Evans Okinyi

Chief Executive Officer,
East Africa Philanthropy Network (EAPN)

[#EAPhilanthropyNetwork @EAPhilanthropy]

The motorbikes of the early years became Land Rovers. The Land Rovers became helicopters. Across the same stretch of time, the people those vehicles kept arriving to save had not moved an inch.

That picture, drawn straight from a World Development Report, was how 𝑨𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒓 𝑫𝒓. 𝑺𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝑻𝒆𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒎, 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝒊𝒔𝒌 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, opened the 10𝒕𝒉 𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒚 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆. A documented pattern, held up so the room could not look away.

Read it slowly. Everything about the helpers rises year after year: their convoys, their methods, their status, their reach. The one thing that holds perfectly still is the life of the community they came to change, 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆.

The Commissioner has watched this industry circle the same elementary needs for as long as anyone can remember, basic sanitation, basic nutrition, the alleviation of poverty, returning to them again and again, for decades, and by his reckoning, even for centuries. 𝑨𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆.

Then he turned it on the room itself, 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔. He left them with a single question, the kind that quietly reorganizes how you see your own work and refuses to be answered in comfort.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝑻𝒖𝒃𝒆. 𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕: https://t.co/avU49nmYle

[#EAPhilanthropyNetwork @EAPhilanthropy]

Somewhere in the warm applause for trust-based philanthropy, @TamukaKagoro77 of @OpenSociety stopped the room and said the quiet part at full volume. If this space does not transform, if all we do is make our charity a little more efficient, 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂'𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.

Sit with that. The danger he named wears the face of generosity: well-funded, well-meaning, beautifully measured help, perfected to the point that 𝒊𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒏𝒕'𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔.

Opening the 10𝒕𝒉 𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒚 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, Kagoro refused the small conversation. He turned to the ministers and the funders in the room and put the structural questions almost no one wants on the agenda. 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆? Where is the new financial architecture, the regional liquidity pools, the sovereign wealth funds? How does a continent build a domestic market for its own philanthropy and put public money to work to widen the toolbox, well past the point of merely perfecting charity?

This was a call to stop arriving at these gatherings to parade the little instruments we have built 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆. Voice, he argued, is hollow if it can only ask for cleaner water and a little less suffering. Real voice carries the knowledge and the standing to speak to everything the powerful speak to, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒔.

And then he reached for history. He named the peoples who won at Adwa, who fought their way through Chimurenga, and asked the room to measure 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.

He does not finish that sentence gently. We are not going to finish it for him here.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒆𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝑻𝒖𝒃𝒆. 𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎: https://t.co/9ksgDlerj4

[#EAPhilanthropyNetwork @EAPhilanthropy]

𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.🚩

Take away the names that have underwritten African development for a generation, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒐𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒆𝒔, and you are left with a single unsentimental measurement of how much of this was ever truly ours.

Our CEO, Evans Okinyi (@washevans), opened the 110𝒕𝒉 𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒚 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 by performing that subtraction in real time, in front of the people most invested in not thinking about it. He asked whether what we have built has roots of its own, or whether it has been standing on capital that can simply leave.

He does not let the room off the hook, nor does he resolve it here.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝑻𝒖𝒃𝒆: https://t.co/mVSy1i9NSX

[Caroline Gaita @carole_gaita]

“Anchoring systems in an era of transitions”. The @EAPhilanthropy 10th conference officially kicks off in Addis this morning.

[TINADA Youth Action Africa (TYAAfriq) @TinadaOrg]

At the 10th @EAPhilanthropy Conference in Addis Ababa, our Executive Director @RoyDouglasOtie1 is joining philanthropy & development leaders to discuss systems strengthening, collaboration, & sustainable impact under the theme “Anchoring Systems in an Era of Transition.”

[Africa Solutions Media Hub @africsolutions]

We want to anchor systems at the era of transition. But are the communities that we serve transitioning? These are some of difficult questions that we have to ask ourselves if we are to achieve the impact that we envision ~ @EAPhilanthropy CEO Evans Okinyi #10thEAPC

[#EAPhilanthropyNetwork @EAPhilanthropy]

"𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒔." That line carried @sara_lomelin's TED talk at the #10thEAPC. It turns one person's vision and effort into a shared vision, combined effort, and multiplied impact. 𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓲𝓼 𝓬𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓰𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓰.

[#EAPhilanthropyNetwork @EAPhilanthropy]

Numbers @sara_lomelin put on the screen at #10thEAPC. Only 1% of global gender equality funding reaches women's organizations. Only 2% of human rights funding reaches grassroots organizers. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇. @phil_together

[#EAPhilanthropyNetwork @EAPhilanthropy]

Dr. Tendai Murisa @tmurisa at the #10thEAPC: Africa's path to self-sufficiency runs through Domestic Resource Mobilization, and philanthropy is one of its pillars. The big bet is that domestic resources, not aid, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂'𝒔 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆. @sivioinstitute

[#EAPhilanthropyNetwork @EAPhilanthropy]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬: stokvels move 2.7 billion dollars a year in South Africa alone, 86% of Kenyans gave in 2024, and Harambee raised 55 million dollars between 1963 and 1988. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆. - @Dr.@tmurisa @sivioinstitute

[#EAPhilanthropyNetwork @EAPhilanthropy]

African philanthropy has never had a talking problem. We are fluent in it, with decades of communiqués, panels, and declarations to prove it. Opening the 10th EAPC this morning, 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐰 𝐓𝐞𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐦, 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, asked the harder thing of us. We have said it all already, he told the room, and the only honest move left is to build. 𝑺𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒖𝒑. #10thEAPC

[#EAPhilanthropyNetwork @EAPhilanthropy]

Most keynotes about a funding crisis are written in the grammar of the open hand. @TamukaKagoro77 showed up speaking a different language altogether, the language of a forensic accountant who has been through the continent's books and found them solvent. He never reached for the world's wallet. Every minute went to a single question: 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆.

