The Growing Influence of Women in Philanthropy

Feminist and Gender-Based Philanthropy in South Africa and Africa: Power, Practice and Possibility

Women across Africa are not only recipients of development interventions – they are funders, organisers, movement builders and the backbone of community resilience. Feminist and women’s philanthropy across Africa are characterised by a move from traditional, top-down aid models to a transformative approach grounded in African feminist principles, collective action, and addressing systemic inequalities. 

In Africa, feminist philanthropy is not new. It lives in women’s mutual aid systems, kinship networks, burial societies and stokvels – long before the term “philanthropy” was imported. What is new is the convergence of these indigenous systems with global feminist funding frameworks, impact investing, and a rising generation of young African women using their wealth, influence and social capital in radically different ways.

View the complete 2025/2026 Global Philanthropy Research Report

What is feminist philanthropy?

Feminist philanthropy is not simply about funding women. It is about redistributing power, resourcing agency, and transforming the systems that have historically excluded women from economic, political and social authority. Feminist philanthropy is a sub-type of gender-based philanthropy that is explicitly rights-based, political, and aims for transformative, systemic change. 

• Focus: It moves beyond simply funding women as a target group to address the root causes of gender inequality and social injustice. It uses an intersectional approach, acknowledging how gender, race, class, and other identities intersect to create unique experiences of oppression. It is not just about women; it looks at the full range of human identities on the margins.
• Approach: The “how” of funding is as important as the “how much”. It emphasises principles of solidarity, collective action, and participatory grantmaking, where those most affected by the issues (grassroots activists and communities) are involved in decision-making.
• Power Dynamics: A central principle is to disrupt and shift existing power dynamics between those who hold resources and those who claim them, promoting more equitable relationships.

What is gender-based philanthropy?

Gender-based philanthropy (often referred to as “women’s philanthropy” or “gender-lens philanthropy”) is a broader category focused on addressing the needs of women and girls as a specific target population. 

• Focus: It generally aims to improve conditions for women and girls within existing systems through charitable acts or investments. This can include initiatives like providing microloans, entrepreneurship training, or improving access to education and healthcare.
• Approach: It often involves a “gender lens” to guide decisions and ensure that funding does not reinforce bias, but it doesn’t necessarily seek to upend the underlying structures of power.

Power Dynamics: It may still involve traditional, top-down funder-grantee relationships, where the donor holds the primary decision-making power.

What is gender lens investing?

Both feminist philanthropy and gender-lens investing aim to advance women’s power, but they use very different financial instruments.

What it is: gender-lens investing (GLI) integrates gender analysis into the investment process to achieve both financial return and measurable improvements in women’s economic power, leadership and wellbeing. It can mean investing in women-owned businesses, companies with strong gender diversity at management/board level, products/services for women, or funds that report gender-specific outcomes. 

How these funds differ from feminist philanthropy: gender-lens funds deploy investment capital expecting a financial return alongside gender outcomes; feminist philanthropy usually provides grants (often unrestricted) to movements and rights work where financial return is not expected. Both are complementary: gender-lens capital can scale enterprises that employ and empower women, while feminist philanthropy funds rights, advocacy and movement infrastructure that de-risk social and political environments for women’s economic participation.

Nuances and distinctions

While all three approaches explained above use financial resources to focus on gender issues, they are fundamentally different:

• Gender Lens Investing is an investment strategy that seeks profit while promoting gender equity through market mechanisms.
• Gender-Based Philanthropy is a broad charitable approach that provides grants to improve women’s lives within current systems, often without challenging underlying power structures.
• Feminist Philanthropy is an activist approach that provides flexible grants to grassroots movements, explicitly aiming to dismantle the systemic causes of gender inequality and shift power dynamics.

Stokvels as feminist finance infrastructure

In South Africa, stokvels mobilise billions of rand annually through women-run savings and credit cooperatives. These are not charity – they are collective wealth-building mechanisms built on trust, mutual accountability and solidarity. In many townships and rural areas, stokvels fund girls’ education, cover emergency health costs, finance micro-enterprises and provide social protection in the absence of state services.

Stokvels are Africa’s most enduring form of feminist finance – controlled by women, accountable to women, and optimising for collective wellbeing over individual accumulation. Yet they remain largely invisible in mainstream philanthropy and impact investing architecture.

