LEADING FROM THE SOUTH PII (2021-2025)

Leading from the South is an initiative conceptualized for Women’s Funds working on women’s rights issues and gender equality within Africa and the MENA region, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean and globally. The fund is managed by four prominent Women’s Funds: Fondo de Mujeres del Sur –FMS- (Latin America and the Caribbean), the African Women’s Development Fund –AWDF- (Africa and the MENA Region), the South Asia Women Fund –SAWF- (Asia) and the International Indigenous Women’s Forum –FIMI- (Global); supported by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The aim of the initiative is to resource and support Women’s Rights Organisations (Small grassroots, Intermediate, Large, and consortium/Networks) in the Global South in their advocacy work to achieve gender equality. Following the successful implementation of Leading from the South (LFS) PI: Resources for Women’s Rights Advocacy for Full Equality (2017-2020) by the consortium, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has made available €80 million for phase II of the LFS (2021-2025) to strengthen the lobby and advocacy capacity of Southern women’s organisations, movements and networks at regional, national and grassroots level. Outcomes from LFS phase I provided a justification for the MFA to consider a phase II. African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is a Pan-African grant-making organisation that funds local, national, and regional autonomous women’s rights organisations in Africa and the Middle East, that are working towards the promotion and realisation African Women’s Rights. Since the beginning of its operation in 2001, AWDF has awarded grants and provided technical support to over 1,400 women’s organisations in 43 out of the 54 countries in Africa. AWDF mobilises financial, human and material resources to support local, national, and regional initiatives for transformation led by women in Africa and the Middle East towards achieving its vision.