Most international funders publish their calls for proposals in English, run their application portals in English and expect reports in English. For a feminist organisation in Bamako or Cotonou, where French is the working language and staff are few, this is a practical barrier. RFLD’s 2026 data report, Funding Feminist Movements in Francophone West Africa, identifies language as one half of the “double gap” facing the region, alongside shrinking civic space.
How language shapes who gets funded
A proposal in a funder’s language is easier to read and easier to defend in a committee. Organisations that write fluently in English have an advantage that has little to do with the quality of their work. The AFD-commissioned survey by Groupe Egaé found that 62% of feminist organisations had fewer than three paid staff (Groupe Egaé, 2022). An organisation of this size rarely has a staff member who can write competitive proposals in a second language.
Language also affects access to the spaces where funding decisions are shaped. International conferences and donor roundtables usually run in English. Francophone leaders who are not invited, or who cannot follow the discussion, have less influence on the priorities that funders set.
What activists asked for
At a dialogue on resourcing feminist movements in francophone West Africa held in April 2025, in which RFLD took part with the African Women’s Development Fund and the Initiative Sankofa d’Afrique de l’Ouest, activists made concrete requests. They asked funders to include francophone countries in their strategies and to hire francophone staff and board members. They also asked them to fund interpretation and translation, and to invite more francophone speakers to strategic spaces (RFLD, 2025).
Funders that work in French
Some funders have shown that working in French is possible. The Urgent Action Fund Africa reviews applications in English, French, Kiswahili, Portuguese and Arabic, and offers rapid response grants of up to US$12,000 (Urgent Action Fund-Africa, n.d.). The Initiative Sankofa d’Afrique de l’Ouest directed 55% of its 2023 grants to francophone countries as a deliberate choice (ISDAO, 2024).
Francophone public funders also exist. France’s Support Fund for Feminist Organisations publishes calls through AFD and French embassies. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie fund “La Francophonie avec Elles” offers grants of €15,000 to €100,000, covering up to 80% of costs for up to 36 months. Both, however, face budget pressure: French aid to women’s rights organisations fell by 71% between 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.
Interpretation as an investment
One of RFLD’s 2026 direct grants paid for interpretation and translation at the African Union ECOSOCC summit, with US$10,000. It may seem a small item. In practice, it allowed francophone participants to follow and shape discussions that would otherwise have taken place in English only. Interpretation is one of the cheapest ways to widen participation, and one of the first lines to be cut when budgets shrink.
RFLD itself works in French and English. Its grant agreements with francophone partners are signed in French, and its Académie francophone offers 15 free certified courses in French on women’s rights and organisational management.
Language and data
The language gap also affects data. No public dataset measures funding to women’s organisations by language area. RFLD considers this absence a finding in itself. Without data, funders can easily claim that they are reaching francophone organisations, and no one can verify it. RFLD’s report proposes a francophone funding survey of feminist organisations in the eight countries, using AWID’s indicators so that results can be compared with global data.
RFLD’s recommendation
The report’s fourth recommendation to bilateral donors and foundations is simple: work in French. Accept applications and reports in French, publish calls in French, and fund translation and interpretation in strategic spaces. RFLD’s checklist for funders, in Annex D of the report, asks whether calls, application forms and reporting templates are available in French, and whether applicants can be interviewed in French.
For funders that cannot build French capacity internally, the report suggests funding through intermediaries rooted in the region and working in French, such as RFLD’s West African Feminist Fund, AWDF and ISDAO. An intermediary that speaks the language of its grantees can reduce the barrier at once, and with lower costs than a donor building its own francophone team.
Advice for francophone organisations
While funders adapt, francophone organisations can take steps to widen their access. Prepare a short organisational profile in both French and English. Join networks that share calls and offer peer review of proposals. RFLD members can find opportunities on the tenders and grants page.
Key figures
- 5 languages: accepted by the Urgent Action Fund Africa, including French.
- 55%: ISDAO’s 2023 grants that went to francophone countries.
- 62%: feminist organisations surveyed for AFD with fewer than three paid staff.
- US$10,000: RFLD’s grant for interpretation and translation at the AU ECOSOCC summit.
About the report
This article draws on RFLD’s data report Funding Feminist Movements in Francophone West Africa: 2026 Data (RFLD/DR/2026/03), published on 4 October 2026. Read the summary, download the English edition or the French edition. Sources cited in this article are listed in full in the data report.
