Regional Integration

FEMNET is a regional non-governmental organization set-up by national women networks in 1988 headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya with programs covering the whole of Africa. Its activities are implemented through the Focal Point Organizations (FPOs) in nine countries covering Northern, Southern, Eastern and the Horn, Western and Central Africa.

In response to the request from FEMNET for ACBF support, the Executive Board of ACBF approved a grant to a capacity building project of FEMNET. The Grant Agreement for Africa Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) was signed and declared effective on 30^th June 2012. The grant amount later on restructured and the project activities were focused on areas of institutional capacity building and advocacy. FEMNET is playing a significant role in ensuring the social and economic interests of African women are well addressed in continental and regional policies.

In December 2010, the ACBF Executive Board approved a grant of US$ 2 million to fund the Capacity Building Project For The West Africa Monetary Institute (CAP-WAMI). The mission of the Institute is to undertake preparatory activities towards the establishment of the West African Central Bank (WACB), and the launching of a common monetary union for the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ).

The overall objective is to contribute to strengthening the capacity of WAMI and its member countries in order to undertake preparatory activities for WAMZ monetary union aimed at enhancing compliance for macroeconomic convergence by 2015. The specific objectives are to: strengthen WAMI’s capacity to improve macroeconomic surveillance and statistical harmonization; and develop the human and institutional capacity within WAMI to achieve optimal performance levels that will assist in laying a solid foundation for the takeoff of the WAMZ institutions.

The African Women’s Development fund is an Africa-wide grant-making institution which was established in 2001 to address some of the financial problems constraining the work of African women’s organizations.  In 2003 AWDF established a capacity building unit to address the capacity needs of the women’s organizations that it supports, in order to enable them to effectively implement programs in the thematic areas identified as priority concerns for women in Africa.  At its 35^th Regular Meeting in May 2006 the Executive Board approved at grant of US$1 million to AWDF to fund Phase III. In 2012 ACBF and AWDF signed a grant of $2.7million towards AWDF Phase IV. 

The goal of the AWDF project is to promote economic empowerment and political participation of women in Africa. The two specific objectives are to: Strengthen the institutional and human capacity of AWDF to effectively address the needs of its grantees; and Increase the institutional capacity of African Women Organizations to engage effectively on issues of women’s human rights and development in Africa.

The Association of African Universities (AAU) was established in 1967 with the mandate of advocating for the educational and related needs of African higher education institutions and, asfar as practicable, coordinating the means by which these needs may be met. To this end, the

Association plays a critical role in networking universities and building capacity to help African universities across all regional and linguistic divides to carry out their functions. At its 47th Regular Meeting held in April 2012, the Executive Board approved a grant of US$3.5 million for to the Association of African Universities for Capacity Development Project for the Revitalization of African Higher Education Institutions (AAU-CADRE Phase II).

The main goal of the Association of African Universities Capacity Development Project for the Revitalization of African Higher Education Institutions is to improve the performance of African tertiary education institutions by strengthening the human, institutional and environmental capacity of the institutions and that of the AAU Secretariat in areas of leadership, management and use of ICT.