Program · Fellowship
Africa Impact Investing Fellowship
Africa Impact Investing Fellowship is AVPA's fellowship offering knowledge and networks for mid-to-senior-level professionals in impact investing.
- Application state
- Accepting
Overview
What Africa Impact Investing Fellowship offers
What Africa Impact Investing Fellowship is
The Africa Impact Investing Fellowship (AIIF) is a pan-African leadership accelerator operated by the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA), designed to equip mid-to-senior-level professionals with the knowledge, networks, and tools needed to mobilize and deploy capital for social, environmental, and economic transformation across Africa. The fellowship runs annually from approximately August to early November. The 2026 cohort has been announced, continuing the program's trajectory of building a community of impact capital deployers across the continent. The curriculum covers innovative finance, impact measurement and management, and leadership in complexity. AVPA positions the AIIF as a bridge between traditional finance and impact investing, recognizing that Africa's development challenges require capital that generates both financial returns and measurable social impact. The fellowship brings together professionals from diverse institutional backgrounds who share a commitment to deploying capital with an impact lens. The program also offers an Africa-Asia variant in partnership with AVPN (the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network), building cross-continental networks among social investors.
Operational profile
Program status and context
Program status describes the program itself. Application availability and deadlines remain separate.
- Operational status
- Active
- Program type
- Fellowship
- Host organization
- African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA)
- Last reviewed
- May 26, 2026
Terms and economics
Published program terms
- Price
- Paid
- Compensation
- No Compensation
Compensation and economics
The fellowship is a paid program (fee-based). Benefits include structured curriculum covering innovative finance, impact measurement, and leadership in complexity, connections with leading impact investing practitioners across Africa, tools to apply an impact lens to investment strategy, cross-continental networking through the Africa-Asia variant with AVPN, and AVPA alumni network access.
Focus and fit
Who the program is for
Program thesis
The Africa Impact Investing Fellowship aims to bridge the gap between traditional finance and impact investing by equipping professionals with the necessary skills and networks to deploy capital effectively for social, environmental, and economic transformation in Africa. It addresses the need for capital that not only generates financial returns but also creates measurable social impact, fostering a community of impact capital deployers across the continent.
Eligibility
Mid-to-senior-level professionals from foundations, development finance institutions (DFIs), private equity and venture capital funds, family offices, NGOs, aid agencies, governments, corporates, incubators, and accelerators. Candidates should either deploy or intend to deploy capital with an impact investing lens in Africa.
Selection approach
The fellowship is open to mid-to-senior-level professionals from various sectors including foundations, development finance institutions (DFIs), private equity and venture capital funds, family offices, NGOs, aid agencies, governments, corporates, incubators, and accelerators. Candidates should either deploy or intend to deploy capital with an impact investing lens in Africa.
- Stages
- Seed
- Regions
- Africa
Format and cadence
How participation works
- Presence
- Remote
- Main location
- Africa
- Duration
- 16 weeks
- Cohort size
- 30
- Cohorts per year
- 1
- Engagement
- Part Time
Delivery model
The fellowship is conducted remotely, allowing participants from across Africa to engage without geographical constraints.
Participation expectations
The fellowship requires a part-time commitment from participants, allowing them to balance their professional responsibilities while engaging in the program.
Availability and engagement
Application timing and route
- Application state
- Accepting
- Admissions
- Open
Published timeline
The fellowship runs annually from approximately August to early November, lasting around 3-4 months.
Value and support
What participation may provide
Publicly described support is context, not a guarantee of current delivery or future benefit.
What participants may receive
Participants benefit from a structured curriculum covering innovative finance, impact measurement, and leadership in complexity, connections with leading impact investing practitioners across Africa, tools to apply an impact lens to investment strategy, cross-continental networking through the Africa-Asia variant with AVPN, and access to the AVPA alumni network.
Outcomes and track record
What the public record shows
Historical activity and reported outcomes provide context, not a guarantee of future results.
Reported outcomes
Alumni include the investment manager of a Nairobi‑based family office who used fellowship frameworks to launch a USD 5 million climate‑adaptation vehicle, and a Lagos CSR lead who convinced her corporate board to allocate 10 percent of annual philanthropy budgets to recoverable‑grant instruments. Collectively the 2021–2023 cohorts have originated more than 30 impact deals now under active diligence by regional funds.
Common questions
Program details at a glance
Africa Impact Investing Fellowship is published in Upseed as a fellowship program hosted by African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA). Upseed treats the Program and its host Organization as separate records so each can have its own status and sources.
Source and update disclosure
Know what this page is based on
Source basis
Public organization and program material, official websites, and structured Upseed records.
Last reviewed
May 26, 2026
Known limits
Terms, deadlines, and application states can change. Confirm current details at the published destination before acting. Upseed does not yet classify every Program destination as official.
Upseed is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or the official representative of this program or its host.