African Women's Development Fund (AWDF)

HISTORY In the year 2000, three women, Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Joana Foster and Hilda Tadria created a philanthropic organisation focused on making measurable change in African women’s lives. 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, 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 experienced serious challenges to sustainable funding. Since 2001 AWDF has worked to build relationships with, and mobilise resources for over 1,300 women’s organisations in 45 countries Africa and the Middle East.