African civic tech plays a significant role on the continent, but many innovators in the space still struggle with their funding and financing options. In some ways, this mirrors challenges in other non-profit and social innovation work, but there are also new, unique challenges.
Financing and funding civic technology activities take up a significant portion of most organisations’ worry hours. Often, when there are shortages of funds, this is viewed as an organisational failure. But instead of looking at funding and financing as a reflection of innate value, it should rather be viewed as one of the tools that allow us to reach our social impact. It is a strategic tool that should be considered alongside all of an organisation’s other strategies as well.
In this episode, Nathi Mcetywa spoke to Gabriella Razzano and Amy Mutua about some of the best ways civic tech organisations can go about financing their initiatives. They talk to us about a report they recently put together a report chronicling the challenges and opportunities associated with the financing of civic tech initiatives.
Gabriella Razzano is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of OpenUp, a civic tech lab based in Cape Town. She is also a board member of the Civic Tech Innovation Network. Senior Atlantic Fellow in Social and Income Equality; and an Expert on AI and Democracy for the African AI Observatory.
Amy Mutua is the Research Assistant for the Tayarisha Centre for Digital Governance.
This project is the culmination of ongoing dialogues and research conducted by the Civic Tech Innovation Network (CTIN) which have aimed at exploring financing issues, strategies and models appropriate and applicable for the African civic tech innovation ecosystem.
African civic tech plays a significant role on the continent, but many innovators in the space still struggle with their funding and financing options. In some ways this mirrors challenges in other non-profit and social innovation work, but there are also new, unique challenges.
They created this project to provide a platform for civic tech innovators and organisations across Africa with access to resources, information, and the co-learning networks they may need to help grow and sustain their practice and impact. This site is intended as an interactive, ever-growing space and we encourage you to own, engage and interact with its resources and tools.
Also read Advancing Technology & Social Change through the Ushahidi Digital Tool and Enhancing Government Effectiveness and Accountability through Leveraging Technology
