If you are like me and work in the NGO space in Africa, you have probably heard it all. You have heard about the incompetence of African non-profits and how they fail to comply with the most basic and simplest of guidelines. You have also heard how they are challenged in accessing large pools of funding as a direct result of incompetence. If you are like me (which most people working in the space are) talk of ineptitude, lack of creativity and innovation in non-profits on the continent is more than water cooler talk. It is a narrative that defines...

  Three months have passed since the Pathways to Power Symposium in London. The #ShiftThePower temporary tattoos that many of us wore with glee have long worn off. The “Manifesto for Change” tea towels – with nine points for building a future that is “negotiated, participatory and widely owned” – given to each participant are now scattered all over the world, some prominently displayed in offices, others busily drying the dishes at home.   The goals of the Symposium were always ambitious. We wanted to bring together a diverse group of a hundred people who were all involved – in one way or...