TrustAfrica

TrustAfrica is an African-led pan-African organization headquartered in Dakar, Senegal. It was established in 2006 with the generous support of the Ford Foundation, on the conviction that Africans must set the agenda for tackling the continent’s most pressing challenges. TrustAfrica has been deeply engaged in fostering inclusive governance, democracy, and citizen participation across Africa, with a significant focus on West Africa. The West Africa Democracy Fund (WADF) is a multi-donor initiative launched in October 2024 to empower civil society organizations, promote inclusive policy reforms, and increase the participation of marginalized groups, particularly youth and women, in governance and the electoral process. The WADF also fosters greater civic involvement by addressing issues such as rising authoritarianism, economic struggles, the material dividends/benefits of democracy, and declining public trust in democratic institutions in the region, and by adapting civic tech to promote citizens' participation and activism. The geographical focus of the fund is Ghana, Togo, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Nigeria, and West Africa-wide initiatives. The foundation’s funds will primarily be used to support activities in Nigeria.

Trust Africa is an African intermediary foundation focused on three areas: securing the conditions for democracy; fostering African enterprise and broadly shared prosperity; and cultivating African resources for democracy and development. In 2012, initiated by MacArthur, and in partnership with five other donors, Trust Africa established the Fund to Advance Criminal Justice in Africa (the Fund) to strengthen the capacity of local civil society organizations to combat impunity through concerted advocacy for domestic accountability mechanisms, more effective engagement with regional and international processes, and improved knowledge and understanding of criminal justice issues, especially accountability for mass atrocities. In this final phase of work, the Fund focuses on providing grants and technical assistance to African NGOs for advocacy and capacity development to support implementation of the African Union policy in Mali and Nigeria.

Trust Africa is an African intermediary foundation focused on three areas: securing conditions for democracy; fostering African enterprise and shared prosperity; and cultivating African resources for democracy. In 2012, initiated by MacArthur, and in partnership with six donors, Trust Africa established the Criminal Justice Fund for Africa to strengthen the capacity of local civil society organizations to combat impunity through concerted advocacy for domestic accountability mechanisms, more effective engagement with regional and international processes, and improved knowledge and understanding of criminal justice issues, especially accountability for mass atrocities. The Fund’s objectives in this grant period center on improving and strengthening the capacity of local civil society organizations to engage in policy development and implementation at the regional and continental level, particularly with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU). 

The award supports an experts consultation titled “The Promise of the African Union’s Transitional Justice Policy Framework” in Dakar, Senegal, in September 2015.

Trust Africa: The MacArthur, Ford, and the Open Society Foundations have come together to establish the Anti-Corruption and Criminal Justice Reform Fund, to support early efforts by the new government in these two areas. The recent inauguration of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption, supported by the Fund, is a major part of the government’s anti-corruption program.