Africa Impact Investing Fellowship
AVPA is announcing the 2026 Africa Impact Investing Fellowship to nurture deployers of impact capital, Grants, Debt and Equity, into becoming more effective impact investing practitioners. This Fellowship will build the capacity and knowledge of Fellows in areas such as Innovative Finance, Impact Measurement and Management, and Leadership in Complexity. The Fellowship aims to ultimately increase the flow of social investment capital into Africa.
The Fellowship will select individuals in Africa who embody the values and skills needed to develop a strong impact investing sector. The programme will equip the Fellows with the right information and resources, knowledge, networks, and insight on how to build an impact strategy, manage a portfolio, define, evaluate and manage impact, among other skills. The Fellowship runs from August to early November.
To qualify, applicants should deploy capital along the Continuum of Capital grants, debt, and equity. Ideal candidates are from foundations, DFIs, private equity and venture capital funds, family offices, (I)NGOs, aid agencies, governments, corporates, incubators, and accelerators. These individuals either deploy or intend to deploy capital with an impact investing lens in Africa.
Understand the latest regional and global trends: Gain insights into the current market trends and key players in sustainable finance. Grow your network: Connect with leading practitioners in Africa and explore collaboration opportunities. Enhance your impact investing skills: Learn innovative tools to apply an impact lens to your investing strategy.
Impact investing is at its nascent stage in Africa. Although it is now getting an increasing level of attention from various actors in the social investment ecosystem, only a handful of impact funds and foundations are actually practising impact investing. The obstacles that are hindering impact investing from gaining traction in Africa amongst wealth holders and their advisors include the lack of capacity building programmes, the perception that it will necessitate a trade-off on financial returns, a lack of an investment-ready pipeline, inexperience in managing a portfolio, and the complexities in defining and evaluating impact measurement.
Africa Impact Investing Fellowship