Africa’s feminist future lies in connecting three currently siloed forms of capital:

1. Grassroots women’s capital (stokvels, savings groups, mutual aid)
2. Feminist philanthropic capital (grants, movement funding, rapid response)
3. Gender-lens investment capital (private equity, venture, blended finance)

If these systems were intentionally aligned, the continent could unlock entirely new models of locally controlled development finance. This is not a “soft” form of philanthropy. It is hard infrastructure for democratic, inclusive societies.

Female capital in motion: Notable South African Women in Philanthropy

Several influential female leaders drive the social economy in South Africa, spanning non-profit organiszations, social entrepreneurship, and impact investing. These women are pivotal in advocating for gender equality, economic empowerment, and community development. 

High-net-worth (HNW) women philanthropists in South Africa often blend their personal wealth with structured initiatives to drive large-scale, targeted change. 

• Wendy Appelbaum: One of South Africa’s wealthiest women, Appelbaum is known for her hands-on approach through The Wendy Appelbaum Foundation. The foundation initiates and funds programs primarily addressing the health and education interests of South African women. An example of her impact is Pick n Pay (the company she co-founded) being the first to supply free antiretrovirals to HIV-positive employees in the early 1980s at her behest.
• Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe: Through the Motsepe Foundation, she has made significant contributions to women’s health, education, and economic opportunities, and promotes African fashion through her Africa Fashion International (AFI) platform.
• Dr. Judy Dlamini: As the Founder and Chair of the Female Academic Leaders Fellowship (FALF), Dlamini targets systemic change within academia. FALF specifically aims to empower Black and Coloured women in South Africa to progress into senior academic leadership roles at Wits University and beyond, challenging historical institutional biases.
• UNICEF Influential Women’s Circle (IWC): Chaired by South African philanthropist Carol Bouwer, this initiative mobilises female leaders to raise resources to protect children from violence and abuse, showcasing collective formal philanthropy among high-profile women.
• Moya Wolff: Co-founder of Women in Philanthropy South Africa (WiPSA), an organiszation dedicated to broadening the sector’s reach and impact through collaboration and knowledge-sharing among women.
• Melene Rossouw: An attorney and human rights activist who founded the Women Lead Movement (NPO), an organisation focused on empowering women and advocating for their rights. 

Social Entrepreneurship & Development

• Wendy Luhabe: A prominent social entrepreneur and author who founded Bridging the Gap, a consultancy that prepared previously disadvantaged individuals for the business environment. She also founded Women’s Investment Portfolio Limited (Wiphold), the first women-owned company to list on the JSE, which enabled tens of thousands of women to invest for the first time.
• Emma Dicks: Co-founder of Trusted Interns, a platform that connects job seekers with employers for internship opportunities, focusing on tackling youth unemployment in South Africa.
• Dineo Lioma: As the Chief Operations Officer at CapeBio Technologies, Lioma focuses on developing innovative healthcare solutions using AI to prevent the spread of diseases like TB and COVID-19 in Africa. She is a fellow of the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation, an organisation committed to developing high-impact entrepreneurs.

Notable African Women in Philanthropy 

• Tsitsi Masiyiwa is a prominent philanthropist and social entrepreneur from Zimbabwe who co-founded the Higherlife Foundation and Delta Philanthropies with her husband. Her work focuses extensively on education and material support for orphaned and vulnerable children across Africa.
• Graça Machel is a Mozambican politician and humanitarian who is an advocate for women’s and children’s rights. The Graça Machel Trust focuses on women’s inclusion in the financial sector, entrepreneurship capacity building, and creating generational wealth.
• Folorunso Alakija is a Nigerian businesswoman who, through her foundation, the Rose of Sharon Foundation, supports widows and orphans by empowering them through education and scholarships.
• Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli is a Nigerian social entrepreneur and a co-founder of Sahel Consulting & Advisory and AACE Foods. Her work focuses on transforming the agricultural landscape in Africa. 
• Noella Coursaris Musunka (DR Congo) She is the founder of Malaika, a non-profit organisation that operates a free school for over 200 disadvantaged girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo, aiming to empower a new generation of leaders through education. 

