It all started in 2012 when Oludotun and I co-founded Connected Development [CODE] without any external financial support and office space. With our passion and ambition to improve rural lives across the continent, we started a non-profit organisation based on the elemental principles of international non-profit organisations in Nigeria.

We created programs within the themes of transparency and accountability, electoral processes improvement and environmental sustainability. On transparency and accountability, we had create Follow The Money (FTM), through which we monitor and track foreign aid and governmental implementation of capital funds intended for  the development of rural communities. Our aim was to contribute towards building a practise of open government values and citizens engagement in matters related to the use and management of public funds. The uniqueness of the CODE approach was to leverage on the fact that international aid agencies find it exceedingly expensive to monitor projects on the continent, as they preferred once-off impact evaluations. This prevents early identification of deficiencies in project execution and disfigures efficiency. In addition, there were gross open government deficit concerns in Nigeria including poor governance, the systemic looting of public funds, accountability deficit, public records inaccessibility and disadvantaged citizen participation in governance.

We received our first grant from the Indigo Trust after selling the Follow The Money idea. Initially, we started by advocating for governmental intervention over a lead poisoning outbreak in the rural communities of Shikira and Bagega in Niger and Zamfara States. Later, after we convinced government to address the issue,   we tracked the implementation of funds meant for cleaning the communities and providing healthcare treatments to under 5 years children that were dying from the outbreak.

We were also involved in the NGN 9.2b #WomenCleanCookStoves process and managed to expose corruption, mismanagement of public funds, contractual ambiguity and controversies on the number of stoves that were obtained in the process.  Since we set up shop, we have impacted over 30,000 rural lives through rolling back poverty, child and maternal mortality; facilitating the improvement of learning environments and clean water access provision; and ensuring service delivery. To make our work sustainable, we established a pool of over 200 community reporters [ifollowthemoney.org] that reside in rural communities and assist us in tracking the funds and providing real-time data that empowers local communities on their own to demand accountability.

The 2016 ONE Africa Award has accentuated the continent’s belief in our work while raising responsibilities expected of us. It was a great experience receiving the award in Marrakesh at the Mao Ibrahim 2017 Governance conference. We had the opportunity to interact with global and Nigerian game changers that inspire us to do our bit, he founders of ONE and other African personalities including Mo Ibrahim, Amina J. Mohammed, Akinwumi Adesina, HRH Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Aliko Dangote, amongst others.

The ONE Africa award will be very useful in expanding our Africa impacts through monitoring service delivery on projects intended for marginalised communities specifically in the areas of health, education and the environment. It will also be helpful in our efforts to build more capacities for the communities to engage the government and hold their leaders accountable directly. We plan to broaden our network in Nigeria and the continent by reaching out to more communities and magnifying rural voices.

Hamzat Lawal is an activist and currently the Co-Founder/Chief Executive of Connected Development [CODE]. He is working to build a growing grassroots movement of citizen-led actions through Follow The Money for better service delivery in rural communities. He tweets via @HamzyCODE

CODE is a Nigerian based  advocacy organisation with a mission to empower marginalized communities by improving access to information  needed to better local public services. CODE have won the 2016 award as they have  proven that they can effectively wield their expertise to empower local communities to claim funds that have been appropriated to them. Through these activities, CODE has contributed to reducing poverty in target communities by boosting citizen participation in governance. CODE have also been successful in achieving wins in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.

CODE’s Follow the Money (FTM) campaign aims to promote transparency, accountability and citizen engagement by monitoring and tracking aid and governmental implementation of capital funds intended for local communities in three basic thematic areas: health, education and environment. The campaign has engaged local community members by providing training on how to track missing or misappropriated local funds and used their robust online presence to educate citizens and lobby governments to produce funds where they have been promised.

The Freedom of Information Act has been a key tool CODE has leveraged to secure information from international development partners and governmental agencies on their budgets and development programs intended to benefit citizens they work with.

In its fight against poverty, CODE’s advocacy and campaign work encourages citizen participation by utilizing online and traditional media engagements, town hall meetings, stakeholders meetings and community outreach programs to connect citizens with each other and their political leaders.

Other CODE programs  include  Disaster & Emergency Response Human Rights & Conflict.

