Resilience Beyond Donors: Why Africa’s Civil Society Must Build on Solid Ground   

By Nonye Aghaji

One of the defining moments for African civil society in mid-2026 unfolded in Abuja when practitioners, policymakers, diplomats, and activists gathered for the public presentation of Building on Solid Ground: Primer on Resilience and Sustainability of CSOs in Africa by Udo Jude Ilo.

What began as a book launch quickly became a deeper conversation about the future of citizen-led movements on the continent.

For decades, civil society has been Africa’s moral conscience; from resisting military rule and supporting pro-democracy struggles to tracking public budgets, fighting gender-based violence, and protecting electoral integrity.

Yet beneath this legacy lies a difficult reality. Many of the organisations that hold power accountable are themselves facing challenges of sustainability, donor dependency, and institutional survival.

The Reality of the Funding Cliff

Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, former Vice President of the World Bank for Africa and former Minister of Education, described the current situation as “the most disruptive funding shock in generations.”

With funding cuts from traditional development partners such as USAID, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and several Nordic donors, many organisations across Africa have been forced to scale down programmes, lay off staff, or shut their doors altogether.

“The moment our funding source can collapse our organizations, our funding source has become our master,” Ezekwesili warned.

She argued that resilience should not be treated as a conference buzzword but as a daily responsibility for organisations committed to social change.

“We are in a state of fragility where we need an anti-fragility strategy, and sustainability and resilience are the most effective anti-fragility strategies,” she said. “It must be elevated from a sector survival conversation to an African self-determination conversation.”

Moving from Personalities to Institutions

Reviewing the book, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, Founding Executive Director of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), pointed to another challenge confronting the sector.

According to him, many organisations remain heavily dependent on their founders, making them vulnerable when leadership changes.

“Many organizations collapse once founders leave because systems, structures, and institutional culture were never developed,” he noted.

The book argues that long-term sustainability requires organisations to invest in strategy, governance, talent development, fundraising, and visibility. More importantly, it places strategy and governance before fundraising, challenging the belief that money alone guarantees institutional survival.

Global Ambition, Local Roots

For Dr. Kole Shettima, Country Director of the MacArthur Foundation, the conversation was also about ownership and ambition.

He stressed the importance of Africans documenting their own experiences and telling their own stories rather than relying on outsiders to define the continent’s realities.

Shettima highlighted organisations such as BudgIT, Follow The Money, and LEAP Africa, which began as local initiatives but have grown into internationally recognised institutions.

“Why don’t we have more African organizations at the global level, so our people can stop working for imperial organizations and work for our own internationalized bodies?” he asked.

At the same time, he stressed that strong local foundations must support global influence. He called for greater domestic philanthropy and policy reforms that encourage corporate and individual giving to civil society causes.

The Blueprint: 5 Pillars for an Enduring Civic Sector

At the heart of Dr. Ezekwesili’s message was a simple but urgent call: African civil society must rethink how it is built. She outlined five pillars which, if deliberately institutionalised, could help organisations move beyond survival and build lasting, resilient institutions.

A Defining Conversation

Attended by the Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria, the UK Deputy High Commissioner, and emerging civic leaders, the gathering reflected a growing recognition that African civil society is entering a new phase.

The challenges are significant, but many participants viewed the current moment as an opportunity to rethink old models and build stronger institutions rooted in local legitimacy and long-term sustainability.

For civil society to remain a force for democracy, social justice, and public accountability across Africa, it must build institutions that are bigger than their founders, stronger than funding cycles, and firmly rooted in the communities they serve, institutions capable of enduring crises, adapting to change, and standing the test of time. The author knows this firsthand. Reflecting on his own path, Udo Jude Ilo said, “And it made me ambitious ….”

As the author, diplomats, and panelists held up copies of Building on Solid Ground for the final photographs, the day’s ultimate takeaway was clear: sustainability is not a matter of luck; it is a matter of design. It is time for African civil society to get back to the design table.