Social Impact Investors

Female leaders are also making a significant mark in the impact investing space, focusing on both financial returns and measurable social outcomes: 

• Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes is the Founder and Managing Partner of the impact investment firm, Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, and is an “Agent of Impact” known for her work in gender equality in private equity.
• Pauline Koelbl, the Rwandan-born founder and CEO of ShEquity, is a notable advocate for gender-lens investing in businesses that solve climate challenges across Africa.
• Tokunboh Ishmael & Polo Maya-Kadri (Alitheia IDF): Founders of the first female-owned private equity fund in Africa, dedicated to women-led businesses.
• Elizabeth Howard: Founder of the WAI (Women in African Investments) Group, fostering a network of women investors and supporting female founders.

Monica Brand Engel & Adrienne Henderson (Quona Capital): Backing bold fintech innovators for financial inclusion.

The next generation of African women in philanthropy – “Who to Watch”

This generation differs from traditional philanthropists in three ways: They are publicly vocal, digitally mobilised, and comfortable using influence, partnerships and narrative change alongside money.

• Zozibini Tunzi (South Africa): using global platforms to fund girls’ education, mental health and violence-prevention initiatives.
• Thuso Mbedu (South Africa):  supporting youth-led creative and empowerment initiatives with a strong feminist lens.
• Ayodeji Alakija (Nigeria): global health funder and vaccine equity advocate mobilising resources and influence across borders.
• Peace Hyde (Ghana): education entrepreneur building new models of African-rooted philanthropy and leadership development.
• Folorunso Alakija (Nigeria): shifting significant private wealth into education and women’s leadership scholarships.
• Tara Fela-Durotoye (Nigeria): funding women entrepreneurs and leadership platforms through hybrid commercial-philanthropic models.
• Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli (Nigeria): Entrepreneur, social innovator, focused on agriculture, nutrition, and philanthropy.
• Jaha Dukureh (Gambia): Activist and advocate against FGM.
• Unity Dow & Meaza Ashenafi (Botswana/Ethiopia): Influential figures in law, rights, and leadership.

Organisations and platforms strengthening feminist philanthropy

These funds act as infrastructure for feminist movements, absorbing risk that individual donors often cannot. They provide core, flexible funding; rapid-response grants, leadership pipelines, safety and care infrastructure, participatory grantmaking models.

Key ecosystem builders across Africa:

• African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) — pan-African feminist resourcing: Founded in 2000 by Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Joana Foster and Hilda Tadria, AWDF is a leading pan-African feminist fund that has scaled support to hundreds of organisations, combining grantmaking, capacity strengthening and movement support. AWDF’s model emphasises locally-led agendas and long-term investment in feminist infrastructure. 
• FRIDA — The Young Feminist Fund — investing in youth leadership: FRIDA is the world’s only youth-led fund dedicated to young feminist organising, prioritising grassroots collectives and participatory grantmaking that centres under-30 leaders. Its model demonstrates the value of trusting young organisers with flexible resources and peer networks. 
• Urgent Action Fund-Africa — rapid response for activists: UAF-Africa specialises in rapid, flexible grants and accompaniment to women human rights defenders and feminist movements facing immediate threats or opportunities. Their portfolio and reach illustrate how speed and trust can protect civic space and advance campaigns. 
• Mama Cash — feminist philanthropy with a long history: Mama Cash (Netherlands) is one of the oldest feminist funds globally; it has influenced philanthropic norms by championing flexible funding, learning and supporting diverse feminist struggles including in Africa. Their research and advocacy materials are often used by funders and movements. 
• Women’s Voice & Leadership South Africa (WVLSA) – South Africa: The (Renewed) WVLSA fund (supported by Global Affairs Canada among others) supports dozens of South African women’s rights organisations, showing how donor partnerships with feminist funds can strengthen national movements and local accountability. The fund supports Women’s Rights Organisations (WROs) and movements working to empower women, amplify their voices, and advance the protection of their rights especially those from marginalised communities. The Fund aims to build strong, sustainable feminist movements that can drive lasting change.
• Women in Philanthropy and Impact Africa (WIPIA): Mobilizes women’s leadership for social change.
• Women in Philanthropy South Africa (WiPSA): A women-led network that connects people in the social and development sector to collaborate and learn, aiming to increase the sector’s impact.
• Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI) at Wits Business School: This center hosts dialogues and research on African philanthropy, including the “Adɔyɛ” program focused on amplifying African women’s contributions to philanthropy.
• Women For Change (WFC): An anti-gender-based violence (GBV) movement that uses social media and advocacy to drive national attention and policy change, such as the declaration of GBVF as a national disaster in South Africa.

