by Bhekinkosi Moyo
CAPSI continues to witness considerable growth since its establishment, first as a Chair in African Philanthropy between 2014 and 2017, and then as a Centre since 2018. The growth has been witnessed in various dimensions.
The first dimension is our staffing capacity. There are now 25 members on staff, comprising of ten full-time employees, four visiting researchers and professors, two post-doctoral fellows, and nine fixed-term employees. A very positive reflection on the calibre of our staff and work is that four of our staff are former CAPSI students. Another is that one of the first staff members of the Centre assumed a teaching position focused on philanthropy at a private university in the USA in August 2023. We’ve also worked with associate researchers and currently have more than thirty associates spread across countries and projects. Given that our Centre offers academic programmes, we have recruited sessional academics to teach specialised modules in the postgraduate and executive education programmes. This is in addition to academic staff who are part of the team.
The second dimension of growth is in our academic offerings, which is made up of a Postgraduate Diploma in African Philanthropy and Resource Mobilisation (PgDip); a Master of Management in African Philanthropy (MM); and a Doctoral Programme (PhD). This year the PgDip programme had 13 registered students, while the MM in African Philanthropy had 12 students – all studying full time. On the PhD Programme, we had 14 students registered during the period. Overall, CAPSI has graduated 12 doctoral students since its establishment. This is one of CAPSI’s achievements that we hope to build on, creating a community of African researchers and academics.
In addition to teaching, we offer support initiatives such as the annual doctoral writing retreats, information sessions, mock panels, as well as mobility support, which enables students to attend international conferences where they present their work and meet others in the field.
Our Centre has continued to focus on new research areas, such as the ‘contributions of the nonprofit sector to African economies’ project, which is a five-year study spanning across 17 countries. Related to research and knowledge generation is the development of a knowledge hub that we have worked on over the past year. This will be a resource to access information from our published research as well as consolidated reports and publications on philanthropy and social investment.
In addition to research, publications, and teaching, we have also implemented several convenings and programmes. These include:
- The Annual African Philanthropy Conference: The conference is a collaboration among the following institutions: CAPSI, TrustAfrica, Africa Philanthropy Forum, Africa Philanthropy Network, East Africa Philanthropy Network, and the Southern Africa Trust. Hosted in Dakar, Senegal in 2023 and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe in 2024. The 2025 edition of the conference will be held in Cairo, Egypt.
- Adɔyɛ – Women in African Philanthropy: This is one of our new projects, created because of the many gaps that exist in capturing the role that women play in philanthropy, be it in research, teaching, or advocacy. To bridge this gap, CAPSI developed this project with a special focus on teaching, research, and advocacy initiatives. At the moment, the project is led by a steering committee that is made up of experienced women from across African philanthropic organisations.
- Conversations on African Philanthropy Podcast: This platform hosts a variety of speakers: young people, leaders in the sector, academics, and activists, among others. These are drawn from different sectors and countries. We have received positive feedback about how people are using the podcast for teaching, research, and self-improvement. In 2024, we pivoted the podcast to document a donor collaborative called the Zimbabwe Alliance. We recorded twenty episodes of this collaboration and published the series in December 2024.
- Kisima Giving Platform: While progress on this project has lagged due to a lack of funding, we have integrated the vision into the podcast so as to continue telling stories. In the next year, we plan to revamp this project by engaging several writers from across the continent.
The success and achievements are thanks to the commitment by staff and our valuable partners. Among these are CAPSI’s dedicated set of funders who have provided both general support and project funding. I want to thank the Ford Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Mastercard Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Wallace Global Fund, MacArthur Foundation and the Open Society Foundation for the continued support. It is because of this support, the commitment of our staff, the contributions of our various partners, and the dedication of our students that the Centre has grown significantly over the last few years.
The growth is always a stretch on the resource base and capacity, which requires more expertise and skills, but it has also positively impacted the reputation of the Centre internally and externally. We see this positive growth as a challenge to sustain in the coming years. There are other universities in Africa that are now setting up programmes and centres on philanthropy. This is a good development, but it also means our uniqueness is now short-lived. We will have to dig deeper into our skills and experiences to remain relevant.
I take this opportunity to wish everyone happy festive holidays and a prosperous 2025. I hope the reflections below and the footprint of the Centre presented in infographics will give you a sense of what we do every day and what we seek to achieve. We hope to talk to you in the new year and collaborate to promote the role of African philanthropy and social investment. South Africa will host the G20 meeting in 2025 – let us all collaborate and drive the elimination of Africa’s development challenges.
For us, philanthropy is one of the vehicles for our development, and we are proud to play our part to promote it.
Regards,
Bheki
