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RFLD is the Francophone regranter for women's rights in Africa: flexible grants to grassroots women-led groups, in French and English. US$3.1M re-granted.
Last updated · November 11, 2026
The Francophone regranter for women’s rights in Africa
We get flexible money to the women’s organisations that donors cannot reach.
RFLD is a pan-African feminist network of 1,143 women-led organisations in more than 35 countries. We run calls in French and English, check every bank account, pay grants in each organisation’s own name and stay with them until the final report.
1,143
women-led member organisations in more than 35 countries
9.78M
women and girls reached since 2013
US$3.1M
re-granted to grassroots organisations, 2023 to 2025 (audited)
13
national laws and policies in 8 West African countries since 2020, to which RFLD and its members contributed
The problem
Rights on paper, closed doors in real life
46 of the 55 African Union member States have ratified the Maputo Protocol. Yet women still meet closed doors at the town hall, in court and online. Women who defend these rights face rising reprisals, and online abuse is now one of the most common ways they are silenced.
The organisations best placed to close this gap are small, women-led and rooted in their communities. In Francophone West Africa they are the least funded and the least equipped. They work in French or local languages and rarely receive flexible money.
46 of 55
AU member States have ratified the Maputo Protocol. Putting it into national law, budgets and services lags far behind.
1%
of gender-related aid goes to women’s rights organisations (Focus 2030, 2026).
0.13%
of US$26.3 billion from one of the largest philanthropies reached organisations based in Francophone Africa. Read the analysis
Regranting in Francophone Africa
Your channel to the women’s organisations of Francophone Africa
Most funders cannot run calls in French, check a Senegalese or Beninese bank account or support a group in Kaffrine or Ifangni. RFLD does this every day. You fund us once, and your money reaches the organisations closest to women, with the due diligence your board expects.
US$3.1M
re-granted to grassroots organisations from 2023 to 2025, audited
€250,000
to ten organisations in Francophone West Africa in 2025, with sanctions screening and safeguarding
US$722,100
in 27 grants to 26 women-led organisations, June to September 2026
1,078
applications from nine countries for 30 to 50 grants in January 2026
How a grant moves through RFLD
- Open call in French and English, shared through our 1,143 members and country offices.
- Independent review, then due diligence: registration, bank certificate, sanctions screening and safeguarding.
- Flexible grant paid only into an account in the organisation’s own name.
- Light reporting and accompaniment until the final report, with every grant published on IATI.
Live example: Yéego Jigéen, US$20,000 flexible grants to grassroots women’s rights organisations in the 14 regions of Senegal.
Our approach
We connect the village to the African Commission
RFLD turns what women live in their communities into evidence, money and policy. Funding RFLD funds the whole chain at once, through one model with three parts.
1
Direct community work
With our members, we work directly with women and girls on political leadership, protection and services, land and climate security, maternal health, and ending FGM and child marriage.
2
Regranting
Flexible grants to grassroots women-led organisations, with a donated management suite and support so they pass due diligence and outlast a single funder. See Yéego Jigéen
3
System strengthening
Twelve free bilingual data tools and the Maputo Barometer show where rights fail, and Observer Status No. 553 takes that evidence to the African Commission. Explore the data
The demand is there. In January 2026, 1,078 organisations in nine countries applied to RFLD for 30 to 50 available grants.
Results
What changes when you fund the network
We count what we can prove, with a public source for each result and outcome tracking reported on IATI.
2026 · WEST AFRICA
US$722,100 to 26 organisations
27 flexible grants to women-led organisations between June and September 2026. See the grants
2024 · THE GAMBIA
The ban on FGM holds
On 15 July 2024 the National Assembly rejected a bill to repeal the ban. RFLD supported the campaign from its Banjul office.
2021 · BENIN
A law that saves women’s lives
Benin widened access to safe abortion, a leading cause of maternal deaths. RFLD took part in the advocacy and supports the law’s implementation.
In 2026, more than 110 women human rights defenders were trained in digital resilience and advocacy.
Why RFLD
Close to women, trusted by the institutions that decide
- Continental standing. ACHPR Observer Status No. 553, a seat on the Support Group of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, and co-chair of the Advisory Council of the SEA-T programme of German Cooperation.
- Audited and transparent. Three consecutive unqualified audits, all grants published on IATI, the Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency 2026 and our financial statements online.
- Easy for US donors. An NGOsource equivalency determination lets US foundations grant to us directly.
- Built for the ground. Teams in Accra, Dakar, Porto-Novo, Banjul, Lagos and Igolo, working in French, English and local languages. Grants are paid only into accounts in each organisation’s own name.
Join us
Our 2026 to 2029 plan: US$14 million
We are seeking multi-year, flexible support to fund more grassroots women’s organisations, keep our data public and protect the women who lead this work. Choose where your gift goes.
US$300,000
A full West African Feminist Fund round
Six months of flexible grants of €20,000 to €25,000 to grassroots women-led groups, each accompanied until its final report.
US$1 million
One flagship programme over three years
Women’s political leadership, health and bodily rights, or ending FGM and child marriage, measured against our Theory of Change.
US$5 million+
The whole network, built to last
Unrestricted over five years: a first operating reserve, re-granting in more countries and resilience support for 500 member organisations.
Beyond funding, introductions matter as much: to US foundations, family offices and pooled feminist funds. Every gift counts, including donor-advised fund grants.
Latest from RFLD
- Plus de financements pour les organisations de femmes qui font le travail en Afrique francophone
- More funding must reach the women’s organisations doing the work in Francophone Africa
- US$26 billion, and almost nothing for Francophone Africa
Partnerships: programs@rflgd.org · Programmes: programs@rflgd.org · Media: communications.info@rflgd.org
Advance gender justice with RFLD
A pan-African network of 1,143 member organisations across 35+ countries: advocacy, research, re-granting and direct service delivery.
For funders and partnersPour les bailleurs et les partenaires
Fund the women who defend rights in Africa, nowFinancez maintenant les femmes qui défendent les droits en Afrique
Aid to women’s organisations is falling. RFLD moves funding fast to women-led organisations and defenders, in French and English, through a network of 1,143 member organisations in more than 35 African countries.L’aide aux organisations de femmes recule. Le RFLD achemine vite les financements vers les organisations de femmes et les défenseures, en français et en anglais, grâce à un réseau de 1 143 organisations membres dans plus de 35 pays africains.
RFLD currently serves as Co-Chair of the SEA-T Programme Advisory Council, mandated to ensure the programme’s direction, priorities, and resources are meaningfully aligned with the visions of African women-led civil society. The SEA-T Programme is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.Le RFLD assure actuellement la coprésidence du Conseil consultatif du programme SEA-T, chargé de veiller à ce que l’orientation, les priorités et les ressources du programme soient réellement alignées sur les visions de la société civile africaine portée par les femmes. Le programme SEA-T est financé par le ministère fédéral allemand de la Coopération économique et du Développement (BMZ) et mis en œuvre par la Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. See the partnershipVoir le partenariat
- 1,143member organisationsorganisations membres
- 35+African countriespays africains
- N°553ACHPR observer statusstatut d’observateur CADHP
- CandidPlatinum Seal of Transparency 2026Sceau de transparence Platine 2026
DonateFaire un don Partner with RFLDDevenir partenaire See our financialsVoir nos états financiers