Inspired by the aspirations of the African women’s movement, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) was created as an independent resource for gender equality and development across the continent.

Today, the AWDF’s grantmaking practices are built to support the initiatives of African women who may not have access to mainstream funding due to capacity, language, location, and marginalisation. In fact, the AWDF has served as a key donor to 60 percent of grantees who experience serious challenges to sustainable funding.

Over the past 15 years AWDF has worked to build relationships with, and mobilise resources for close to 1,200 women’s organisations in 42 African countries across the continent.