Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/General Support Fund/Free Knowledge Africa General Support Fund FY 26

statusFunded

Wikimedia Community Fund

Free Knowledge Africa General Support Fund FY 26

Fluxx IDG-GS-2509-20195

proposed start date2026-01-01

proposed end date2026-12-31

approved start date01 January 2026

approved end date31 December 2026

amount requested (local currency)52061000 NGN

amount requested (USD)31236 USD ^{[note 1]}

amount recommended (USD)25000

amount recommended (local currency)36345000 NGN

grant typeNonprofit organization with Wikimedia mission

funding regionSSA

decision fiscal year2025-26

funding program roundRound 1

organization (if applicable)Access to Knowledge Africa Initiative

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Applicant information

Organization name or Wikimedia Username for individuals. (required): Access to Knowledge Africa Initiative

Do you have any approved General Support Fund requests? (required): Yes, I have already applied and received a General Support Fund

You are applying as a(n). (required): Nonprofit organization with Wikimedia mission

Are your group or organization legally registered in your country? (required): Yes

Do you have a fiscal sponsor?: No

Fiscal organization name.: N/A

Please provide links to the following documents if they are available

These documentation can be provided in your local language(s), no translations required.

Organizational website
Detailed financial reporting and/or audits
Documentation of the governance structure, board list, governance processes
Documentation of the general assembly decision on your plan

website - https://freeknowledgeafrica.org/

Main proposal

1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be a title for the Meta-Wiki page. (required): Free Knowledge Africa General Support Fund FY 26

2. Do you want to apply for the multi-year base funding for 3 years? (required) (only for returning applicants): No

2.1. Provide a brief overview of Year 2 and Year 3 of the proposed plan and how this relates to the current proposal and your strategic plan? (required)

N/A

3. Proposed start date. (required): 2026-01-01

4. Proposed end date. (required): 2026-12-31

5. Does your organization or group have an Affiliate or Organizational Annual Plan that can help us understand your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (required): Yes; https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ThEDWSIrMqSlITnEOfqajLTg9uhSvFtoNMg1PTpZQxg/edit?gid=0#gid=0

6. Does your affiliate, organization or group have a Strategic Plan that can help us understand your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (required): No

7. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required): Nigeria

8. What are your programs, approaches, and strategies? What are the challenges that you are trying to address and how will your strategies support you in addressing these challenges? (required)

Free Knowledge Africa is dedicated to increasing equitable access to information by making Nigerian public domain works openly available online. Our programs focus on the digitization of public domain materials, transcription of historical newspapers into audio formats, and community engagement through training sessions on Wikidata and Wikisource. These initiatives are designed to promote digital literacy, preserve Nigeria’s cultural heritage, and ensure broader access to knowledge across diverse audiences. We are addressing two key challenges: the underrepresentation of Nigerian public domain works in digital spaces and digital literacy gaps that prevent communities from participating fully in the open knowledge ecosystem. Despite Nigeria’s rich intellectual and cultural history, much of its public domain content remains inaccessible to researchers, educators, and the public due to lack of digitization, inadequate infrastructure, and limited awareness of open access tools. To tackle these issues, we have adopted a community-centered and partnership-driven approach. Our core strategies include: Collaborating with GLAM institutions (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) such as the National Library of Nigeria (Abuja and Ilorin branches) to digitize books, newspapers, and archival materials.

Training local volunteers and librarians on how to use Wikisource, Wikidata, and other Open Educational Resources (OER) platforms.

Hosting workshops and engagement sessions to build a network of skilled contributors who can preserve and share Nigeria’s intellectual heritage.

These strategies are already yielding results. We have digitized and uploaded over 3000 historical newspapers, images, and books to Wikisource, and have trained over 100 editors to contribute to and maintain these open knowledge platforms. Our partnerships with national libraries have strengthened our reach and institutional support, enabling us to scale our efforts and deepen impact. By equipping local communities with the tools and training they need, we are not only preserving history but also empowering individuals to become active participants in the global knowledge ecosystem. Our programs are rooted in sustainability, inclusion, and the belief that free access to knowledge is a public good.

