On April 16, 2026, the SEAPIN cohort convened for a fireside chat with Osayi Alile, CEO of ACT Foundation. The conversation focused on a critical question for any family or institution entering philanthropy: How do you determine your unique value proposition?

Osayi Alile argued that the first step is not launching a project; it is mapping the ecosystem to understand who is already giving, where the gaps exist, and how your approach can be complementary rather than duplicative. Drawing from ACT Foundation’s eight-year journey across eight African countries, she offered practical guidance on governance, institutional strengthening, and the shift from charity to catalytic philanthropy.

The Opening Challenge: Moving Beyond Informal Generosity

Osayi Alile began by grounding the discussion in African reality.

“Generosity across Africa is very embodied in our culture," she said. “But it is very informal, very reactive, and very fragmented."

She observed that many families, when they decide to enter philanthropy, instinctively want to start from scratch. Passion drives them to launch new projects. However, Osayi Alile cautioned that this approach often leads to duplication, wasted resources, and unsustainable impact.

Her core message was simple but profound: “You do not always have to start from scratch. Many organisations are already doing exceptional work. They are underfunded and underrecognized. Your value may lie in strengthening them, not competing with them.”

Ecosystem Mapping: The Critical First Step

Osayi Alile defined ecosystem mapping as the process of understanding who else is giving, what they are funding, and where the real needs and gaps exist.

She shared how ACT Foundation learned this lesson through experience. When ACT Foundation started in 2016, the team assumed they would simply be grant makers. However, as they engaged with the ecosystem, they discovered a significant gap: many organisations had strong community presence but lacked the institutional capacity to absorb funding or scale.

This realisation forced a strategic pivot. ACT Foundation evolved from funding good work to strengthening institutions. Their unique value proposition shifted from being a donor to being a capacity-building partner.

Key questions Osayi Alile recommended for ecosystem mapping:

• • What are the gaps in the current landscape?

• • Who is already doing impactful work that can be supported?

• • Where can resources be additive rather than redundant?

• • How can our capital be catalytic, not just transactional?

The “Jollof Rice" Principle: Governance as Foundation

One of the most memorable moments of the session came when Osayi Alile discussed governance. She used a metaphor that resonated deeply with the African audience.

“Building a board is like making jollof rice," she said. “You cannot put water inside the rice. You need tomatoes. You need the right spices."

For Osayi Alile, governance is the backbone of any philanthropic institution. She emphasised that in Africa, where the single biggest challenge in philanthropy is trust, a credible board is non-negotiable.

She was blunt about family dynamics. “I am very, very careful about which family members I put on a board," she admitted. She recalled a project that failed because three family members could not agree on funding priorities. The funders ultimately withdrew their funding.

Her advice to families: limit family seats on the board to one or two individuals. Place external experts in the remaining seats. Allow other family members to serve as advisors. “You cannot build a block of flats with the foundation of a bungalow," she warned. “If the governance structure is weak, the impact will collapse."

Differentiation Through Hands-On Institutional Support

What makes ACT Foundation different from other grant-making organisations? Osayi Alile answered by describing their obsessive focus on institutional sustainability.

ACT Foundation does not write a cheque and disappear. They stay engaged. They know the personal struggles of their grantees. They provide technical assistance. They maintain a database of 250 volunteers through their Professional Volunteer Program (PVP), including professionals from management consulting firms who offer pro-bono expertise in HR, finance, and strategy.

Osayi Alile added that ACT Foundation has worked with 107 non-profit organisations and social enterprises across Africa. Even when organisations do not receive a grant in a given cycle, they remain in the ACT Foundation’s ecosystem. ACT Foundation continues to advocate for them, connects them to other funders, and helps them build their capacity.

Dr. Omolola Salako of Pearl Oncology Specialist Hospital, a grantee of ACT Foundation, testified during the session. She shared that ACT Foundation helped her organisation fix its HR structure by pairing her team with an HR expert for six months, long after the grant agreement was signed.

