For Africa, By Africans: The Proximate Fund’s Bold Vision for Change

Hosted at Myriad USA, The Proximate Fund will nurture and build a thriving network of local investment funds across the continent, available to African civil society and social entrepreneurs who are best equipped to create effective solutions for local development.

 

The Proximate Fund offers a new approach to drive sustainable, localized solutions across Africa. Founded by Adeso, it is the first of its kind with an ambitious plan to engage global philanthropists to invest in African-led solutions.

“The Proximate Fund was created in response to the urgent need for a new funding architecture in Africa—one that replaces extractive, dependency-based models with systems rooted in local leadership and dignity,” explains Degan Ali, Adeso’s Executive Director and the Proximate Fund’s founder.

The Proximate Fund goes beyond grantmaking by building trust and ensuring resources flow equitably to those with deep community roots and proven insight.

What Proximate Giving Is and Why It Matters 

Proximate giving centers local leadership and recognizes that sustainable change must be cultivated from within. As this approach gains momentum, donors still perceive barriers around risk and compliance, while lacking awareness and access to trusted local organizations. These challenges often force local organizations to divert energy from serving their communities to meeting external funder demands. Focusing on organizational capabilities and rooted in trust, Proximate reframes philanthropy from charity to co-investment by shifting power to local leaders as decision makers.  

“My philosophy is to let locally led groups identify where change is needed, how change needs to happen, and then simply provide the resources for them to effect that change in whatever way they feel is most appropriate. That’s exactly what the Proximate Fund exists to do, ensuring resources flow directly to where they can have the greatest impact,” says Adeso donor Bob McDowell.

How It Works: Structure, Governance, and Accountability  

As a collaborative fund, pooling donor resources allows for pooling risk and minimizing fragmentation. Programmatically, this also unlocks opportunities to innovate. 

At the core of the Proximate Fund’s innovation is a network of planned country funds that, once opened, will serve as collaborative platforms where civil society, philanthropy, social enterprise, and community networks shape priorities and decisions. Instead of relying solely on donor oversight, each fund will embed community-driven mechanisms, such as validation forums, narrative tracking, and participatory evaluation.  

In particular, the Fund will support activities including: 

• Developing unique country funds across Africa, including countries that are overlooked or severely under-resourced. Each country fund will be governed by national governance boards with leaders grounded in national and local contexts. 
• Supporting grassroots efforts led by local communities, often women- and youth-led initiatives driven to tackle the most critical needs and opportunities facing communities and rooted in sustainable futures.
• Building a Pan-African network of community foundations and grantmakers mobilizing local and international support for the future.  
• Leveraging gifts by circulating capital through grants, interest-free loans, and social finance.

An Ambitious Vision for the Future 

The Proximate Fund is working toward ambitious goals: by 2026, it aims to launch its first country fund in Sudan, paving the way for additional pilot countries. With the support of the Global Advisory Council, Proximate will grow its investment pool by $10 million. By 2035, Proximate envisions a continent-wide network of country Funds, shifting donor practices and capital flows toward equity and proximity. Ali and her team have already secured over $8 million in capital from the Gates Foundation, Meadow Fund and the Quadrature Climate Foundation.

This is just the beginning of an ambitious funding campaign. “We envision raising and unlocking philanthropic capital commensurate with Africa’s size and scope. With trust in the right hands, it can transform systems and reduce long-term dependency,” shares Ali.

In February 2026, the Fund will also host an immersive learning journey for donors of the collaborative, inviting funders to engage directly with African-led, community-driven models that drive a trust-based philanthropic ecosystem.  

At a time when governments across the world are shrinking their foreign aid budgets, the Proximate Fund offers a path for continuing the important work of funding locally to ensure sustained impact and long-term independence from aid.

To learn more and support the Proximate Fund’s work, please visit https://www.every.org/proximate-fund/ or reach out to [email protected].