Then the figures, laid down like evidence.

◾️The diaspora alone sends home $100 billion a year, more than every foreign aid budget combined, and it 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕.
◾️$4 trillion sits in African domestic savings. Another $1.8 trillion sits in African pension funds. Solvency was never the question.
◾️Aid dropped almost 12 percent in one year, the steepest fall in a decade, and the financing gap holds at $1.3 trillion a year. He treated that collapse as a reveal instead of a wound.
◾️Giving inside the continent climbs 8 to 10 percent a year, faster than the world. 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐.
◾️Under a tenth of the philanthropic money raised in Africa's name reaches African hands directly. The rest is metabolised by intermediaries who keep a cut and keep the authorship.
◾️He refused the word localisation and handed back a harder one, 𝒓𝒆-𝒔𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂.
◾️Then the mechanism. A catalytic fund engineered to turn $200 million into $2 billion of private investment, one philanthropic dollar dragging ten in behind it.
◾️Trust-based, unrestricted money lifted organisational resilience by 40 percent and impact by a third in a 2024 study, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕.
◾️He named the ruling model audit culture and asked the room to bury it, funding agency in its place, multi-year and unpoliced, the decisions left to the people living the problem.
◾️And the line the room will keep repeating, that the capital was always here 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒕.

He closed on 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕. The reckoning he forced was plain arithmetic, a continent counting its own money out loud and hearing, for once, that it was rich the whole time. The architecture is whatever it dares to build now that the figures are on the table. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, he said, and after an hour in that room, neither should we. #10thEAPC @OpenSociety

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𝑫𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒆 did not open with a theory about capital. It put the instruments on the table and asked the room to build. 𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 took apart the deal structures and risk architectures that move real money. 𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒄𝒌, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 a post-aid season demands. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒙 stared down the trillions in assets and remittances the sector keeps failing to reach. Three rooms, sleeves up, no spectators. Swipe through. #10thEAPC

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𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 is what you can run on Monday. 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒆 𝑫𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 gave organizations a playbook for income that does not hinge on a single donor's mood. 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝑭𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 reworked how you position and communicate when the old money is drying up. 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 handed institutions the tools to plan for a future that refuses to sit still. Learning that leaves the room with you. 𝓢𝔀𝓲𝓹𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱. #10thEAPC

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Three masterclasses, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎, getting money to actually land where it should. 𝑷𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝑭𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏 opened up the governance and operations it takes to stand a fund up and keep it standing. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕-𝑩𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒚 went where most rooms will not, into the money and the power sitting under the language. 𝑭𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝑯𝒐𝒎𝒆 traced the cross-border route that carries capital to African-led organizations. The wiring, handed over in full. Swipe through. #10thEAPC

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𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 in this sector, and today the busiest rooms were the ones building it. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓 argued out the operating standards that earn a sector its credibility. 𝑮𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔-𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 took apart how consortia hold together once the money is actually pooled. 𝑩𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓 asked the question nobody likes to fund: who keeps the floor alive in the space between funders. The noise in these rooms was the work. Swipe through. #10thEAPC

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Some generations inherit a war to win. 𝑶𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓, the work of building the wealth and the power that all of that fighting was always meant to buy. That was the assignment our CEO @washevans placed in front of the room, before asking the harder thing, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕.

He ran a thought experiment through the hall. Imagine the biggest investors in African development gone by morning, every foreign grant withdrawn with them, and ask honestly what would still be standing once the room went quiet. 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏. Everything else has a landlord, because an ecosystem that runs on money you do not control is somebody else's house with your name on the door.

Then he turned to the things that cannot be sent for. Power does not arrive by import line, and liberation has never shipped with a label. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒏𝒐𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒏𝒐𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆
whose stake in it ends when the funding cycle does.

His charge was for philanthropy to grow into architecture, the kind that carries weight long after the hands that poured it are gone. He asked the room to lead like the people who see the shape of a building before anyone else believes it can stand. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒚 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕, 𝒃𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎, 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔.

History is watching. The future is waiting. #10thEAPC

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Dr. @tmurisa's reading of the moment at #10thEAPC: ODA fell 23.1% in 2025, the largest drop in the history of aid, and 95.7% of it came from just five donors. He called it the end of the aid era by design, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆. 📌

@sivioinstitute

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Diaspora remittances have outpaced aid every year since 2019, with a 21 billion dollar gap in 2024. The money is already in African hands. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐭. - @Dr. @tmurisa @sivioinstitute #10thEAPC

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A paradox @Dr. @tmurisa put to the #10thEAPC: Africa holds 60% of the world's uncultivated arable land, yet spends 45 billion dollars a year importing food, and grows the world's cotton while processing only 2% of it. 𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒇-𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆. - @sivioinstitute #10thEAPC