Are donors’ commitments to localisation translating into more direct funding for African NGOs or are international intermediaries still dominating funding flows?
Question submitted by: Kennedy Kama, Chief Executive Officer, Population Health Linkages, Zambia
The honest answer is that international intermediaries still dominate funding flows. The available global humanitarian data, which does not capture all sources of funding for African NGOs, found that only 9.5% of international humanitarian funding reached local and national actors, directly or indirectly, in 2024. The proportion reaching them directly was considerably smaller.
A significant gap exists between institutional commitments and the everyday experience of African organisations. Donors may endorse localisation at policy level, but their funding systems often continue to favour organisations with established relationships, extensive compliance teams and a history of managing large international grants. This repeatedly directs funding towards the same familiar institutions.
As The Unseen argues, this is not simply a capability problem. Many credible African organisations already have strong leadership, effective systems, technical expertise and deep community legitimacy. The problem is the Opportunity Access Gap: they remain disconnected from the networks, information and relationships through which funding opportunities move. They may never hear about an opportunity, be invited into the room or have the chance to demonstrate what they can do.
Funding that passes through an international intermediary should not automatically be presented as locally led. We must examine how much money ultimately reaches the local organisation, who determines the programme priorities, who owns the relationship with the donor and who has the authority to change the programme. Participation is not the same as power.
Intermediaries can still play a valuable role, particularly in managing risk, strengthening systems and supporting relationships with organisations that are new to a donor. However, they must be transparent about the resources they retain, share overheads fairly and establish a clear pathway towards greater local control. Their success should be measured in part by whether local organisations become increasingly able to lead programmes and hold direct funding relationships.
Donors also need to examine their own systems. Proportionate due diligence, accessible application processes, smaller entry grants and investment in organisational development would enable them to work directly with a wider range of African organisations without lowering standards.
Localisation should be measured not by how many African organisations appear in a consortium, but by how much funding, flexibility and decision-making power they actually control.
(This answer was provided by Keith Kibirango, a fundraising and philanthropy expert, and Founder & Chief Executive of New Global Markets Consulting)
