Tanzania, and Nigeria) committed to ending childhood stunting through high-level political leadership and multisectoral collaboration, with a goal of averting 1 million stunting cases.
• The Amujae Initiative Program led by former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to support women ascending to the highest levels of public leadership across Africa.
• African Center for Early Childhood Development An African organization serving as a knowledge hub and leadership entity for Early Childhood Development across the continent, supported by Big Win Philanthropy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Averted stunting in 95,000 children under five in Ethiopia in 2022 through the Seqota Declaration Program (Johns Hopkins University analysis).
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers10 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

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Conducted Lives Saved Tool (LiST) analysis to measure the impact of the Seqota Declaration Program in Ethiopia, revealing that stunting was averted in 95,000 children under five in 2022.
• Bernard van Leer FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partner supporting the 'Children: The Future Hope of Addis Ababa' Early Childhood Development Initiative. The Foundation provides strategic and financial support for urban childhood development programs.
• Nutrition InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Retained in 2019 to supply technical expertise in malnutrition interventions as part of the Banking on Nutrition partnership. Provided technical assistance for the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Operational Toolkit.
• Foundation for Community Development (FDC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Maputo-based charity founded and led by Graça Machel. Big Win works closely with FDC to support the 'Dieta Diversificada, Um Futuro Saudável' social movement to reduce child malnutrition in Nampula province, Mozambique.
• World Health Organization (WHO)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Assistant Director-General for Data, Analytics and Delivery at WHO (Dr. Samira Asma) participated in the UNGA high-level event on Ethiopia's Seqota Declaration, supporting the multi-sectoral nutrition agenda.
• UN Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) MovementminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019UN Assistant Secretary-General and Coordinator of the SUN Movement (Gerda Verburg) participated in the high-level event on Ethiopia's Seqota Declaration, aligning with the global nutrition movement.
• International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Director General Dr. Shenggen Fan participated in the UNGA event on Ethiopia's Seqota Declaration, providing research and evidence expertise on nutrition and food policy.
• Save the Children InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019CEO Inger Ashing participated in the high-level event on Ethiopia's Seqota Declaration, aligning child welfare programming with government nutrition strategies.
• Power of NutritionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019CEO Martin Short participated in the UNGA high-level event on Ethiopia's Seqota Declaration, contributing to the financing and scaling of nutrition interventions.
• African Union CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Co-launched the Continental Nutrition Accountability Scorecard alongside the African Development Bank and global partners to track nutrition progress across Africa.
• African Development Bank (AfDB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Long-term Banking on Nutrition partnership between AfDB, Aliko Dangote Foundation, and Big Win Philanthropy to make AfDB's lending portfolio 'nutrition smart.' The partnership supports the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Action Plan 2018-2025 targeting a 40% stunting reduction in Africa and USD $7 billion in nutrition-smart investments. Nutrition International was retained in 2019 to supply technical expertise.
• Aliko Dangote FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Co-founder of the Banking on Nutrition partnership alongside African Development Bank and Big Win Philanthropy. The Dangote Foundation provides financial and strategic support to advance nutrition-smart investments across Africa.
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Co-developer of the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program, launched in 2012. The program gathers hundreds of federal ministers at annual forums, with African leadership given priority. Big Win supports and participates in this leadership development initiative.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Aliko Dangote Foundation: Co-founder of the Banking on Nutrition partnership with Big Win and the African Development Bank, the Dangote Foundation funds nutrition and health interventions across Africa. Directly comparable in geographic focus, thematic emphasis on nutrition, and partnership-based delivery model.
• Bernard van Leer Foundation: Co-partner with Big Win on the Children: The Future Hope of Addis Ababa ECD initiative, the Bernard van Leer Foundation is a leading global funder of early childhood development with strong country-government partnerships. Directly comparable in mission, urban ECD focus, and partnership-with-mayors delivery model.
• Mastercard Foundation: The Mastercard Foundation runs large-scale, country-led programs across Africa focused on education, youth employment, and financial inclusion — a near-direct overlap with Big Win's Learning for Productivity and Youth Employment portfolios. Both organizations partner with African heads of state to deliver multi-year transformational agendas.

Broad incumbents

• Rockefeller Foundation: The Rockefeller Foundation invests in health, food systems, and equitable development across Africa, often via partnership with African governments and multilaterals. Comparable in scale of ambition, government-engagement model, and focus on health and resilience outcomes.
• Open Society Foundations: Open Society makes large-scale international grants supporting governance, education, and health across Africa. Comparable in international grantmaking focus, country-partnership approach, and breadth of programmatic areas — though with a stronger governance and rights overlay.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: The Gates Foundation is one of the largest global funders of nutrition, maternal and child health, and education in Africa, working with African governments and multilaterals. Comparable in thematic overlap (especially nutrition and ECD) and government-partnership delivery model, though at vastly greater scale and with broader global footprint.
• Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF): CIFF was the parent vehicle of Big Win Philanthropy until 2022 and remains a close collaborator. It is one of the world's largest funders of children's health, nutrition, and climate programs — directly comparable to Big Win in mission, geographic footprint, and government-partnership approach, but at materially larger scale.
• Bloomberg Philanthropies: Bloomberg Philanthropies works with city and national governments globally on health, education, and urban development — a strong thematic match with Big Win's Cities, ECD, and Education portfolios (e.g., the Nairobi and Addis Ababa urban child initiatives). Comparable in partnering directly with mayors and heads of state.

Emerging players

• Eldridge Gap Fund / Government Partnerships at scale (e.g., Power of Nutrition): Power of Nutrition is a financing platform that pools donor capital to scale nutrition outcomes in partnership with governments and multilaterals — closely comparable to Big Win's Banking on Nutrition catalytic capital model. Smaller in scale, but with overlapping mission and partner ecosystem.

Others

• African Development Bank (AfDB): Big Win's core institutional partner in the Banking on Nutrition initiative, the AfDB channels nutrition-smart investments across Africa. While a multilateral rather than a private foundation, AfDB is central to Big Win's catalytic capital thesis and shares target geographies and outcome areas.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bigwinphilanthropy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/big-win-philanthropy

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 Big Win Philanthropy