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The Luminary Project

We find, train and fund African changemakers.

All over Africa, people are quietly solving hard problems with very little behind them. We help them build the systems to run an organisation properly, release funding in stages as they deliver, and make sure the results can be checked by anyone.

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  • Registered in Nigeria · CAC 8178351
  • 501(c)(3) in the United States · EIN 41-2838812
A social entrepreneur talking through her work with two colleagues at a workbenchPlaceholder image for Home hero

2026 Luminary Awards

A look back at the 2026 Luminary Awards

A short film from the evening the Top 20 fellows pitched their work, met their funders and moved into the next stage of the programme.

Awards ceremony celebrating African changemakers on stage

Find, foster, fund, amplify, sustain

What we do

How a year with us works

  1. 01

    Find

    Nominations and applications open every November. You can put someone forward, or apply yourself. From everyone who comes through, we shortlist fifty.

  2. 02

    Foster

    Those fifty join the Impact Accelerator: six weeks, fully online, covering governance, money, programme design and how to measure results. Everyone finishes by writing a funding proposal.

  3. 03

    Fund

    The strongest proposals become the Top 20. Their funding comes through three Impact Funds and is released in stages, with each stage paid once the previous one has been accounted for.

  4. 04

    Amplify

    We announce the Top 20 in April and celebrate them at the Luminary Awards on 1 May, followed by two weeks of press so their work reaches the people who can help it grow.

  5. 05

    Sustain

    Nobody leaves at the end. Alumni stay in the network through LegitGood, keep their mentoring, can apply for later funds, and hold a public profile that grows as they deliver.

A facilitator leading an accelerator session with participants taking notesPlaceholder image for Home programme cycle

See the full programme calendar

Why we exist

Our vision and mission

Vision

Empower 1 million African changemakers by 2050 to build trusted, sustainable organisations that transform their communities.

Mission

Find · Foster · Fund · Amplify · Sustain. We equip African changemakers with systems, funding and visibility to produce verifiable impact and build organisations that last.

Passion is not the thing that is missing.

What is missing is the training, the money and the systems that keep an organisation alive ten years from now. Closing that gap is the whole of our work.

LegitGood

LegitGood

How we keep track of the money

No changemaker gets a second payment until the first one has been accounted for.

Applications, training, grant releases and results all live in software we built ourselves. Every organisation we fund keeps a public record that grows as the work gets done, so you never have to take our word for it.

See how LegitGood works (opens in a new tab)

Our record

Where we are so far

  • 40fellows trained through our accelerator
  • 36Nigerian communities with active projects
  • 1,500direct beneficiaries in 2025
  • 400NGO and nonprofit leaders in our network
  • 9SDGs covered by our changemakers
Amaka Ogbaegbe, founder of SOO-DAWI
Amaka OgbaegbeFounder, SOO-DAWI · Pitched at the pilot

Meet a Luminary changemaker

SOO-DAWI

Amaka Ogbaegbe, SOO-DAWI

Nigeria carries the heaviest diabetes burden in Africa. SOO-DAWI works in low income communities to prevent avoidable deaths, through awareness, free screening and helping people reach the care they need.

  • 1,722adults screened for diabetes risk
  • 4,051people reached in community campaigns
  • 500+students educated on prevention
  • 300at risk people connected to care

Amaka is one of forty people in the network. Your cohort would be built from the same group.

LegitGood
Scan to open her LegitGood profile

Gifts are tracked on LegitGood, the platform we built so Nigerian NGOs can keep donors, funds and results in one place.

Support SOO-DAWI on LegitGood (opens in a new tab)[LINK NEEDED: SOO-DAWI LegitGood profile URL]Read more about her impact

The Luminary Network

The people in the network

Fellows and Luminaries from across the continent. Every profile is public, and everything on it has been checked.

See the whole network
A cohort of young African changemakers standing together outdoorsPlaceholder image for Home network band

Our programmes

The three things we run

  • The Fellowship

    Our annual cycle for changemakers, from application through the Impact Accelerator to the Luminary Awards.

    About the Fellowship

  • Give for Good

    A managed giving programme for companies. You commit the budget and set the focus, and we select the NGOs, train them, fund them and report back to you.

    About Give for Good

  • The Impact Funds

    Three funds that put money into changemakers at different stages, released against verified milestones.

    About the Impact Funds

Governance

Everything here can be checked

We operate as Luminary Empowerment Foundation.

  • Registered

    In Nigeria, and in Georgia in the United States, where we hold 501(c)(3) status, so gifts from American donors are tax deductible to the extent the law allows.

  • Published

    Our board meets quarterly. We publish our financial statements, our board members and our annual impact report.

  • Policies

    Safeguarding, data protection and whistleblowing policies, all published in full and open to read.

See our reports and financials

Are you an NGO?

LegitGood gives you a free webpage and a free place to keep your finance and HR records. It is also the first place we look when we are putting a cohort together.

Go to LegitGood (opens in a new tab)

Two ways to get involved

Companies can run a managed giving programme with us and see exactly where the money went. Individuals can give once or monthly, and follow the changemaker their gift is supporting.

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