On April 24th, 2025, Alliance Magazine and a partner foundation convened a crucial online meeting to assess the current landscape of feminist funding in Francophone West Africa. This significant gathering brought together a diverse cohort of philanthropists, activists, donors, and representatives from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to engage in a vital dialogue.
The panel of esteemed speakers included:
1. Françoise Moudouthe, Chief Executive Officer of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) – www.awdf.org
2. Dossi Sekonnou Gloria AGUEH, President of the Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD) – www.rflgd.org
3. Caroline Kouassiaman, Executive Director of Initiative Sankofa d’Afrique de l’Ouest (ISDAO) – www.isdao.org
4. Rosalie Nezien
Rosalie Nezien traced the history and evolution of her foundation’s engagement in the region, highlighting the areas currently receiving funding and the impetus behind organizing the webinar and commissioning the accompanying research briefs. She then provided a comprehensive overview of the foundation’s engagement in Francophone West Africa. She reiterated the foundation’s mission to advance the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people and to promote racial and gender justice through grants to local, national, regional, and global feminist organizations, networks, and movements.
Nezien outlined the two key reasons for organizing the webinar: first, to advocate within philanthropy for greater support for the communities they serve and to foster collaboration among donors to amplify impact; and second, to spotlight the remarkable work of feminist groups in a region often overshadowed by narratives of crisis and conflict. She emphasized the need to recognize the resilient activism and organizing that is taking place.
Moudouthe then initiated the central discussion by inviting perspectives from across the region, particularly concerning the evolving context and its implications for feminist work.
She posed the initial question:
“What is the current context in Francophone West Africa for feminist organizing?
What are 1-2 key issues and priorities for feminist organizations and movements, and how are they working to advance these priorities?”
Dossi Sekonnou Gloria AGUEH of RFLD responded by emphasizing the critical role of feminist organizations in Francophone West Africa, highlighting a significant disparity in funding opportunities that disproportionately favors English-speaking entities. Drawing on an RFLD survey, she stated as an Example from www.yieldgiving.com website 94% of NGOs that have received unrestricted funding are English-speaking countries. She also shared the statistics from Foundations in developed countries focusing on Anglophone countries.
This stark statistic underscored the severe lack of financial support for Francophone feminist organizations, indicating a systemic neglect by Northern foundations that tend to concentrate their resources on English-speaking initiatives. AGUEH stressed that this marginalization of local initiatives, stemming from a lack of stable funding, severely limits the innovation and adaptation capabilities of Francophone organizations, forcing them to rely on ad hoc funding and risking service interruptions.
“The abrupt cessation of USAID funding, as highlighted by AGUEH, has had a devastating impact on RFLD’s operations. The organization experienced a loss of $1 million USD in funding for 2025, stemming from a grant secured through the US Embassy in Benin and subcontracts from USAID projects. This significant financial blow poses a major challenge for beneficiaries on the ground in West Africa who rely on RFLD’s work in critical areas such as Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Ending Harmful Practices, Support for Survivors, Legal Inequality, Ending Sexual Violence, access to social justice, and the promotion of human rights. Compounding these difficulties, RFLD is currently facing three project terminations, further straining its capacity to serve vulnerable populations.”
AGUEH further elaborated on the challenging social and cultural context, marked by deep-rooted patriarchy that hinders the advancement of women’s rights. She pointed to critical issues such as reproductive health problems, gender-based violence, and pervasive stigmatization as key priorities for feminist action. Addressing the issue of funding injustices, AGUEH highlighted instances where funds intended for the region are misdirected to English-speaking organizations, emphasizing the urgent need to support French-speaking organizations directly. She concluded her initial remarks with a strong call for the recognition of the invaluable work of Francophone feminist organizations and the importance of increased and direct support from international donors. Furthermore, AGUEH reiterated the growing influence of anti-gender and anti-rights movements in the sub-region.
AGUEH outlined key priorities and strategies of RFLD, including the fight against gender-based violence, collaboration with institutions for advocacy and law enforcement, strengthening feminist movements through experience sharing, and a focus on women’s mental and physical health and economic empowerment. In her concluding statement, she reiterated the importance of equitable attention and resources for Francophone feminist organizations, commensurate with their English-speaking counterparts.
Addressing the critical issue of language justice, AGUEH called for a systemic approach, both in funding frameworks and in the recruitment of monitoring staff, to work more effectively with actors in Francophone Africa. She emphasized that increasing access for Francophone organizations goes beyond mere translation, requiring the inclusion of Francophone staff, board members, and advisors rooted in Francophone countries and movements. AGUEH urged donors to integrate Francophone countries into their grant-making strategies to ensure that these strategies reflect local realities and contexts. She also stressed the importance of strengthening access to strategic spaces for Francophones by supporting and insisting on interpretation and translation, advocating for their inclusion as panelists and moderators, and providing necessary accompaniment.
Caroline Kouassiaman of ISDAO then provided a comprehensive overview of the complex context for civil society in general, and feminist organizations and movements in particular, within Francophone West Africa. She highlighted the increasing socio-political instability in the region, marked by multiple social and political crises, including coups d’état and terrorism, alongside ever-changing institutional frameworks. Kouassiaman explained that these realities complicate the planning and implementation of movements’ actions and can make donors hesitant. Restrictions on freedom of association also significantly influence the dynamics of LGBTQI+ movements in West Africa. Kouassiaman emphasized the constant need for adaptation in this volatile environment.
