EPIC-Africa: COVID-19 is a moment for funders to interrogate their approach to supporting social change

In this eighth “Coronavignette,” we continue to share conversations with leaders of civil society organizations in Africa on how COVID-19 affects their work.

Rose Maruru and Adwoa Agyeman are co-founders of EPIC-Africa, a Dakar-based firm that seeks to enhance the impact of funders and civil society across the Africa through filling data gaps, generating knowledge and deepening the philanthropic sector support institutions on the continent.

In this 12-minute video, Rose and Adwoa describe:

• The results of a survey, conducted in April-May 2020, that looks at how African civil society has been affected by COVID-19 and how organizations are responding and adapting in a time of uncertainty. Epic-Africa found that 56% of respondents lost funding and 69% had reduced or cancelled program operations; at the same time, 85% reported being involved in the COVID-19 response, and 45% were optimistic that CSOs would emerge from this crisis stronger.
• The gulf between how Africa’s middle class and informal workers are experiencing COVID-19 and the restrictive measures that have been put in place to mitigate the spread. While middle class professionals may have the opportunity to work from home, informal workers in small commerce, transportation and trades still must get about in the marketplace to eek out a daily living, especially women.
• How funders can use this moment to adapt their practices to support a more resilient civil society, especially in Africa. Most grants to African civil society are still 12–18 months; funders must do more to provide longer-term, general operating support to ensure the financial and organizational health of the sector, which is proving it is both adaptable and crucial to the COVID-19 response.

In the coming weeks we have more Coronavignettes with the African Centre for Studies of the United States, the Media Foundation for West Africa, and Open Institute.