Congratulations to CODE and our other  ONE Africa Award finalists Kenya Connect and ELLILTA – Women at Risk (EWAR), together with the hundreds of organisations who applied this year for the incredible work they lead on to make a difference in communities they serve. There are countless African-led organisations and grassroots groups doing incredible, life-changing work across the continent and we wish them continued success.

Find out more about CODE and their incredible work and help them celebrate by congratulating their achievement on social media.

The $100,000 ONE Africa Award highlights the dynamism and achievements of African groups and organisations that are building a better future for their communities, countries and continent.

The three finalists are …

Kenya Connect

Using a technology library and training center as a hub, Kenya Connect (KC) has implemented a number of holistic and sustainable programs in its immediate catchment area for communities. It uses its technology center to draw in students and train teachers. And it is also a launching pad for other programs such as its rent-to-own solar light program and sanitary pads for girls – which leave a lasting educational impact on quite an impressive number of children. The fact that it is focusing on higher technology and how rural Kenyans are at a disadvantage for training in the best jobs demonstrates that Kenya Connect is trying to find a solution to this vexing problem. It has been approached by other rural community technology hubs/centers that want to emulate its approach.

Connected Development (CODE)

CODE implements Follow the Money (FTM) branding and CC-SA (creative commons share alike) techniques in its campaigns in Nigeria. While most of this is of global nature, CODE has definitely applied it to specific Nigerian causes and effectively wield its approach for small gains and wins in the fight against corruption. CODE have developed a robust online presence and tracks its campaigns and projects, badgering the government to produce funds where it has promised. Two communities have benefited from CODE’s interventions. CODE has about 10 campaigns and monitoring activities that it runs concurrently and trains community reporters to facilitate its tracking.

ELLILTA – Women at Risk (EWAR)

EWAR is running a strong organization with programs that are making positive impact on women’s lives. EWAR’s innovation combines treatment for women engaged in sex work and outreach to community and institutional leaders (churches, mosques, high schools, etc) in order to create space for mutual understanding and begin the de-stigmatization of sex workers. EWAR also works to train teachers to provide sex education or pertinent topics to reduce the flow of girls and women into sex work at that age. And by working with faith leaders, EWAR is trying to reduce the condemnation and shame that often stems from priests and imams. EWAR has demonstrated its ability to build effective partnerships with faith groups (Orthodox and Evangelical – Muslim to come), schools, and government bodies.

Look out for the announcement of the #ONEAfricaAward winner in the second week of April!

This year ONE visited Dadaab, one of the largest refugee settlements in Kenya and Africa. There we were reminded how extreme poverty and deprivation looks like on a day to day basis. We also traveled to Borno State in Nigeria, where the impact of instability has had a grave impact on human existence and well-being. These examples make us and many others even more determined to push our mission to challenge the structures that create and maintain extreme poverty and disease on our continent. We want an Africa with more opportunities for everyone to thrive and fewer Dadaab-like conditions.

Amid all these challenges, the ray of hope comes through the various organizations who have been working on the frontlines to make a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable citizens. Through our Make Naija Stronger health campaign in Nigeria, we have had the honor of working with various Nigerian driven grassroots organizations and individuals who have been pushing for health reform. These organizations, along with ONE, have been asking the Nigerian government to invest more in the health sector so that the millions of women and children who die from preventable diseases across the country can be saved. Our focus on Nigeria was driven by the fact that it is the most populous country in Africa, with a very enterprenural population and yet has the worst health indicators in the world. Our call to the Nigerian government is clear; enough women have died during childbirth – the death of 150 women a day is unacceptable; under their leadership mother to child transmission of HIV must be a thing of the past and numbers of children infected with the virus every day need to be stemmed.

We know that organisations across Nigeria and Africa are playing their part amidst tough political and financial environments to end diseases and fight poverty. I am therefore delighted to have the privilege to invite applications from civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations and other groups based in Africa that can demonstrate innovation, commitment and success in their advocacy efforts to achieve SDGs. We are again seeking the best and greatest to apply for the 2016 ONE Africa Award. As we are constantly looking for game changers, please share this notice with any organizationsn you know that are doing amazing work right now in the fight to end extreme poverty.

We at ONE are looking forward to reviewing this year’s submissions!