“That itself had a lasting impact," Dr. Salako said. “Beyond the funding, there was technical support, hand-holding, and community building."

The Trust Question: How to Fund Without Fear

A participant asked a pointed question: How do you know your grant money is actually going to the intended cause and not being misused?

Osayi Alile acknowledged that trust is the central challenge. However, she argued that the solution is not to avoid funding but to build rigorous processes that protect against misuse while still allowing grantees the flexibility they need.

Her practical recommendations:

• • Conduct thorough due diligence. ACT Foundation runs background checks on organisations and their board members. The process involves five or six stages, and Osayi Alile herself has no access to the application platform until the final approval stage.

• • Agree on operational costs upfront. Osayi Alile stressed that organisations cannot implement programs if they cannot pay their staff. A percentage of every grant must be allocated to operational costs, and that percentage should be agreed upon from the beginning.

• • Use results-based disbursements. ACT Foundation does not give the full grant amount upfront. Funds are released based on verified reports and progress.

• • Conduct unannounced audits. ACT sends auditors to check grantee books without prior notice.

• • Build relationships of trust. Osayi Alile noted that when grantees feel safe, they come forward with problems instead of hiding them. This prevents small issues from becoming large fraud cases.

She also acknowledged that no system is perfect. She shared a story of an organisation that submitted falsified reports and impact assessments for an entity that did not actually exist. Her lesson: even with good processes, external verification and local partnerships are essential.

A Personal Reflection: Failure, Resilience, and the Weight of Leadership

The session ended on a deeply personal note. A participant asked Osayi Alile to share an example of failure and what she learned from it.

She offered two.

The first was a governance failure. She received the largest funding commitment of her career, but it did not align with the ACT Foundation’s mission. Excited by the opportunity, she found a way around the mission alignment and began talking about the program publicly before getting board approval. When the board discovered what had happened, they asked her to return the money.

“It was a humongous failure on my own part," she said. “It never happened again after that."

The lesson: governance exists to protect the institution from the leader’s own excitement. Even a CEO must be accountable to the board.

The second was a human tragedy. Osayi Alile shared that some of her colleagues were involved in a plane crash several years ago while travelling for work. They did not survive.

“That thing can mess you up completely," she said quietly. “It almost destroyed me as a person and as an institution. I wanted to stop work. I did not want to do it again."

She credited her board for holding her together and her network of 15 female NGO leaders for providing a space to process the grief.

Her reflection was a powerful reminder that philanthropy is not just about strategy and metrics. It is about people. And leaders must be empathetic, prepared for tragedy, and willing to lean on others when the weight becomes too heavy.

Key Takeaways from the Session

• • Map the ecosystem first – Do not start a project before understanding who is already giving and where the gaps exist.

• • Governance from day one – Build a credible board with limited family seats before you write a single check.

• • Partnerships beyond money – Your value is not just your funding. It is your expertise, your network, and your advocacy.

• • Trust requires structure – Use due diligence, results-based disbursements, and unannounced audits.

• • Operational costs are not optional – Grantees cannot implement without paying staff. Agree on this percentage upfront.

• • Find your peer cohort – The work is lonely. Build a network of peers who understand the weight of leadership.

• • Plan for the long game – Philanthropy is not about visibility. It is about a value that outlives you.

Closing Reflection

Osayi Alile left the SEAPIN cohort with a final thought:

“Philanthropy is not really about visibility. It is about the value you bring. And value really comes from strengthening what already exists."

For families at the beginning of their philanthropic journey, the path is clear but demanding. Resist the urge to launch a flashy new project. Sit down with your family. Map the ecosystem. Identify the organisations already doing the work. Ask where your resources can be truly additive. Build your governance structure before you build your programs. And accept that this is a long game, one that requires patience, humility, and the courage to say no to good ideas that do not align with your mission.

The SEAPIN cohort left the session not with a checklist for writing checks, but with a mandate to think differently: to see Africa’s fragmented generosity not as a void to fill, but as an ecosystem to connect, strengthen, and sustain.