African Women’s Development Fund
The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) funds local, national, sub-regional and regional organisations in Africa 
working towards women’s empowerment. The AWDF is an institutional capacity-building and programme development fund, which aims to help build a culture of learning and partnerships within the African women’s movement. In addition to awarding grants, the AWDF attempts to strengthen the organisational capacities of its grantees.
Mission
The vision of AWDF is for African women to live in a world in which there is social justice, equality and respect for women’s human rights. To this end, our mission is to mobilise financial resources to support local, national and regional initiatives led by women, which will lead to the achievement of this vision.
Background and Objectives
AWDF, the first Africa-wide fundraising and grant-making fund, was established in June 2000 by three African Women who have been active in various institutions within and outside Africa. The founders, Ms Joanna Foster (Ghana) Dr Hilda Tadria (Uganda/Ethiopia) and Ms Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi (UK/Nigeria), have a track record of successful empowerment interventions, which have helped strengthen the African Women’s Movement.
The objectives of AWDF are fundraising within and outside Africa, grant-making on an Africa-wide basis, communicating the work and achievements of African women’s organisations and providing technical assistance to grantees.
AWDF has funded over 1200 women’s organisations in 42 African countries.
Areas of Activity
- Women’s Human Rights
- Political Participation
- Peace Building
- Health, Reproductive Rights
- Economic Empowerment.
- HIV/AIDS
References