Growing & Sustaining

African Civic Tech

A Playbook for learning about funding and financing options for the African civic technology community.

A Playbook Starter

Financing and funding civic technology activities take up a significant portion of most organisations’ worry hours. Often, when there are shortages of funds, this is viewed as an organisational failure. But instead of looking at funding and financing as a reflection of innate value, it should rather be viewed as one of the tools that allow us to reach our social impact. It is a strategic tool that should be considered alongside all of an organisation’s other strategies as well.

Based on research undertaken at the end of 2022, we will help you:

  • Get a birds eye view of African civic tech
  • Understand key risks and opportunities for funding types
  • Get tips on accessing funding that works for your organisation

Civic Tech in Africa

African civic tech has the power to increase government transparency and accountability, empower citizens, facilitate increased and effective participation, and improve quality of life through improved service delivery. Many of the African civic tech projects being tracked tend to be grant funded, and are often one-off projects (rather than sustained organisations). But new models for organisations, and new models for funding, are starting to emerge: like options for hybrid organisations with for profit and non-profit arms. Or impact investing into scalable products. To get ahead of these shifts, organisations need to start thinking strategically about their funding options.

Funding Scenarios

This information is designed to guide you through the world of African civic tech funding from where you are. Use these different “scenarios” or personas to find more specific information about the financing world, including tips and advice.

I am a civic tech organisation reliant on donor funding in an environment where donor funding is decreasing.

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I am a new civic tech organisation and startup that is establishing itself with no existing funding model.

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I am a donor trying to learn more about the civic tech landscape in Africa whilst working on our funding strategy.

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I am a social entrepreneur hoping to scale an existing product in the region.

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I am a civil society organisation looking for a civic technology partner and have no internal development capacity.

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Understand the risks

Looking at risks and opportunities can be a simple tool for advancing organisational planning. In the world of civic tech funding, there are multiple dimensions (like impact, pricing or reputation) for unpacking the risks that may come from different sources of funding and financing. Our risk table provides a good introduction to the different factors you might consider when making plans about funding, and provides a template for building up your own risks table based on your own experiences.

Read The Report

This website is a summary of the research and findings in the Growing and Sustaining African Civic Tech report. Read the full report here.

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