AU Foundation

The African Union Foundation was established by the African Union to promote domestic (African) resource mobilisation for African development. The AU Assembly decided in May 2013 to establish the Foundation, following a proposal by the High-Level Panel on Alternative Sources of Financing the African Union (Assembly/AU/ Dec. 487(XXI)). The Foundation was launched on 30 January 2015 during the Assembly’s 24th Ordinary Session.

A key priority for the AU Foundation is to advocate for partnerships with the private sector that will see inclusive economic development and growth, the growth of African business, intra-African trade and shared prosperity.

The goals of the AU Foundation are to:

Mobilise resources from the private sector, philanthropists, individuals, donors within Africa, the Diaspora and globally
Build partnerships with the private sector towards Africa’s common prosperity and development
Connect people, ideas, initiatives and resources for Africa’s development and Agenda 2063
Advocate for the African Union and support its programmes.

The AU Foundation will fund programmes and initiatives in pursuit of Agenda 2063, with specific emphasis on the following areas:

Skills and human resource development
Youth development and entrepreneurship
Women’s empowerment and gender equality
Promoting integration and the management of diversity
Advocacy and support for the African Union.

The AU Foundation is governed by a council. The Council is made up of African leaders from various sectors and regions of the continent, as well as representatives from the African Diaspora. The Chairperson of the African Union Commission is also the Chairperson of the AU Foundation.

Agenda 2063

Flagship Projects

Integrated High Speed Train Network

Connecting African capitals and commercial centers through a High-Speed Train Network; facilitating the movement of goods, factor services and people as well as reducing transport costs and relieving congestion of current and future systems through increased rail connectivity.

African Commodities Strategy

Transforming Africa from a raw materials supplier by enabling countries to add value, extract higher rents from commodities, integrate into global value chains promote diversification anchored in value addition and local content development.

African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

Accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations.

The African Passport & Free Movement of People

Removing restrictions on Africans’ ability to travel, work and live within their own continent by transforming restrictive laws and promoting visa free travel to enhance movement of all African citizens in all African countries.

Silencing the Guns by 2020

Ending all wars, civil conflicts, gender-based violence, violent conflicts and preventing genocide in the continent by 2020.

The Grand Inga Dam Project

Generating an estimated 43,200MW of power to support current regional power pools and their combined service to transform Africa from traditional to modern sources of energy and ensure access to clean and affordable electricity.

Single African Air-Transport Market

Promoting intra-regional connectivity between the capital cities of Africa by creating a single unified air transport market in Africa, as an impetus to the continent’s economic integration and growth agenda.

African Economic Forum

Multi-stakeholder meeting bringing together the Africa’s policy makers, private sector, academia and civil society to reflect on accelerating Africa’s socio- economic development and transformation by harnessing its vast resources.

African Financial Institutions

Accelerating integration and economic development through the establishment of organisations which will play a pivotal role in the mobilization of resources and management of the African financial sector.

The Pan African e-Network

Transforming Africa into an e-Society by implementing policies and strategies that lead to transformative e-applications and services in Africa such as broad band terrestrial infrastructure, cyber security and revolutionary bio and nanotechnology industries.

Africa Outer Space Strategy

Strengthening Africa’s use of outer space to bolster development in critical sectors such as agriculture, disaster management, remote sensing, climate forecast, banking and finance, defense and security.

African Virtual & e-University

Using ICT based programmes to increase access to tertiary and continuing education in Africa by reaching large numbers of students and professionals in multiple sites simultaneously.

Cyber Security

Incorporating emerging technologies in Africa’s development plans and ensuring these technologies are used for the benefit of African individuals, institutions and nation states by ensuring data protection and safety online.

Great African Museum

Preserving and promoting African cultural heritage by creating awareness of Africa’s vast, dynamic and diverse cultural artefacts and Africa’s continuing influence on world cultures in art, music, language, science, and so on.

Encyclopaedia Africana

Provide an authoritative resource on the authentic history of Africa and African life.

NOW

Related Content

Agenda 2063

Key Resources