Africa

The Van Leer Foundation has a long history of supporting early childhood initiatives across Africa as early as 1950. When defining our 2024-28 strategy, we considered where our mission can have the greatest impact. Africa is poised to have the highest number of births in the coming decade, accompanied by rapid urbanisation and increasing displacement of families. Recognising the immense opportunities and critical needs, the Foundation is committed to strengthening leadership in early childhood development across the continent.

To achieve this, our strategy takes a regional approach, collaborating closely with key partners to shape policies, create supportive environments, and establish services that prioritise parental wellbeing. By doing so, we aim to ensure that every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

In 2020 we became part of the Children: Future Hope of Addis Ababa, an ambitious partnership with the Municipality, Big Win Philanthropy and others. This reflected our new philanthropic approach of working closely with governments to scale multi-sectoral early childhood programmes that ensure babies, toddlers and their caregivers can flourish.

Looking ahead, this portfolio is building new partnerships with leaders from government, business, civil society, and philanthropy. A key focus is parental and caregiver wellbeing, with the launch of the Good Start Challenge in May 2025. The African pillar of this Challenge will identify innovative wellbeing solutions for parents in Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal and Uganda.

Additionally, the Foundation’s Urban95 initiative is establishing a network across Africa to scale urban development designed for families –  like efforts seen in Addis Ababa – in other cities across the continent. By partnering with the University of Cape Town and the London School of Economics, we are also establishing a regional hub of the Urban95 Academy to support city leaders from 100 African cities.