With support from the innocent foundation – whose mission is to help the poorest families feed themselves – the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) began implementing the SPEEDRICE project in 2019.
AKDN / Didier Van Bignoot
With support from the innocent foundation – whose mission is to help the poorest families feed themselves – …
AKDN / Didier Van Bignoot
This page is also available inAbout the Aga Khan Foundation
Our programmes aim to ensure infants have the best possible start in life; families are healthy and well-nourished; children and young people can access quality learning opportunities and grow to fulfil their potential; and adults can develop future-facing skills so they can gain employment or start their own businesses.
We believe women and girls should not be limited in their choices or opportunities and we are dedicated to fostering inclusive communities in which all voices are heard and valued.
As our climate changes, we are working with the communities we serve, especially farmers, to adapt to its challenges and opportunities and contribute to a healthy planet.
But the issues we face are evolving rapidly. To meet them, we are using innovation to empower communities to develop new solutions that can be quickly tested and refined ensuring they are relevant, feasible and sustainable.
Working alongside other AKDN agencies, AKF has access to a unique breadth of resources and in-depth know-how. And through partnerships with local communities, civil society and business as well as governments and international aid agencies we are working to expand opportunity for everyone.
We are building a future where we all thrive together.
AKF operates a training programme for civil society organisations in Egypt, funded by the European Commission. The activities in rural Aswan have reached over 80,000 beneficiaries and created 450 jobs.
AKDN / Christopher Wilton-Steer
Thematic Areas and Objectives
We lead a range of integrated, innovative and gender sensitive interventions in agriculture and food security; civil society; climate resilience; early childhood development; education; health and nutrition; and work and enterprise.
Our interventions are informed by evidence, data, local knowledge and extensive networks of community-led institutions. Our activities are coordinated not only with those of other AKDN agencies but also with local, national and international partners in order to bring to bear a full package of multiple activities that can spark a long-term process of positive change.
In addition, we often play a convening, partnership development, policy dialogue and resource mobilisation role for AKDN and its agencies.
In the Osh, Jalal-Abad (photo), Naryn and Batken regions of Kyrgyzstan, AKF has reached nearly 26,000 farmers (50 percent women), providing them new cultivation techniques and technologies for fodder, orchards and vegetable production.
AKDN / Christopher Wilton-Steer
Geographic Areas of Focus
The majority of our activities are concentrated in rural communities in mountainous, coastal and other remote, resource-poor areas. While we continue critical work in rural contexts, we have increasingly expanded our programming to include issues of globalisation, migration, climate change and the challenges faced by migrant communities in urban contexts.
We operate in Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Kenya, the Kyrgyz Republic, Madagascar, Mozambique, Pakistan, Portugal, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania and Uganda. We also have offices in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, focusing primarily on resource mobilisation and public outreach. Our headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.
In India, AKF is helping 1.8 million children to get a head start in life.
AKDN / Mansi Midha
Learning and Evaluation
Gathering data on the scale, scope and impact of our programming is an integral part of our efforts to assess, understand our footprint and improve our approaches. Within each project, data is collected to understand the extent to which targets have been met and how communities are experiencing improvements in their lives.
While adapting approaches to local contexts, we make efforts to apply a standard set of global indicators in order to track change and trends over time. When it comes to data management and analysis, we increasingly leverage digital tools such as Salesforce. Evidence generated from results data is shared with partners, communities and other key stakeholders such as governments and civil society. Insights drawn from the data help to inform decision-making, not only internally, for our programming, but also among policymakers and other local actors.
Information for Partners
The Foundation is largely an implementing organisation rather than a grant-making foundation. We receive grant funding from numerous development agencies, private foundations and corporations; raise funds locally in annual events in North America and Western Europe; and receive funding from His Highness the Aga Khan. In addition, an endowment contributes towards our operating costs.