Voices from the Collaborative: May 2025
May was a month of exciting firsts for our Portfolio Services team, as Portfolio Managers, Nafissatou Sene and Doris Kamathi stepped into their first public speaking roles and represented African Collaborative while elevating the core values of our work. The common thread that ran through both conversations was a commitment to trust-based philanthropy and the belief that power should rest with local leaders.
Lifting Up Local Leadership at the Skoll World Forum Watch Party
We were proud to see Doris Kamathi speak on a powerful panel during Changemakers in Focus: A Skoll World Forum Regional Watch Party – Nairobi Edition, hosted by Docubox. This special event, part of a Skoll Foundation pilot initiative, brought the spirit of the Skoll World Forum to Nairobi, centering Kenyan voices in global conversations about change.
During the panel, Doris highlighted one of African Collaborative’s guiding principles: shifting power and trust in philanthropy. She shared:
“We believe in letting the power be in the hands of those who are leading organizations. So, through our portfolio services, through our unrestricted funds, you've been able to see organizations that are locally-led are able to deliver solutions in real time and even in the most impactful way.”
-Doris Kamathi, Portfolio Manager, African Collaborative
The event also featured Eric Mwangi, the visionary filmmaker behind our first-ever short documentary, Funding Africa, who joined a panel exploring storytelling, impact, and community-driven narratives.
Eric Mwangi
Our amazing team in Kenya showed up in full support, sporting our brand-new swag, of course! When reflecting on the event, Doris noted how much having Julie, Michelle, and Alfred there meant to her. “I felt so happy knowing they were cheering me on. Every time I looked at Julie while speaking, she had this big smile and kept nodding like she was saying, ‘You’re doing well, you’re doing well.’ That gave me a lot of strength up there. Their presence gave me more confidence.”
We've loved seeing friends of the Collaborative rock our new tote bags across the globe. The team group chat definitely had a case of FOMO, but we couldn’t be more thrilled for Doris in this moment and grateful that some of our team could be there in person to celebrate!
This was yet another moment of deep gratitude and a reminder of how lucky we are to lend our voice to a movement that uplifts local leadership and bridges regional action with global momentum.
Reflecting on our presence across the continent Doris shared that she’s, “happy we’re included in these important spaces happening in the region. It feels like we’re truly starting something here, building our work on this side of the continent. I’m amazed by how many people already know about African Collaborative… Our presence is visible, people are seeing; people are reading.”
You can watch Doris’ panel session below:
Advancing Inclusive Governance Through CivicTech in West Africa
We’re also proud to share that Nafissatou (Nafi) Sene joined a panel at the West Africa CivicTech Conference in Lagos, Nigeria. Her session, “Rethinking AI and CivicTech for People, Impact, and Inclusive Governance,” was part of this year’s theme: “Strengthening Democracy in West Africa Through Technology.”
The conference brought together civic tech innovators, policymakers, and changemakers from across the region to explore how technology can enhance transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement in governance.
During the discussion, Nafi offered a powerful call for more flexible, trust-based funding:
“To help creatives and innovation and tech solutions come to life, we need to stop with the restricted funding. Let’s encourage more flexible funding—let’s encourage people to drive the impact they want to and not be stuck in an office writing a report for hours because you [funders] need to be accountable or have a deadline. It’s important to be accountable, but at the end of the day you’re not going to get the impact that you want if you give such hard deadlines. Let’s give our local organizations breathing room to move things around and make the real change that we want to see.”
-Nafissatou Sene, Portfolio Manager, African Collaborative
Nafi also took the opportunity to highlight how civic technology can create meaningful impact across different sectors, pointing to our portfolio partners HelpMum and Shule Direct as prime examples. “They work in completely different areas—health and education—but both use AI and technology as a core pillar of their work and are driving dramatic change in their communities. My goal was to encourage young people to see that we’re living in a civic tech era, and there are so many avenues to create impact using technology.”
Dr. Abiodun Adereni, HelpMum’s founder, was also at the conference to show his support. If there’s one thing our team agrees on, it’s that any opportunity to connect with our partners is a true gift. These moments of connection mean so much to us as an organization.
Nafi with Hackathon participants and panel moderator, Monica Rodrigues
Oluwaseun Odunsi, Nafi, and Dr. Abiodun Adereni (HelpMum)
When asked about one of her personal takeaways, Nafi poignantly noted, “During the two days I was there, I saw that even though everyone was working on different tools and in different countries, they were all dealing with pretty much the same challenges. That really showed me why funders push for their partners to connect. It’s really our role and responsibility and i’m doubling down on that. I think it’s super important for us to push those connections, to encourage networking and learning from each other. We need to create spaces where partners can reflect, share feedback, and grow together … it’s reassuring to know African Collaborative is on the right track with that.
The conference allowed for powerful connections and a redefined roadmap towards a citizen empowered democracy. We’re honored to have Nafi represent African Collaborative in this vital conversation on equity, innovation, and local leadership in civic tech-driven democracy. Catch the entire panel session below:
Stay tuned as we continue to share more stories and insights from our team and community.