What epic-africa does

EPIC-Africa (legally EPIC-Africa Foundation) is a Dakar, Senegal-headquartered non-profit organization founded in 2018 by Rose Maruru and Adwoa Agyeman to enhance the impact of African civil society organizations (CSOs) and the institutional funders that support them. Its primary asset is the African CSO Platform (csoplatform.africa), a web-based digital hub launched in June 2023 at the East Africa Philanthropy Network annual conference in Zanzibar. The platform provides CSO profiles, funding and job opportunity listings, event postings, and resource-sharing tools, hosting 1,247+ registered CSOs from 46 African countries at launch, built on five prior years of field engagement with more than 6,000 CSOs.

The organization operates a grant-funded revenue model anchored by approximately seven institutional foundation funders disclosed on its website, with no public pricing on services. Its commercial offering comprises three advisory services: CSO landscape mapping exercises for funders, organizational capacity diagnosis and planning for CSOs, and funder/grantee partnership effectiveness assessments. Beyond advisory work, EPIC-Africa produces a continuous stream of pan-African research publications — State of African CSOs (2019), COVID-19 impact studies (2020, 2021), Challenging the Myths on individual giving (2024), and From Fragility to Fortitude on US funding freeze impact (2025) — which function both as primary data collection instruments and as brand-building assets.

EPIC-Africa's go-to-market motion is community-led: distribution and CSO onboarding flow through the platform itself, a bilingual (English/French) website, a monthly newsletter, the Magal Teranga podcast, active social media (Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube), the African CSO Awards (1,200+ submissions from 48 countries in 2026), and direct partnerships with regional networks including Uganda National NGO Forum. Technology infrastructure is modest: a web platform with one payment integration (M-Changa for mobile fundraising), no public API or SDK, no AI/ML capabilities disclosed, and GDPR-compliant data handling. Operational reach spans both Anglophone and Francophone Africa.

Name

epic-africa

Legal name

EPIC-Africa Foundation

Website

https://epic-africa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

EPIC-Africa is a Dakar-based non-profit foundation that operates the African CSO Platform and produces pan-African research connecting over 1,247 civil society organizations across 46+ African countries with institutional funders and philanthropic capital.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropy Advisory Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

Keywords

• Civil society research
• Philanthropic advisory
• CSO capacity building
• Nonprofit data platform
• Funder landscape mapping

Headquarters

HQ city

Dakar

HQ country

Senegal

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Funder Grants: EPIC-Africa operates as a non-profit organization funded by foundations and institutional funders. The website lists 'Our Funders' section with multiple foundation logos, indicating grant-based funding model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

EPIC-Africa operates the African CSO Platform (csoplatform.africa), a digital hub connecting civil society organizations with funders across 46 African countries. It delivers three core advisory services: CSO landscape mapping exercises, organizational capacity diagnosis and planning, and funder/grantee partnership effectiveness assessments. The organization also runs initiatives including the African CSO Awards and Giving Tuesday Senegal, and publishes data-driven research reports on African philanthropy.

Product overview

EPIC-Africa operates as a pan-African organization focused on enhancing philanthropic impact by filling critical data and capacity gaps in African civil society. The company offers a platform-based approach centered on the African CSO Platform, complemented by three core services (CSO landscape mapping, organizational capacity assessment, and partnership effectiveness evaluation), initiatives including the African CSO Awards and Giving Tuesday Senegal, and a portfolio of research publications. The ecosystem includes 1,247 registered CSOs from 46 African countries, with content spanning education, climate change, and community development sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• African CSO Platform: A central hub for data and actionable insights that allows CSOs and their funders to connect, share knowledge, build capacity and become more effective. Features over 1,247 registered CSOs from 46 African countries.
• African CSO Excellence Awards
• African CSO Awards 2026
• Giving Tuesday Senegal
• Magal Teranga

