Renowned non-profit outfit, Open Society Foundations has awarded a $355,000 grant (over 216 million FCFA) to Cameroonian think tank, Nkafu Policy Institute to promote women’s rights and related affairs in the Economic Community of Central African States, ECCAS. The same grant is expected to cater for a range of issues including women’s rights accountability, security and integrated governance, still within all 11 ECCAS nations.
Announcing reception of the grant, Dr Denis Foretia, Co-Chair of the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation and Executive Chairman of its think tank, the Nkafu Policy Institute said it was a rare privilege. The project, he stated, “will strengthen the research capacity of ECCAS think tanks, identify and promote the development of civil society leaders and building a regional advocacy network for pragmatic policy engagement.”
The Nkafu Policy Institute, he went on, is “… extremely honoured to partner with Open Society Foundations on this new initiative which we hope will have lasting impact in promoting women’s rights and agency in the sub-region.”
Founded by Hungarian-American billionaire, George Soros, Open Society Foundations operates in more than 120 nations across the globe, providing grants to groups and individuals who promote vibrant and inclusive democracies as well as government accountability.
The Foretia Foundation it should be recalled, in November 2022 announced the reception from the Rising Tide and the john Templeton foundations, a $505,000 grant [over 323 million FCFA] meant to support and scale up small and medium sized enterprises, specifically those owned by women and youths. The project, it revealed, would be executed by its Small Business and Entrepreneurship Center, with priority beneficiaries being vulnerable populations, especially those displaced internally by the armed conflict in the North West and South West regions.
The grant, Dr Denis Foretia remarked, would permit the team “… to better investigate the barriers to individual flourishing, the challenges facing small and medium sized enterprises as well as help improve the job skills of women and youth”.
Poise News Desk
COMMENTS