Fab Collabs Worth the Gab
Collaboration has been woven into the fabric of Segal Family Foundation ever since Barry Segal noted that many organizations were working in isolation to solve similar problems on his inaugural trip to Africa. That key observation has informed a tremendous amount of our work over the years, from our peer learning visit stipends and regional networking receptions to our diligence-sharing and curated connections. So we couldn’t be more proud than when our grantee partners team up and multiply the magic.
When Segal staff hosted a luncheon for health partners working in Lilongwe, Malawi in June 2024, four grantee partners realized they were all working separately in maternal and childhood health—and decided to pool their resources. Global Health Informatics Institute (GHII), Joyful Motherhood, LifeNet International, Smile Mums, and Wandikweza began meeting monthly “to put our heads together when there is need and give each other peer support,” says Wandikweza founder Mercy Chikhosi Kafotokoza. They began discussing joint research possibilities and compiling good governance frameworks. Already, the nascent network has led to tangible outcomes. GHII—working at the intersection of science, engineering, and health—is developing an application which will reduce waiting time at Wandikweza’s clinic, as well as improve patient health records. Wandikweza is now referring at-risk mothers to Joyful Motherhood, which cares for mothers who experience significant chronic illness and ensures the survival of infants whose mothers die shortly after childbirth. And Joyful Motherhood is now providing milk to such babies at Wandikweza. “This has lifted a burden from our shoulders,” remarks Kafotokoza. “The network is already bearing fruit.”
During the rise of COVID-19, a group of 13 grantee partners in Uganda began building the Africa Coalition for Social Impact (ACSI) after watching expat INGO staff be flown out of the country. “If such a situation happened again, communities have us to rescue them,” notes Solomon Kayiwa Mugambe from Wezesha Impact. “We started a coalition to increase our impact as grassroots organizations.” ACSI formally took shape in 2021 and received funding from Segal Family Foundation as they hammered out their goals: to build each other’s capacity and to work together to be able to attract bigger resources. “There is huge funding coming through MasterCard, Gates, and USAID that small organizations cannot access,” says Mugambe. “If we collaborate, we can attract that kind of investment and follow through with the localization agenda.” Imago Dei Fund provided additional support that has allowed the coalition to register as a legal entity and hire a full-time coordinator by the end of the year. A highlight of 2024 was the Peer Learning Summit, held in August in Kampala, which brought together representatives from the member organizations to support each other in areas of communications, compliance, fundraising, M&E, and strategic planning. “There’s a lot of expertise that lies within us; every organization has a unique element of strength,” smiles Mugambe. “It was such an amazing experience.”
In Tanzania, unique alliances are forming between partners who may not fit cleanly into the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Tengeneza Generation, based in Morogoro, is partnering with EWAKI, based across the country in Kigoma, to bring to life Sauti Zetu (“Our Voice” in Swahili), a five-day art fair fundraiser at the end of this month. Whereas Tengeneza Generation empowers young people to participate in sustainable development, EWAKI is empowering the elderly. Tengeneza founder Pius Matunge first connected with EWAKI founder Clotilda Kokupima at Segal Family Foundation’s 2023 Annual Meeting in Kigali. “When she told me what they were doing, I thought, I can do more than find partners for Tengeneza Generation,” says Matunge. “There’s a potential energy because we are young and we can easily mobilize.” When they met again at a Segal partner reception in Dar es Salaam in February 2024, he introduced the joint fundraiser idea to Kokupima: “We have different interests and we target different people, but there is something we can do together.” Tengeneza had the necessary connections to talented Tanzanian artists (including early-career, mid-career, and older artists with disabilities); EWAKI joined in for brainstorming, mapping exercises, and artist recommendations. They will send representatives to Dar to staff the public exhibit as well. Sauti Zetu will feature 100 pieces on display at an exclusive exhibition, a public showcase, and an ongoing online auction. Tengeneza Generation and EWAKI plan to split the proceeds to support critical WASH projects for students and health facilities for elders in Tanzania.
Still, anyone who has tried to get a partnership off the ground knows that working with other people almost always ends up being more challenging than expected. AMPLIFY Girls, Teach for Uganda, and WomenStrong International joined forces to offer the breakout session “Walking the Walk: Lessons for Building Thriving Collaborations That Go Beyond Lip Service” at Spotlight Africa. Together, facilitators and participants identified a few key recommendations for hopeful collaborators, including:
- Establish a shared agenda (not just a theme) in the form of a tangible outcomes, which creates higher levels of accountability and buy-in.
- Recognize that different collaborations come with unique challenges and openly acknowledge what problems may arise.
- Be wary of formality. Heavily regulated collaborations with MOUs and legal hurdles can strangle the natural free-flowing and messy processes of collaboration.
On that note—not every collaboration needs to be big and bold to be a helpful resource. A small cohort of our Zimbabwe partners gathered in September for a community-building lunch together. Zimbabwe is a relatively new geographic area for Segal, and with only five grantee partners on the ground, they were eager to meet. “What a wonderful time we had,” said Clementine Taru of Impact Hub Harare. “We really had a great time connecting and sharing stories of change from our different initiatives.”