Products and services

• The African CSO Platform A central digital hub providing data and actionable insights that allows African civil society organizations and their funders to connect, share knowledge, build capacity and become more effective. Features include CSO profiles, resource sharing, job listings, funding opportunities, and event listings, with integrated donation functionality via M-Changa.
• African CSO Awards A pan-African awards initiative celebrating community-led development across the continent, recognizing organizations and individuals advancing community-led change in categories including Doers, Supporters, Enablers, Emerging Leaders, and Lifetime Achievers.
• Giving Tuesday Senegal A local chapter of the global Giving Tuesday movement focused on Senegal, promoting charitable giving and generosity across the country through events and storytelling via the Magal Teranga podcast.
• CSO Landscape Mapping Exercises Customized mapping exercises that enable funders to identify potential grantee partners across African civil society through data-driven analysis.
• CSO Organizational Capacity Diagnosis and Planning Assessment services that help African CSOs evaluate their organizational capacity and develop plans to address identified gaps across key elements including Strategic Ability, Leadership, Financial Health, Human Resources, Operations, Communications, Partnerships, and Monitoring & Evaluation.
• Funder/Grantee Partnership Effectiveness Assessments Evaluation services that assess the effectiveness of relationships between funders and their grantees across the African philanthropic ecosystem.
• Research Reports and Publications In-depth reports providing data-driven analysis on the African philanthropic landscape, including State of African CSOs, COVID-19 impact studies, Challenging the Myths on individual giving, and From Fragility to Fortitude on US government funding impact.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65% of surveyed CSOs identified individuals, communities, and personal networks among their top funding sources (Challenging the Myths report)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• M-ChangacoreTechnology or Integration · 29 June 2023Partnership enables first cohort of African CSOs to maximize fundraising through the African CSO Platform's 'donate' button. M-Changa provides mobile-based fundraising technology integrated into the platform to facilitate individual giving to CSOs.
• National NGO Forum UgandacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 29 June 2023Partnership to present the African CSO Platform to Ugandan CSOs through a webinar, expanding platform reach and onboarding in Uganda.
• @AfricanNGOscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership for conducting surveys and producing reports on the state of African CSOs. Jointly produced multiple reports including State of African CSOs (2019), COVID-19 Impact reports (2020, 2021), and other research publications.
• Centre for African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI), Wits Business SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for in-depth analysis of COVID-19 impact on African CSOs. CAPSI provided research expertise and analytical support for the 2021 report.
• East Africa Philanthropy NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched African CSO Platform officially at their annual conference in Zanzibar in June 2023.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GlobalGiving: GlobalGiving is a global crowdfunding and grant marketplace connecting vetted nonprofits with donors and companies. It parallels EPIC-Africa as digital infrastructure linking civil society with funding sources, though with a global rather than Africa-specific remit.
• Candid: Candid (formed from Foundation Center + GuideStar) is the largest global nonprofit data platform connecting funders with nonprofits. Like EPIC-Africa, it provides data, intelligence, and discovery infrastructure for the social sector, making it the most direct global comparable.
• African Philanthropy Forum: African Philanthropy Forum is a pan-African organization mobilizing African philanthropy and convening funders and CSOs. It shares EPIC-Africa's continental remit and philanthropic-ecosystem-strengthening mission.
• East Africa Philanthropy Network: East Africa Philanthropy Network (EAPN) hosted EPIC-Africa's African CSO Platform launch at its 2023 Zanzibar annual conference. It is a direct regional peer advancing African philanthropy and CSO capacity.
• GivingTuesday: GivingTuesday is the global generosity movement of which EPIC-Africa is a partner through Giving Tuesday Senegal. Both organizations mobilize giving and engage civil society around philanthropic action.
• TechSoup Global: TechSoup provides technology, services, and capacity-building resources to nonprofits worldwide. It parallels EPIC-Africa's role as an enabler of CSO capacity, infrastructure, and access to enabling tools.
• @AfricanNGOs: @AfricanNGOs is EPIC-Africa's long-standing research partner, jointly producing State of African CSOs and COVID-19 impact reports. It operates in the same African civil society research and ecosystem-mapping space.

Broad incumbents

• Devex: Devex is the leading global news, data, and recruitment platform for the international development sector. It is broader and larger than EPIC-Africa but plays a similar data and intelligence function for development professionals and funders.
• Council on Foundations: Council on Foundations is a major nonprofit membership association serving grantmaking foundations globally. It parallels EPIC-Africa's role as ecosystem infrastructure for funders, though at a much larger and more established scale.

Regional players

• Southern Africa Trust: Southern Africa Trust is a regional development intermediary supporting civil society engagement in southern Africa. It shares EPIC-Africa's civil society strengthening mission but focuses on a different African sub-region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EPIC_Africa_
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@EPIC-AfricaFoundation/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/EPICAfrica.Fdn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/epic-africa-llc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 epic-africa