Philanthropy in Africa’s largest startup ecosystem should be data-driven 

Nigeria is the most generous country on earth. According to the World Giving Report 2025, 89% of Nigerians donated money in 2024, the highest proportion of any country surveyed globally, and gave an average of 2.83% of their income to charity, also ranking first worldwide. These are extraordinary numbers. They are also, from an impact standpoint, beside the point.

The volume of giving says nothing about where the money goes, whether the interventions work, or whether the outcomes would have occurred anyway. And in Nigeria, despite the generosity, the answer to those questions is, in most cases, unknown. According to the latest report by FP Analytics on the state of Nigeria’s diaspora philanthropy and remittances in meeting the SDGs, impact measurement is largely informal, as most donors do not track the impact of their donations or establish impact metrics for assessment. Furthermore, research on African philanthropic behaviour finds that giving is predominantly motivated by kinship, rather than impact lines.

These seem to be the current pattern in the Lagos startup ecosystem. For example, I reviewed publicly reported philanthropic activities by Nigeria’s fintech founders and found that most donations fell into one of three categories: alumni/prestige giving to one’s alma mater or home community, crisis response/visible solidarity, and talent pipeline for the company.

Last updated: June 17, 2026