Furthermore, Kouassiaman pointed out that in countries where repressive laws already existed, there is increasing pressure to strengthen or toughen these laws. She noted a concerning trend where progress in legislation or policies does not always translate into tangible changes on the ground. Adding to these challenges is the rise and growth of “anti-gender” and “anti-rights” movements across the region, which are becoming increasingly visible, vocal, and influential on the political and social scene. Kouassiaman underscored the critical lack of resources for feminist organizations and movements, particularly those working with marginalized communities such as sex workers, LGBTQI+ people, and domestic workers, or on “sensitive” issues like access to safe abortion and comprehensive sexuality education. She clarified that this lack of resources encompasses not only financial constraints but also limited access to technical expertise, opportunities, spaces, and platforms.
Transitioning to the specific challenges faced by the LGBTQI+ movement in the West African region and ISDAO’s response, she firmly stated that ISDAO is a feminist organization and fund, emphasizing that LGBTQI+ communities have always existed within West African contexts and are integral to broader social justice struggles and the feminist movement. Kouassiaman highlighted the shared roots of oppression, discrimination, and violence in patriarchy and gender-based expectations. She pointed out that the vision of feminism, as articulated in key documents like the Charter for African Feminists, is inclusive of sexual and gender diversity and that LGBTQI+ individuals are profoundly affected by issues of autonomy and bodily integrity, central to feminist struggle. Even within a restrictive definition of feminism focused on women and girls, Kouassiaman argued that LGBTQI+ issues remain relevant, as there is no singular definition of what it means to be an African woman.
Kouassiaman then detailed the specific challenges faced by the LGBTQI+ movement in West Africa, which mirror some of the broader challenges faced by the feminist movement but also include unique dimensions. These include stigmatization, violence, and discrimination directly linked to sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, and/or intersex status, occurring at all levels of society – within communities, families, public services, and by law enforcement agencies. Importantly, she noted that these challenges persist even in the absence of explicit laws criminalizing LGBTQI+ individuals. Kouassiaman highlighted the fact that no Francophone country in the sub-region has laws to protect these communities or individuals against violence, stigmatization, and discrimination. This lack of legal protection has a profound impact on access to essential services such as healthcare and education, as well as employment and economic opportunities. Family rejection is also a significant issue in the sub-region, despite the crucial role of family as a source of physical, economic, and social security in these contexts. Despite these challenges, she emphasized the resilience and dynamism of LGBTQI+ communities, noting that their movements are varied and often take unconventional forms, which can sometimes hinder their access to resources. Certain communities, such as lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women and transgender individuals, face even greater marginalization and reduced access to funding. Kouassiaman also pointed out that countries that were historically more welcoming to the community are now becoming less so. Finally, she highlighted the isolation and exclusion of LGBTQI+ movements from some feminist conversations and spaces, lamenting the limited collaboration between different social justice movements despite facing common adversaries in anti-gender and anti-rights actors.
In terms of key recommendations for the philanthropic sector, public funders, and allies working in the region, Kouassiaman stressed the urgent need for donors to eliminate barriers to accessing financing. She urged funders to explore participatory grantmaking approaches and to invest in flexibility and responsiveness by providing long-term, multi-year funding that understands the dynamic context and organizational needs, allowing for strategic reorientation as necessary. Kouassiaman called for funders to be less rigid and to recognize the highly heterogeneous nature of the Francophone West African LGBTQI+ landscape, where realities in the Sahel differ significantly from those on the coast, and even within geographically and linguistically proximate countries. She also highlighted the marginalization and lack of connection of many organizations to major feminist movements and urged funders to recognize and fund the diversity of actors in the field, looking beyond formal organizations to support impactful informal groups and individuals, especially given increasing restrictions on freedom of association. Kouassiaman cautioned against relying solely on public and media visibility or written proposals to assess the value and impact of an organization’s work.
Finally, Kouassiaman outlined opportunities for stakeholders, funders, and allies to best support feminist groups and movements in the region in realizing their vision. She emphasized the importance of supporting intersectional alliances, recognizing the common adversaries and the greater impact achievable through collaboration between feminist, LGBTQI+, social justice, and human rights movements. Kouassiaman encouraged and supported collaboration (in addition to, not instead of, individual support) and advocated for supporting spaces for reflection and strategy development.
The webinar then transitioned to a Q&A session led by Françoise Moudouthe.
The concluding remarks were delivered by reading a portion of Awa Fall Diop’s open letter, titled “Feminist funding must not leave feminist organizations in Francophone West Africa in the dust.” The excerpt powerfully conveyed the exhaustion faced by Francophone African feminist organizations due to constant survival strategies that undermine their mobilization and hard-won gains. Diop highlighted their tireless work for social justice despite meager resources and their awareness of how their geographic location (West Africa) and working language (French) contribute to their marginalization. She warned that the lack of sufficient and relevant resources is weakening networks and collective struggles, leading to the closure of organizations and putting many others at risk. Diop issued a stark call to philanthropy: to fund Francophone West African feminists on a massive scale or bear the responsibility for their demise. Announcing that additional information would be shared, the webinar officially concluded.
Throughout the webinar, several key links were shared, including access to the AWDF Mapping report, the websites of the speaker organizations, and the research briefs on funding feminist movements and young feminist groups in Francophone West Africa.
AWDF Mapping: https://awdf.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mapping-English.pdf
Finally, the webinar served as a powerful call for greater accountability and transparency from the philanthropic sector. Francophone feminist activists are demanding that donors not only increase their funding to the region but also ensure that their funding practices are equitable, accessible, and aligned with the priorities and needs identified by local feminist movements themselves. This includes being transparent about funding decisions, engaging in meaningful dialogue with Francophone organizations, and being accountable for addressing the systemic biases that have historically led to the underfunding of this crucial region.
In essence, the key takeaways extend beyond simply increasing funding. They call for a fundamental shift in mindset and practice within the philanthropic community – a move towards greater understanding of local contexts, a broader definition of feminist actors, the fostering of intersectional collaboration, a commitment to holistic support, and increased accountability to the feminist movements in Francophone West Africa.