Gertrude K. Kenyangi, Co-Founder and Chairperson of SWAGEN is presented the award by ONE Africa Director Nachilala Nkombo

SWAGEN is a member based organisation that uses indigenous knowledge to adapt to, mitigate and improve environmental and sustainable development policies that impact forest dependent communities. The work of SWAGEN is based in the Rwoho Natural Tropical Forest of Uganda.

What began in 1992 as a small group of women responding to a national policy that restricted access to the Forest has grown to a 3,000 member organisation with strategic partnerships across the continent and world. Read more about their work.

However, it is their impact in advocacy that made SWAGEN the winner from a pool of 252 impressive applications from 33 countries across Africa. SWAGEN is credited with negotiating a national policy reform on Forest Conservation in Uganda that recognizes the rights of the forest dependent communities – the Collaborative Forest Management Agreement.

Additionally, their list of accomplishments includes planting more than 2,000 hectares of the Rwoho National Forest buffer zone to work towards regenerating that portion of the forest and establishing sustainable beekeeping and honey production businesses.

We join SWAGEN in celebrating their success in ensuring that members of forest communities in Uganda have a chance at a better life that doesn’t compromise the needs of generations to come. As the world grapples with agreeing on a climate deal that addresses the needs of the poor and future generations, SWAGEN has demonstrated what sheer commitment to securing systemic changes in natural resource management can do to benefit local communities in a way that lifts them out of poverty and also inspires similar achievements.

As the world prepares to achieve the Global Goals by 2030, it’s the foundation of Millennium Development Goal success laid by such groups as SWAGEN that will be the game changer.”

Each year, The ONE Africa Award celebrates and highlights innovation and progress made by African led civil society organisations. As this year’s winner of the Award, SWAGEN will receive $100,000 to further the fantastic work they do in advocacy, natural resource management and the support of strong grassroots women’s groups who actively participate, contribute to and benefit from development activities in their forest-edge communities.

Congratulations to our ONE Africa Award finalists Community Link, Global Shea Alliance and Africa!Ignite  and the hundreds of organisations who applied this year. There are countless African-led organisations and grassroots groups doing incredible, life-changing work across the continent and we wish them continued success.

Find out more about SWAGEN and their fantastic work and help them celebrate by sharing their achievement on Facebook.

The Africa Award recognises Africa driven and led advocacy efforts that have demonstrated success at community, national or regional level. It aims to recognise and reward the exceptional work of organisations dedicated to helping the continent achieve the Global Goals. The winner will receive $100,000 and well-deserved recognition for their efforts in fighting poverty and progressing African innovation, commitment and success!

Our fourth finalist is SWAGEN (Support for Women in Agriculture and Environment) based in Kampala, Uganda.

Let’s learn a little more about them.

The mission of SWAGEN is to create strong grassroots women’s groups who actively participate, contribute to and benefit from development activities in their forest-edge communities.

It was founded in 1992 by a group of women from the forest-dependent community in Rwoho Natural Tropical Forest in response to a government policy restricting access to the forest after the first Sustainable Development Conference. Suddenly, the community was cut off from its source of sustenance, and women were particularly affected as they had to travel longer distances to obtain basic items such as fuel and water. SWAGEN’s advocacy activities and negotiations eventually resulted in the Collaborative Forest Management (CFM) agreement with the government.

The organisation now has approximately 3000 members spread across Uganda, made up of around 90% women. Members are the owners of the initiative, supporting its activities with their subscriptions. Income poverty; food, water and energy insecurity; and climate change are the key development issues SWAGEN currently seeks to address.

One stand-out initiative the organisation can boast is promotion and education in stove and rainwater harvesting tank construction as well as installation and maintenance of solar lighting and phone-charging technology.

At least 300 households in the community have now willingly adopted use of alternative renewable energy. Thanks to SWAGEN solar light is now available to 10,500 school pupils so they can revise at night, which has the added benefit of reducing forest wood used for fuel and reducing emissions from burning kerosene. This has led to a decline in respiratory diseases common among women and girls from inhalation of smoke while cooking on open fires and using kerosene lamps.

Executive Director Gertrude Kenyangi discusses the effect of climate change on rural communities and their responses in this video, filmed at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change:

SWAGEN raises awareness of key issues through an interactive call-in talk show set up on local radio, which allows local language dialogue about conservation and management of natural resources. Additionally, the organisation distributes newspaper insertions, posters and calendars to members of the Forest-Edge community, as well as hosting music, dance and drama shows to share information and carry messages about the dangers of irresponsible use of natural resources and benefits of conservation.

