African philanthropy – kicking away the scaffold
As the field of “African philanthropy” grows, there is an emerging divergence of what the term actually means. There are three notable tendencies in trying to answer this question; first, there is a school of thought which states that African philanthropy is about the growth of a new set of resources (financial and otherwise) that are purely African in terms of source. The second tendency argues for the inclusion of non-African resources provided by philanthropic foundations from elsewhere outside towards causes on the continent. Finally, others argue that the source of funding is not the real issue, but instead, the focus should be on where it is deployed and, in this case, it is African because it has been deployed to causes on the continent.
Beyond the contestations around “definition by source of resources”, there is a tendency to include all forms of solidarity carried out within communities as part of African philanthropy. These differences are not immediately obvious, but it is essential to mention that if not resolved, the subject, or rather African philanthropy, faces the risk of being superfluous without a coherent agenda. In this brief essay, Tendai Murisa carries out a number of things. First, to revisit the subject of concepts. What does the term African philanthropy mean? Should we be concerned about the inherent challenges of a loose and broad definition? Second, to explore the possibilities of African philanthropy as both a moment / space and a movement towards a rethinking of the continent’s development path. The gatherings under the banner of African philanthropy have grown in number and so has their popularity. Could it be the place for re-imagining Africa’s transformation?
Author: Tendai Murisa
Published by: SIVIO Institute
Published: February 2025