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About

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Our history

The Asanka Fund was established to nurture creative expression as a powerful tool for LGBTQI advocacy across ISDAO’s nine focal countries in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo.
Established in 2021, the Asanka Fund emerged in response to the need for flexible, dedicated support for LGBTQI activists and organizations using art, media, and other creative forms to challenge narratives, strengthen community, and advocate for rights.
Through four funding cycles, Asanka has enabled grantee partners to explore diverse mediums to bring unique and impactful advocacy initiatives to life, including:
Films
Films
Literature
Literature
Theater
Theater
Podcasts
Podcasts
Visual arts
Visual arts
Music
Music
Festivals
Festivals
Comic strips
Comic strips
Our values

Our values

For Asanka grants, we give priority to projects that make a significant contribution to the LGBTQI movement and that go beyond individual or organizational benefits.
We value innovative approaches that bring new perspectives to advocacy, amplifying the voices of under-represented communities in West Africa.
Our focus is on initiatives that highlight often-overlooked aspects of LGBTQI life, enriching the diversity and depth of the movement’s narrative. We invite you to explore, support, and engage with the inspiring work of our grantees.

Case Study of the Asanka Pilot Fund

To learn from the experiences of the pilot fund's first cohort of grantee-partners, ISDAO commissioned a case of study to assess the challenges encountered, the impacts of the projects, and the recommandations emerging from their work.

The report,Creativity in Action, the Movement in Motion! highlights the initiatives that received funding during the fund’s first cycle and evaluates the grantee-partners' experiences. It also explores their lessons learned, areas for improvement, and their recommendations for the future of the fund, to strengthen its impact on the broader LGBTQI movement in the subregion.

<span>Case Study of the Asanka Pilot Fund</span>

We invite you to explore, support and engage with the inspiring work of Asanka Fund grantees

Support the Asanka fund
We invite you to explore, support and engage with the inspiring work of Asanka Fund grantees