Bridgespan Africa

Established in 2019, Bridgespan Africa collaborates with mission-driven organisations across Africa to improve their strategy, leadership, and outcomes. We leverage The Bridgespan Group’s 25 years of experience working with global nonprofits, NGOs, private capital providers, and philanthropy to support change makers dedicated to eliminating social and economic inequality in Africa. Over the years, we have steadily learned about social-sector dynamics in Africa and adapted our offerings to better serve African market needs.

Supporting NGOs and Philanthropy with Consulting Services

How We Help Donors and Private Market Leaders

Bridgespan Africa collaborates with foundations, family offices, individuals, capital allocators, and corporations (CSR) to start, expand, or reorient their impact-driven funding. We support donors and capital allocators seeking to increase the impact and scale of their giving and make their philanthropy more strategic and effective. We work with these funders to define how they measure and quantify their impact. Our team also serves philanthropic collaboratives at the conception, design, and implementation stages.

Our primary areas of focus include education, gender, public health, livelihoods, climate/environment, community engagement, and economic empowerment. Within each of these areas, we pursue our work with the goal of enhancing social impact and a passion to bring about equity of opportunity.

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How We Help NGOs and Social Enterprises

Even with the changing tide around official development assistance funding, Africa still provides some of the highest-impact innovations in the social sector. Bridgespan Africa collaborates with social-change leaders seeking solutions to some of the most pressing issues and opportunities that communities face. We focus on improving the results of social-sector organisations by helping them articulate their strategies; grow and scale their impact; design their organisations for effectiveness; and build strong leadership capabilities. Sensitive to the changing dynamics of funding in Africa, we help organisations navigate the new landscape while remaining true to their impact delivery.

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Our Initiatives

Community-Driven Change

Community-driven change (CDC) focuses on putting communities at the center of decision making so they define priorities, shape solutions, and lead implementation. As reflected in our CDC work, this approach emphasizes the shifting of power to communities, recognizing their lived experiences as critical assets, and enabling locally led solutions that are more responsive and sustainable. Our work has centered on helping organizations translate this approach into practice by strengthening community voice, investing in local leadership, and supporting a shift from consultation to shared decision making and ownership. It also includes building communities’ collective power and assets, including the local skills, networks, and resources needed for sustained change.

In our CDC work with funders, we highlight the importance of aligning funding practices with community priorities and supporting proximate and grassroots organizations. To advance this work, we have developed practical tools such as a funder checklist and an impact framework to guide how funders design, resource, and measure community-driven efforts. We complement these tools with reports and insights that capture lessons from community-driven initiatives and share examples of effective practice. Together, these efforts support more flexible funding approaches, stronger alignment with community-defined outcomes, and clearer ways to track progress toward more equitable and durable results.

Bridgespan Nonprofit Development Programme: Africa

Bridgespan’s Nonprofit Development Programme (BNDP) is an online, cohort-based leadership development initiative designed to strengthen the strategic and operational capabilities of locally led nonprofits and social enterprises across the continent. It brings together executive teams to build practical skills in strategic thinking, decision making, and organizational effectiveness, while fostering a collaborative peer-learning environment across diverse sectors and geographies.

The program is structured around a set of focused modules that address critical organizational priorities, including strategy design, execution, leadership development, and fundraising. A core feature of BNDP Africa is its emphasis on real-time application. Leadership teams engage over three to four months with dedicated Bridgespan coaches who provide tailored guidance and challenge their thinking as they apply tools directly to their organizations. This hands-on, supported approach helps teams build alignment, make concrete progress on strategic priorities, and enhance their ability to deliver lasting impact.

Contact Us about Consulting Services

Featured Clients


  • Africinvest Logo
  • AGGP Logo
  • Camfed logo
  • DG Murray Trust Logo
  • Family Planning 2030 Logo
  • Gates Foundation logo
  • Harambee Logo
  • Last Mile Health logo
  • SHOFCO logo
  • Teaching at the Right Level logo
  • The Ocean Cleanup Logo

Insights

Bridgespan Africa believes that big ideas and actionable insights can change thinking, shape debates, and inspire action. Our global research has appeared in journals and media outlets including Stanford Social Innovation Review, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

How African NGOs Grow

Research on how African NGOs have found funding to grow and sustain their organisations despite historical barriers that hold them back from reaching their full potential.

Unlocking Diaspora Giving for Africa's Long-Term Development

Research from Bridgespan outlines how stronger trust, better coordination, and easier giving pathways could unlock greater diaspora support for long-term development outcomes across the continent.

Why Funding African Collaboratives Matters Now More Than Ever

Bridgespan research shows African collaboratives are emerging as a resilient, locally led, and effective vehicle for global funders navigating today’s volatile aid landscape.

At Common Cause: How Development Funders and Philanthropy Collaborate in Africa

Philanthropists, development aid agencies, multilateral banks, and development finance institutions are taking a fresh look at how they can achieve more together. 

For Outsized Impact, Investors Should Look to Africa

Rich in economic potential, Africa offers fertile soil for investors interested in seeing their capital put to use addressing social and environmental challenges.

Delivering on the Promise of Corporate Social Investment in South Africa

South Africa’s unique approach to corporate social investment is slowly evolving from a regulatory compliance approach to one committed to sustainably delivering lasting social and economic benefit.

Powering the Continent: How Global Funders Can Catalyse Africa’s Renewable Energy Transition

Africa’s renewable energy transition is a major development opportunity, and a global climate hinge point, with nearly 600 million people still lacking access to electricity.

Our Leadership

Our team works deeply with donors, NGOs, and other social sector actors. We are inspired by a shared vision: to help strengthen clients’ capacity to achieve greater social impact.

Our Advisory Board

Bridgespan Africa also receives invaluable guidance from our Advisory Board, a group of recognised leaders—from philanthropy, NGOs, private capital, strategy and governance, and other fields—who share our dedication to accelerating change in the social sector.

Careers at Bridgespan

Working at The Bridgespan Group means tackling some of society’s most critical challenges, collaborating with some of the brightest and most values-driven people you will ever meet, and acquiring top-tier consulting training. Visit Careers at Bridgespan to learn about our culture, view current job openings, and explore our Applicant Toolkit.

Bridgespan Africa is a registered PBO and NPO in South Africa.