Examples of gender-lens / gender-based funds in Africa and South Africa

• Alitheia IDF (Alitheia Capital): one of Africa’s largest dedicated gender-lens private equity funds (c. US$100m), investing in growth SMEs with strong gender outcomes (women-owned/co-owned businesses, women in leadership, etc.). 
• Adenia Partners: a pan-African private markets firm that has sought 2X Challenge recognition; useful as an example of mainstream private equity firms adopting gender criteria and joining global gender finance initiatives. 
• Tshiamo Gender Lens Impact Fund: Tshiamo Impact Partners is currently fundraising for this South Africa-focused fund, aiming for R400 million to close the SME funding gap for women entrepreneurs, primarily through equity investments of less than R40 million.
• Afrishela Investment Fund: An investment vehicle incubated by the Graça Machel Trust (GMT), providing innovative blended capital (debt and mezzanine structures) to early-growth stage women-owned and women-led businesses in Africa. It focuses on sectors with high female participation, such as agriculture, retail, health, and education.
• African Women Impact Fund (AWIF): A private-public partnership supported by institutions like Standard Bank, which has allocated $10 million towards it. Its strategy is to accelerate the empowerment of women fund managers, who in turn invest in women-led businesses.
• Five35 Ventures / WomHub: Five35 Ventures is a VC fund that partners with WomHub (a gender-focused incubator) to invest in female-led startups, providing not only capital but also mentorship and business support.
• Linea Capital Partners: This firm offers non-dilutive financing to women founders in South Africa to help them retain equity, providing an alternative form of capital. 
• BluePeak (and other 2X Challenge participants) — examples of African funds that have achieved 2X status (the 2X Challenge is a global initiative that tracks capital mobilised for women’s economic empowerment). Use these as examples of funds adopting gender indicators and reporting.
• South African Government Fund: In a significant move in August 2025, South Africa’s Minister of Small Business Development launched a R300 million Women Entrepreneurship Fund to close the gender gap in access to finance. The fund is being designed through consultation with women entrepreneurs to ensure it addresses their specific needs.
• The 2X Challenge: This global initiative by Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) has been instrumental in encouraging private market investors to adopt gender lens investing in Africa, mobilising billions in capital for gender-aligned investments.

Conclusion: Why feminist and gender based philanthropy together with gender lens investment matters for South Africa and the continent

Feminist philanthropy is not a niche; it is a strategic pathway to durable social transformation. When philanthropy trusts local women’s movements, funds youth leadership, provides flexible resources, and invests in care and rapid response, it strengthens the very agents who can shift power and rewrite social contracts. For donors in South Africa and across Africa, the choice is simple: continue with short-term, output-oriented giving — or step into funding that intentionally builds feminist power and systemic change. The latter is harder, but it is the route to lasting, equitable development.

The strategic call to action for African and global funders

The future of feminist philanthropy in Africa will be decided by whether funders are willing to:

• Trust young women as architects, not beneficiaries
• Fund power, not just programmes
• Recognise stokvels as legitimate financial institutions
• Blend grants and investments strategically
• Fund care, protection and organisational wellbeing

The question is no longer whether Africa should invest in women. The question is whether philanthropy is ready to be led by women, governed by women’s lived realities, and accountable to women’s collective vision of justice and prosperity. The next generation of female philanthropists and investors are not waiting. They are already designing the future. The future of gender justice in Africa will not be built by one of these alone, but through strategic choreography between both.

View the complete 2025/2026 Global Philanthropy Research Report

About the Author

Reana Rossouw is the founder of Next Generation Consultants, a leading impact advisory firm specialising in social innovation, sustainable development, impact investing, and impact management and measurement (IMM). With more than two decades of experience, she supports organisations across the social, solidarity, and impact economies to design strategies, measure impact, and improve performance. For more evidence of our work, visit our website or view our latest research report on trends and insights for the social, solidarity and impact economies in South Africa.

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