Mwanamke Fund is a women's fund, created by women, for women and led by women in the countries of the African Great Lakes.
In Swahili, the local language of the region, "mwanamke" means "woman". The name reflects the Fund's strategic choice: to place women at the center of opportunities and actions that strengthen their resilience in a region shaken for more than thirty years by multifaceted humanitarian, economic, security and climate crises, women are often among those most affected.
Mwanamke Fund mobilizes resources, strengthens capacities and provides small grants to organizations and movements of women and girls in situations of vulnerability across the African Great Lakes region.
To serve in the short, medium, and long term as a feminist community fund embodying fairness, reliability, and accessibility, and responding to the technical and financial challenges and needs of small organizations of women and girls in vulnerable situations in the African Great Lakes countries.
Mobilize resources and provide local financial and technical support through the provision of small grants and capacity building for small organizations (led by women) that promote leadership, empowerment and the rights of vulnerable and marginalized women in the African Great Lakes countries.
Each grant is a voice raised, an initiative brought to life, a woman regaining power over her own life.
Subsidized projects
Countries covered
Women's organizations supported
Women and Girls Beneficiaries
Mwanamke Fund targets and supports small organizations of indigenous women, survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as vulnerable and marginalized women and girls in the African Great Lakes region:
Because many local women's organizations are not funded by traditional donors due to a lack of the required technical, financial, and logistical capacity.
We believe it's time to change the rules of the game, make resources accessible, and promote local struggles led by local women's organizations.
Mwanamke Fund structures its work around nine programmes, defined in consultation with partner organisations across the African Great Lakes region. Each programme addresses a documented need and is delivered through small grants accompanied by close, hands-on technical support. The nine areas of intervention are:
Discover our latest actions on the ground
Despite the rise of anti-women's rights agendas and the erosion of long-standing gains, Mwanamke Fund remains unfazed and determined in its fight for feminist climate......
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Thousands of women's organisations in the African Great Lakes carry the most relevant responses to gender inequality. Almost none of them can access international funding.......
Read the full articleYour financial support helps address the urgent needs of women in the African Great Lakes region. Every contribution makes a difference.
Mwanamke Fund works in partnership and close collaboration with other women's funds, national, regional, and international organizations that also provide grants to local women's rights groups.
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