The Promise of Africa Philanthropy

In 1980, the government of Bostwana wanted to build a university but it had no money for it. So, the government ran a campaign asking each person to contribute a cow, chicken and grains which were then sold. This is how the university was financed and built. They called it the “person and a cow” campaign. It was a great African philanthropic act for development. But that year the development aid trackers did not register the citizen’s contribution to Bostwana’s university construction and education sector.

An important element about this story is that when the philanthropy here is not about the high net worth individuals in Africa because philanthropy is a Greek word that means love for humanity, it has nothing to do with being super rich. So, the African philanthropy in this thought piece today is about giving, no matter how small.

But what happened in Bostwana wasn’t an isolated incident. At CivSource Africa we are quickly learning that Africa has many examples and stories from Cairo to Cape Town of individuals and communities coming together to generously give their resources in support of a public interest issue. Community-based financial solidarity and fundraising is an integral part of the African culture and traditions. This is what we call community philanthropy.

A recent study by the Charities Aid Foundation with data collected over a 10-year period showed that 7 out of the 10 leading generous countries in the world where citizens helped strangers were African countries. African countries lead the world in extending generosity to people we do not know.

Many Africans across the continent are giving to public and social justice causes. Kenyans have used harambe; a fundraising system from ordinary citizens to build schools and hospitals. Rwandans have used voluntary donations from ordinary Rwandans to set up a the Agaciro fund. A sovereign fund now at USD 200 million. Africa now has over 57 active crowd funding websites. Ordinary Africans are giving to important development issues that range from education to saving the rhinos – with the average African giving under 20 dollars. African philanthropy isn’t coming, it is already here.

 As Africans grow in population and wealthier by the decade, African philanthropy is bound to grow even larger. When communities come together to repair a broken community bridge without government funding that is philanthropy – we must start counting it as a measurable contribution to development. When USAID and the World Food Program (WFP) give food to African countries, we count the monetary value of that in-kind support. When communities fix a bridge, we look the other way refusing to count its monetary value.

 There are so many channels of philanthropy in Africa that we aren’t counting. Rotary has so many clubs in Africa that give but we don’t count that. Alumni associations across the continent support the construction of classroom blocks in Africa but it goes unregistered and unnoticed by those who track development. Across Africa, part of the work cooperative societies did was to give back to their communities. In this way, African philanthropy de-bureaucratizes development.

 And therein lies the promise of African philanthropy. But in order for it to count, it must be counted, and counted right. If counted right, we will see that African philanthropy promises dignity, voice and self-reliance. As we think about Africa’s development in the next 60 years, I invite you all to open your eyes to all the ways ordinary Africans are giving so we can start to count it as a contribution to development alongside foreign charities.

 The promise that African philanthropy and giving offers will not happen without some work and careful thinking on our part. In order to reap the benefits of this promise, we need to find smart ways to harness and count the different ways it is happening. That will be the gate way to true African sovereignty.

 It doesn’t matter how much aid flows into Africa, it is time we started looking within the continent for solutions. The Bakaya; an African tribe in Cameroon and Gabon have a saying that goes, “an abundance of food at your neighbors will not satisfy your hunger.” African philanthropy has the potential to be our next frontier for liberation of Africa in the next 60 years!

By: Jacqueline Asiimwe