Small Scale Seed Funding

FOOTPRINT TO FREEDOM INVESTING IN SURVIVOR LEADERSHIP

Survivor leadership in Africa is driving powerful change, yet many survivor-led grassroots organizations remain excluded from traditional funding. Strict requirements and heavy documentation often prevent survivor leaders from accessing resources needed to bring their visions to life.

Through the African Survivor Coalition (ASC), we identified this gap and took action. With the support of Fred Foundation and éLiberare, we launched the Small-Scale Grants Program—a simple, accessible seed-funding initiative providing ASC members with €1,000 grants to strengthen survivor leadership in Africa and kickstart transformative ideas.

But this program is more than funding. Each grantee receives mentorship and guidance to grow survivor-led initiatives that not only empower them as leaders but also transform the lives of other survivors. This ensures survivor leadership in Africa continues to rise, creating long-term impact across communities.

We are proud to announce the first winners of this program. And this is only the beginning—together, with your support, we can expand this initiative and ensure more survivors have the tools, resources, and opportunities to lead lasting change through survivor leadership in Africa.

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Survivor Leadership in Africa: Meet Our Incredible Small-Scale Grant Winners and Their Initiatives

Name: Violet Mwaniga

Survivor Network
Country: Kenya

Project Title: Beauty Salon – Turning Experience into Empowerment

A survivor of labour trafficking, Violet is using her experience to launch a beauty salon that will provide income, confidence, and skills training to vulnerable youth, including adolescent girls, young mothers, and trafficking returnees. Her initiative tackles unemployment and prevents exploitation by offering mentorship and dignified livelihoods through beauty services.

Name: Awah Francisca Mbuli

Survivor Network
Country: Cameroon

Project Title: Upgrading Survivors’ Network to Full NGO Status

As a survivor of human trafficking and founder of the Survivors’ Network, Awah is addressing a key barrier faced by grassroots survivor-led groups: limited recognition and access to resources due to legal status. With this grant, she will transition her association into a fully registered NGO unlocking funding opportunities, gaining government support, and strengthening her mission to fight trafficking and support survivors across Cameroon.

Name: Rose Erica Johnson

Hope for Future
Country: The Gambia

Project Title: Expanding a Survivor-Led Catering Business

A survivor-advocate, Rose is transforming her catering parlor into a thriving, socially impactful enterprise. With this grant, she will scale her business to create employment for fellow survivors and fund educational support for vulnerable children through her foundation tackling both economic vulnerability and prevention.

Name: Yenenesh Tilahun

KASMA Charitable Foundation
Country: Ethiopia

Project Title: Relocating the Kasma Coffee Enterprise

Founded by trafficking survivors, Kasma Charitable is relocating its survivor-run coffee shop to Merkato Africa’s largest open market. This move will increase sales, create jobs for survivors, and fund reintegration services like counseling and training. The project tackles economic instability and raises public awareness through a powerful survivor-led model.

Name: Chylian Ify Azuh

Female Returned Migrants Network
Country: Nigeria

Project Title: Survivor Empowerment Skills Centre (SESC) – EMPOWER-NEST Collective

A survivor of trafficking to Libya, Chylian founded FREMNET NG to support female returnees with healing, skills, and dignity. With this grant, she will establish a permanent skills center to train survivors in fashion and household product making, creating economic independence and a safe, empowering space for healing. The project addresses lack of stable support for female returnees and promotes survivor-led reintegration.

Name: Agano Rumbo Bernadette

Country: DR Congo

Project Title: Jiko La Uhuru – Healing in Harmony

Bernadette, a survivor and human rights activist from eastern DRC, is launching an art-based healing initiative to support survivors of trafficking and war-related trauma. Through expressive workshops like painting, writing, and drawing, this project provides psychosocial support and empowers participants to become peer leaders.

Name: Aziamadje Ayi Hervé

Cercle des Sages
Country: Togo

Project Title: Projet Agricole Solidaire à Faible Coût

In Togo, survivors of trafficking and people in vulnerable communities often face food insecurity and lack viable income opportunities. Hervé, a survivor and grassroots advocate, is addressing this by launching a sustainable micro-agriculture and livestock project. With this grant, he will grow vegetables, raise poultry and goats, and create an affordable, income-generating model to empower survivors and foster economic resilience.

Name: Agnes Afrakomah

Freedom Mission International
Country: Ghana

Project Title: FMI African Fashion Designer

Survivors of trafficking in Ghana, especially women and single mothers, often lack access to safe livelihoods or support to heal and rebuild. Agnes, a survivor and founder of Freedom Mission International, is addressing this through a fashion design training center that combines healing, skills development, and entrepreneurship. With this grant, she will equip a survivor-led workshop to produce and sell African fashion accessories fostering dignity, income, and leadership.

Name: Abigail Smith

Nicole May
Country: South Africa

Project Title: Nicole May – Ethical Fashion by Survivors

In South Africa, many survivors of trafficking lack long-term economic opportunities after escape. Abigail, a survivor and co-founder of Nicole May, is addressing this by launching a fashion brand that creates sustainable employment and showcases survivor-made clothing. With this grant, she will invest in industrial equipment and e-commerce tools to grow the brand and support others through skill-building and ethical fashion

Name: BA Abdoul Aziz

Mouvement Citoyen pour la Paix et la Concorde
Country: Senegal

Project Title: Programme de soutien pour le développement personnel des survivants

In Senegal, many trafficking survivors especially children from vulnerable backgrounds like talibé boys struggle with trauma, low self-esteem, and lack of reintegration support. Aziz, a survivor himself, is addressing this through a series of personal development workshops focused on self-confidence, healing, and future empowerment. With this grant, he will train 10 survivors in Louga through participatory sessions, peer mentorship, and community-based recovery.

Name: Frehewort Abiy

Thrive Ethiopia
Country: Ethiopia

Project Title: Survivor-Led Advocacy and Reintegration Support

Ethiopia faces high rates of trafficking, especially among women and displaced youth, due to conflict, poverty, and weak protections. With this grant, Thrive will launch a survivor-led initiative offering safe shelter, trauma counseling, vocational skills training in eco-friendly businesses, and community-based prevention in trafficking hotspots. The project will empower survivors to rebuild their lives, lead local advocacy, and create lasting change across vulnerable communities.

Name: Godfrey Mpandikizi

Tanzania Anti-Trafficking Legal Initiative
Country: Tanzania

Project Title: Building a Survivor-Centered Movement

In Tanzania, trafficked children and individuals especially in sectors like mining face lifelong injustice, with limited access to legal support. Godfrey, a survivor of labor trafficking, founded TATLI to fight this. With this grant, he aims to expand a survivor-led movement providing free legal aid, advocacy, legal empowerment, and protection services for vulnerable women and children across Tanzania.