‘Understudied and under-theorized?’ – Exploring the history, concepts and evolution of African Philanthropy

In recent years the African continent has been witnessing a notable increase in High-Net worth Individuals (HNWIs), a growing body of scholarly work, and a maturing network of philanthropy practitioners and institutions. Despite these developments, the history, foundational values and role of African philanthropy in political, social and economic development remains peripheral in dominant global narratives in both practice and academia (Breeze and Moody, 2016; Fowler and Mati, 2019). With major academic works on philanthropy emanating mainly from the United States of America and Europe and the most established philanthropic foundations also originating from the same regions, little focus has been trained on Africa as a contributor to the knowledge and practice of philanthropy . It has even been contended that Africa is a ’ Dark Continent’ (Jarosz, 1992) which is more a beneficiary of philanthropy rather than a contributor to the study and practice of giving and human development (Mati, 2016). Such assertions have however taken scant account of the genealogy , notions and practices of giving in Africa. This article collates and provides a chronological analysis of literature on the history, conceptual foundations and utility of African philanthropy in the development of diverse societies from the pre-colonial era to date. Empirical data from mainly African sources demonstrates that philanthropy has been intricately intertwined with the development of African societies from the pre-colonial era. The article also finds complex insights and concepts on African philanthropy that merit more in-depth study and dissemination.