By Ciku Kimeria

HARARE - Tsitsi Masiyiwa, the philanthropist behind African Gender Initiative is leading Africans in philanthropic efforts to tackle gender inequality.

According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022, it will take another 132 years to close the gender gap. This means that no one living today is likely to see a time when men and women have equal rights or access to resources.

Zimbabwean philanthropist, Tsitsi Masiyiwa, who was recently named the African Philanthropist Of The Year wants to play her part in reducing the gender gap.

Barriers to women’s access to financial resources, ownership rights to the land they farm, and access to opportunities including education motivate Masiyiwa in her philanthropy work, something she started over 25 years ago. She is currently executive chair and co-founder at Delta Philanthropies and Higherlife Foundation, and she sits on the board of directors at Co-Impact, a global philanthropic collaborative.

In late October 2022, she launched the Africa Gender Initiative, which plans to raise $50 million within the next few years from African philanthropists to support Co-Impact’s $1 billion gender fund. In the past few months,the Africa Gender Initiative has already raised $5 million.

Co-Impact’s Gender Fund provides funding primarily to women-led, local organizations tackling systemic gender-based issues in the key areas of health, education, and economic opportunity in the Global South. In Africa the Gender Fund will focus on Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.

“Africans have a culture of giving,” Masiyiwa says. “If your money isn’t talking it’s difficult to have an authentic voice.”