SWAGEN has been a hugely effective awareness raising, networking and advocacy group that is committed to ensure the equitable sharing of benefits from conservation.

Kenyangi describes the organisation’s vision as: “All round development of the human being.”

Keep up to date with the great work at SWAGEN on their Facebook page.

Meet our other finalists here, and follow us on Twitter to be the first to hear who wins the ONE Africa Award.

The Africa Award recognises Africa driven and led advocacy efforts that have demonstrated success at community, national or regional level. It aims to recognise and reward the exceptional work of organisations dedicated to helping the continent achieve the Global Goals. The winner will receive $100,000 and well-deserved recognition for their efforts in fighting poverty and progressing African innovation, commitment and success!

Our third finalist is Community Link, who since 2009 have promoted and created sustainable, self-reliance strategies to support refugees in the Nakivale settlement in Uganda.

Photo credit: Community Link

Nakivale is one of the oldest settlements in Uganda with nearly 77,000 people from more than seven countries of conflict. Community Link focuses on a self-reliance strategy to improve the livelihood of refugees by providing a foundation for the social and economic ability of individuals and communities.

One such project is the creation of an electricity plant that uses a maize milling machine to provide electrical power to 100 surrounding homes in the settlement. A large converter is connected to the motor of a maize milling machine to convert the power into electricity, which is then sold to Nakivale residents via their mobile phone connection.

Photo credit: Community Link

One result of the electricity project is that resident Demou-Kay has made a radio transmitter from second hand electronics and set up a radio station – the only one in the settlement. The station transmits over a 5-10 km radius, providing songs, news updates and health messages to listeners in the area. A month into the station being established, a family were reunited thanks to a radio communication about new arrivals to the settlement. By charging a small fee for song requests and CD/DVD recording, he has begun to generate income from the station, which helps Demou-Kay to maintain the project.

Another result is to provide lighting in the classrooms at night, improving student performance in the area greatly. This has helped reduce the secondary school drop-out rate in the refugee community. Health centres can also now operate 24 hours a day which has had a huge impact on community wellbeing in the settlement.

Find out more about our last finalist tomorrow, and follow us on Twitter to hear which organisation wins the 2015 ONE Africa Award

The Africa Award recognises Africa driven and led advocacy efforts that have demonstrated success at community, national or regional level. It aims to recognise and reward the exceptional work of organisations dedicated to helping the continent achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The winner will receive $100,000 and well-deserved recognition for their efforts in fighting poverty and progressing African innovation, commitment and success!

Photo credit: Global Shea Alliance

Our second finalist is Global Shea Alliance (GSA), a 350 strong membership group spanning 25 countries with its headquarters in Ghana.

It engages all parts of the shea value chain – from the exclusively female collectors to suppliers, international food and cosmetic brands, retailers, governments and consumers.

Photo credit: Global Shea Alliance

Because women exclusively collect shea, it has been known for decades as “women’s gold.” In Ghana, for example, shea provides more than half of the annual income of rural women. 

GSA educates women’s groups about their rights and strategies to improve their income and encourages suppliers, brands and retailers to commit to fair business practices as members and sustainability partners. It also works with non-profits and governments to champion laws and policies that empower the base of the value chain while striving to increase shea exports.

Women collectors play a vital role in the shea industry, as they stand at the foundation of the value chain. They have previously lacked bargaining power and recognition within the industry. Without collective bargaining rights or quality training, women have in the past had little leverage in obtaining a fair price for their goods.

Photo credit: Global Shea Alliance

The GSA is committed to formalising the shea gatherers into collectives, as well as educating them in the workings of the market. Most GSA activities directly benefit women’s groups. These activities include business development training and health and safety initiatives.

In the past year, the GSA sustainability programme has registered over 52 partners including leading international companies such as The Body Shop, Sundial Brands, and The Hershey Company, as well as small regional brands and women’s groups.

In the past year, under grants from USAID and ICCO, the GSA has trained over 20,000 women in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Nigeria in better quality control and aggregation techniques. This will greatly improve women’s income across the region.

