By Darren Isom and Elisabeth Makumbi, The Bridgespan Group
In this era of global political and economic upheaval, for some donors committed to social change and human flourishing, the challenges may feel insurmountable. But now more than ever, the world needs philanthropy to double its commitment to foster a more equitable future. A good place to turn for inspiration is Africa. Now in its fifth season, The Bridgespan Group’s Dreaming in Color podcast has created a space for social change leaders of colour to reflect on how their unique life experiences, personal and professional, have prepared them to lead and drive the impact we all seek. In our current season, we highlight African leaders and the continent’s role as a key driver of global innovation and leadership.
The continent has the youngest and fastest-growing population on earth. By 2050, one in four people on the planet will be African. This seismic demographic shift prompted The New York Times to declare that the future is African, noting that “as the world grays, Africa blooms.” But that blooming is as much about new ideas as it is about demographics. Africa’s fresh thinking about old problems leads to innovative approaches that can provide the inspiration and lessons that philanthropy needs more of now.
Here are five lessons for philanthropy from the continent that we observed from co-hosting this season:
1. Recognise proximity and lived experience as expertise
Leaders rooted in community bring valuable lived, cultural, and relational knowledge that is essential for lasting change. “The work I’ve done in Johannesburg, it’s rooted in understanding how local narratives are global conversations,” says Lekgetho Makola, chief operations officer, The Market Theatre Foundation in South Africa. “My leadership didn’t come from theory—it came from living these contradictions and translating them into strategy.”
Similarly, other leaders across the continent are grounding their work in lived realities and community knowledge. Throughout the season, we met many African changemakers putting such expertise into action – designing, adapting, and delivering culturally resonant approaches that achieve success. In Kenya, Tom Osborn, CEO of Shamari Institute, Africa’s largest youth mental health provider, is reshaping what care can look like by making it a community endeavour, tying individual mental health to collective well-being.
“The way we think about mental health today, rooted in Western diagnostics, isn’t always valid. Communities already have their own language and practices around healing, often grounded in religion, storytelling, or relationships,” says Osborn. “We are building something from scratch that starts from our lived realities and focuses on care.”
2. Fund culture as a core asset
Art, storytelling, spirituality, and heritage are central to building community power, healing, and long-term change. It is how communities organise, remember, and reimagine, and how change travels and endures. “We underestimate the potential of our culture and heritage to create opportunities, and when I say opportunities, it’s hope, positivity, inspiration,” says Leila Ben-Gacem, a social entrepreneur and Ashoka fellow who is revitalising Tunis’ historic Medina.
For philanthropy, this means supporting artists and cultural workers as central actors in systems change, treating cultural stewardship as a long-term investment, and funding cultural practice as core infrastructure. This emphasis on cultural preservation as a form of resilience is echoed by others.“If we do not actively invest in memory, in archives, in collections, in stories, we risk arriving 50 years from now with nothing left to show who we were,” says Ore Disu, founding director of the Institute of the Museum of West African Art in Benin City, Nigeria, which will open to the public this fall. “Culture holds the power to reconnect and reimagine.”
3. Reimagine risk and redefine return
Philanthropy must move beyond conventional definitions of risk and reward. Investing in justice, creativity, and community-rooted innovation often means backing what others overlook. True transformation requires boldness, not just in ideas, but in where and how we invest.
“I measure success by the people I gather, not the titles I collect,” says Nwabisa Mayema, a social entrepreneur in South Africa who has built a career supporting women’s entrepreneurship. “In a world that values profit and pedigree, I’ve chosen legacy, community, and joy as my return on investment.”
We also heard about this kind of expansive view of risk and return from donors themselves. “Risk is essential,” says impact investor Tijan Watt, co-founder of Wuri Ventures in Senegal. “If your loss rate is zero, you’re not investing boldly enough. In Africa, we’re not eliminating risk –we’re embracing it, spreading it out, and betting on what’s possible.”
4. Invest in ecosystems, not just individuals
Sustainable change often comes from networks, or interconnected systems of change, not from solo heroes. Semhar Araia, an Eritrean-American activist and founder of The Diaspora Academy, sees this in her work. “Diaspora isn’t a solo journey. It’s a web of history, culture, advocacy, and memory. We build power by organising – not just inspiring,” she says.
In fact, effective changemakers are often network weavers who nurture whole ecosystems of artisans, youth, local suppliers, or peers. This idea of collective power also comes through in grassroots financial models. In Senegal, investor Madji Sock co-founded the Women’s Investment Club (WIC), which has mobilised millions by scaling the tontine practice of pooling resources, becoming a model that is now replicated across Western Africa for funding women-led enterprises.
“WIC didn’t start as a movement. It started with women pooling their money, the way our mothers always have,” Sock says. “Now we’re an institution. The trust was always there, we just made it visible.”
To harness the full potential of collective power, funders must support the infrastructure, relationships, and connective tissue needed for social change.
5. Support joy and healing as a strategy
Resilience requires replenishment. Joy, rest, and healing are not distractions but core strategies for sustainable leadership. Philanthropy can normalise rest by not only funding wellness and healing, but also by funding with an abundant mindset so organisations have the stability and resources that allow its leaders to take a break.
“There’s a season for everything. You can’t always be constantly pushing, sometimes you need rest, like the land,” says Feven Teshaye, CEO of Chakka Origins in Ethiopia, which works with female farmers to develop biodiverse natural wellness products steeped in local traditions.
We also heard how joy becomes a powerful driver, allowing people to stay in the work and pass it on to others. Often, such joy develops because these leaders come to the work loving the communities they are working with. Tunisian philanthropist Farah Mami allows love and joy to shape her giving.
“What brings me the most joy today is love,” says Mami. “Heaven, for me, is a world where people feel safe to be who they truly are and where love is present not as sentiment, but as force – strong, protective, transformative. I choose to build spaces where heaven is possible.” Philanthropy must look beyond traditional models – and listen deeply to the wisdom already flourishing across the Global South.
To learn more, subscribe to the Dreaming in Color podcast: http://bspan.org/dreaming
Darren Isom is a partner at The Bridgespan Group in San Francisco, and Elisabeth Makumbi is a Bridgespan manager in Johannesburg. They co-host Dreaming in Color’s Africa season.
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