Olabisi Adeleye-Fayemi is co-founder and Executive Director of the African Women's Development Fund based in Ghana, the first Africa-wide fundraising and grant-making organization for African women.
Prior to this, Ms. Adeleye-Feyemi was Director of Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA), an international development organization for African women based in the United Kingdom. She has years of experience in organizational development and fundraising, and training experience in feminist leadership development, resource mobilization and institutional capacity-building. While at AMwA, she initiated the African Women's Leadership Institute which has trained over 1,000 African women leaders. Ms. Adeleye-Feyemi has also been affiliated with Comic Relief, the Global Fund for Women, the International Network of Women’s Funds, MamaCash Foundation, Grantmakers Without Borders, and the Association for Women's Rights in Development.
In 2007, Ms. Adeleye was honored with the Changing the Face of Philanthropy Award by the Women’s Funding Network. The Women’s Funding Network Award is given to individuals who provide “leadership in the women’s funding movement by inspiring, challenging and assisting others in modeling feminist philanthropy.”
Ms. Adeleye-Feyemi has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degree in history from the University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and a Master of Arts degree in gender studies from Middlesex University, United Kingdom.
The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is an Africa-wide women's fund which aims to support the work of the African Women's movement. Its vision is for African women to live in a world in which there is social justice, equality and respect for women's human rights. AWDF fundraises and makes grants to institutions throughout sub-Saharan Africa. AWDF highlights the work and achievements of African women's organizations and provides technical assistance to strengthen grantee organizations. It supports work in five thematic areas: women's and human rights; political participation; peace-building; health and reproductive rights; and economic empowerment.