From 1 to 3 September 2026, more than 200 leaders from 30 countries gathered in Accra for Africa at the Centre: Leading Change, Shifting Power. 

The gathering brought together civil society leaders, funders, activists and development practitioners to reflect on a question that sits at the heart of many conversations about the future of development: what would change if African organisations were not simply invited into existing systems, but were given greater space to shape those systems themselves? 

Leaving Accra, one reflection stood out. Africa is not short of people leading change. Across communities and countries, local organisations are responding to crises, building stronger communities, developing solutions and navigating complex realities every day. The challenge is often not a lack of leadership. It is whether the systems around that leadership are designed to recognise it, connect it and support it. 

This raises an important question about visibility. There are organisations doing significant work that remain largely unknown beyond the communities they serve. Their proximity gives them a deep understanding of local realities, yet that same proximity can sometimes mean they are overlooked by funders, partners and wider development networks. 

Perhaps we need to think differently about what visibility means. 

Visibility should not simply be about making organisations more prominent. It should be about making it easier for the right people to find the organisations already doing the work. It should help create connections between local knowledge and resources, between community-led solutions and potential partners, and between organisations facing similar challenges in different parts of the world. 

This is one of the reflections that resonates strongly with the work we are doing through Kuja. 

Kuja means “come” in Swahili. For us, it represents an invitation to come closer to the organisations and communities at the heart of development. To listen more carefully. To understand local realities. To recognise existing knowledge and leadership. And to create stronger pathways between organisations and the opportunities, relationships and resources that can support their work. 

The conversations in Accra also made it difficult to separate localisation from questions of power. 

For years, the development sector has talked about shifting power and strengthening local leadership. But conversations alone cannot change who has access to funding, who gets visibility, who makes decisions or whose knowledge is considered valuable. 

The practical systems matter. 

Can a local organisation easily find funding that is relevant to its work? Can it make its work visible to potential partners? Can organisations working on similar issues discover one another? Can local knowledge travel across borders and reach people who can learn from it? 

These may sound like practical questions, but they are also questions about how power operates within the development ecosystem. 

The experience in Accra reinforced the importance of building infrastructure around local leadership rather than continually asking local organisations to adapt themselves to systems that were not designed with them at the centre. 

That infrastructure can take many forms. It can be stronger networks. Better access to information. More meaningful relationships between funders and local organisations. Platforms that make local organisations easier to discover. Spaces where organisations can exchange knowledge and contribute to the conversations shaping the future of aid. 

The work therefore continues long after the conference ends. 

• It continues when an organisation finds an opportunity that could help sustain its work. 

• It continues when two organisations in different countries discover a shared challenge and begin exchanging ideas.  

• It continues when a local organisation has the opportunity to tell its own story rather than having its work described by someone else. 

These moments may not always make headlines, but they are part of what shifting power can look like in practice. 

Africa at the Centre was a reminder that the continent does not need to wait for leadership to arrive from somewhere else. There is already leadership, knowledge, experience and innovation across the continent. 

What is needed is greater recognition of that leadership and systems that make it easier for it to connect, grow and influence the future. 

For Kuja, that reflection brings us back to a simple invitation: come closer. Come closer to the organisations doing the work. 

Come closer to the communities whose experiences should inform development. Come closer to the knowledge that already exists. And come closer to a future where being local is not a barrier to being seen, connected or resourced. 

The question is no longer whether Africa is ready to lead. The question is whether the systems around African leadership are ready to change; to recognise, valorise and amplify the valuable leadership that exists. 

About the author

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Edgar Wabwire

Edgar Wabwire is a strategic communications and marketing professional with aMaster’sdegree in Corporate Communication and extensive experience across media, advocacy, nonprofit, corporate and digital sectors. He is passionate about storytelling, strategiccommunicationand public relations that build visibility,trustand meaningful engagement. As a journalist, author and natural storyteller, Edgar has experience in media relations, crisis communication, digital reputation management, contentdevelopmentand integrated marketing communications. He also brings hands-onexpertisein multimedia production, communityengagementand digital platforms, using communication to connect people, shapeconversationsand drive meaningful change. 

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