Photo credit: Global Shea Alliance

Presently, all major companies exporting shea are Global Shea Alliance members. This year, the GSA is supporting 20 warehouses in 6 countries aiming to increase the income of over 5000 individual women collectors in six West African countries by at least 50%. The GSA has also conducted market linkages for over 50 small businesses owned by women in West Africa to sell shea butter to international cosmetic companies.

Find out more about Global Shea Alliance on their website and look out for our next Africa Award finalist tomorrow!

The Africa Award recognises Africa driven and led advocacy efforts that have demonstrated success at community, national or regional level. It aims to recognise and reward the exceptional work of organisations dedicated to helping the continent achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The winner will receive $100,000 and well-deserved recognition for their efforts in fighting poverty and progressing African innovation, commitment and success!

Photo credit: Africa!Ignite

Our first finalist is Africa!Ignite (A!I) based in Durban, South Africa.

They describe their purpose as:

“To bridge the gap between rural and urban by creating opportunities for rural women and youths to earn a decent living, improve their knowledge and skills and make their voices heard.”

A!I supports emerging entrepreneurs using a holistic approach incorporating craft enterprise development, responsible tourism, youth engagement, women’s health promotion and human rights advocacy. They are also keen to promote the stories of role models in the community to increase the impact of their work and inspire others.

Photo credit: Africa!Ignite

In 2011 they launched the ‘Shake the World’ campaign to create awareness and action towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) via the sale of eight colourful fair trade bracelets produced by female crafters. Each colour represented one of the MDGs and was designed to educate people about the issues addressed by each of the goals. Over 500,000 bracelets were sold in 4 years which created additional income for 1,000 female crafters.

This project boasts high profile brand ambassadors such as Richard Branson, Desmond Tutu, Goldfish, Jude Law and Queen Maxima who have all worn the bracelets, increasing public awareness.

Additionally, since 2010, A!I and its partners have established over 450 vibrant ‘WOWZULU Marketplaces’ in seven popular tourist destinations across KwaZulu-Natal as a strategy to alleviate poverty, ignite rural enterprise and inspire responsible tourism. The contemporary and colourful marketplaces, combine craft sales with vibrant cultural experiences and attractions such as coffee shops, story-telling, rural home stays and opportunities to learn craft techniques.

CEO Wilna Both says:

“Our programmes help women and youths earn a decent living; develop sustainable enterprises; learn usable skills; tell their stories; protect their health and environment; and improve their quality of life.”

A!I would like to expand the reach of their programmes into other poverty-stricken areas of South Africa as well as neighbouring countries Mozambique and Swaziland. They also have plans to replicate the ‘Shake the World’ initiative and develop a similar campaign to promote the new Global Goals.

“We believe in the people of our continent, our country and our province. Our aim is to help them to reach their potential, so that they can ignite the continent’s energy, creativity and economic power.”

Find out more about Africa!Ignite on their website and look out for our next Africa Award finalist tomorrow!

When the call for applications was made in July, organisations responded overwhelmingly, with 254 submissions from 33 countries. We are very pleased to present the top four organisations below in alphabetical order as our finalists for the 2015 ONE Africa Award:

Africa! Ignite (SOUTH AFRICA) – bringing the history, traditions and culture of rural Africa to the world using sustainable tourism to create market access for KwaZulu Natal’s most talented crafters and youth.

Photo credit: Africa!Ignite

Community Link (UGANDA) – creating a self-reliant refugee community in Nakavale settlement, the oldest settlement in Uganda.

Photo credit: Community Link

Global Shea Alliance (GHANA) – promoting quality and sustainability in the shea industry by educating women shea farmers on their rights and strategies to participate in the global shea economy.

Photo credit: Global Shea Alliance

Support for Women in Agriculture and Environment (UGANDA)—engaging the mostly women driven forest-dependent community of the Rwoho Natural Forest in its development and sustainability.

Photo credit: SWAGEN

We will be featuring each of these organisations on the blog soon so you can find out more about their history, projects, and impact being made.

Here are the 23 semi-finalist organisations which also made an impression on us with their innovation, results, accountability measures, partnerships and potential to scale their projects:

Congratulations to all of our semi-finalists and finalists!

The winner will be announced on the 20th November as part of the Mo Ibrahim Governance weekend in Accra, Ghana.

Follow us on Twitter to be the first to hear who wins!