9. What categories are your main programs and related activities under? Please select all that apply. (required)


Category	Yes/No
Education	No
Culture, heritage or GLAM	Yes
Gender and diversity	No
Community support and engagement	Yes
Participation in campaigns and contests	No
Public policy advocacy	Yes
Other	No

Culture, heritage or GLAM

9.2. Select all your programs and activities for Culture, heritage or GLAM. (required): Supporting institutions to open up their collections, data, metadata, and research, Supporting GLAM professionals to incorporate use of Wikimedia in their work, through documentation, training, or Wikimedian in Residence programs, Partnering with institutions, professional associations, and allied organizations to raise awareness of open culture, ethical sharing, and related issues; Other programs and activities if any: N/A

Community support and engagement

9.4. Select all your programs and activities for Community support and engagement.: On-wiki training of community members, Off-wiki training of community members, Offering micro-funding and other financial support to community members; Other programs and activities if any: N/A

Public policy advocacy

9.6.1. What specific laws, or legislative topics, are you targeting with your advocacy plans? Please be as specific as possible. (required)

The Nigerian Copyright Act of 2022

9.6.2. What are the main methods and tactics via which you plan to advocate for this public policy change? Please be as specific as possible. (required)

We plan to attend Parliamentary Sessions, meet with stakeholders and government officials and engage with the public through a petition

9.6.3. Approximately, how much of the requested budget will you dedicate to public policy advocacy (local currency)?: 7300000 NGN
10. Please include a link to or upload a timeline (operational calendar) for your programs and activities. (required): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ThEDWSIrMqSlITnEOfqajLTg9uhSvFtoNMg1PTpZQxg/edit?gid=0#gid=0

11. Describe your team. (required)

Isaac Oloruntimilehin [User:Timmylegend] - (Director of Growth/Strategy) - He is an experienced Wikipedian, and the past leader of the Wikimedia Fan Club, University of Ilorin. He has organised various campaigns at the University of Ilorin Wikimedia community such as Nigeria Expedition, Explore Nigeria, 1Lib1Ref, Art+Feminism, Wiki Loves Africa, and Wikipedia pages wanting photos. He was a participant at Wiki Indaba 2019 and Wikimania 2021 conferences. He is the project and campaign lead.

Alaafiabami Oladipupo [User: Haylad] - (Advocacy and Learning Development Lead) - He has previously led the Wikimedia Fan Club, University of Ilorin, organized multiple meetups and Wiki loves Africa photo walks/events at the University Club in Ilorin and Ado-Ekiti in 2019 and 2020 respectively. He has previously organised the Afrocine Nigeria Contest and facilitated multiple events and training. He was also the Regional ambassador for the 2021 HACK4OPENGLAM during the 2021 CC summit. He will be in charge of training, recruiting and onboarding new members during the projects.

Bolaji Alabi [User:Bilijin] - (Director of Programs) - She is an experienced mobile developer and Wikimedian with a knack for prudence. She has been contributing to the Wikimedia project since 2018 and just handed over her leadership of the Wikimedia Fan Club, University of Ilorin. She is a board member (Vice Chair) of the Wikimedia Nigeria Foundation Inc/Wikimedia User Group Nigeria. She will facilitate the creation of landing pages, instructional videos/materials, virtual meetings and the selection of speakers/trainers for virtual training workshops for new members.

Olubusola Afolabi [User:Ifedohlapo] - (GLAM Associate) - She is a librarian, an experienced Wikimedian, and a one-time Events Manager at the Wikimedia Fan Club, University of Ilorin. She is interested in the GLAM space and advocates for Open Access practices in Cultural Heritage Institution

12. Will you be working with any internal (Wikimedia) or external partners? Describe the characteristics of these partnerships and bring a few examples of the most significant partnerships. (required)

We have established partnerships with the Nigerian Library Association in Kwara State and the Plateau State Tourism Corporation. These organizations have and continue to support the creation of a public domain database and the documentation of cultural heritage sites, respectively.

In addition, we plan to collaborate with GLAM institutions (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) and local heritage organizations across Nigeria to promote the adoption of open licenses and improve access to their collections. Building on our previous partnerships with GLAM institutions in Kwara State, we aim to expand this network nationally. While encouraging institutions to release works under Creative Commons licenses can be challenging, we remain committed to raising awareness about the benefits of open access and the public domain. We also intend to initiate conversations around the digitization of their public domain materials.

Furthermore, we aim to reinforce existing collaborations with key institutions such as the National Library, the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, the Goethe-Institut, the Yoruba Academy, and the Centre for Contemporary Arts, encouraging them to release their works under open licenses.

13. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select all that apply. (required): Invest in Skills and Leadership Development, Innovate in Free Knowledge

Metrics

Wikimedia Metrics

14. Please select and fill out Wikimedia Metrics for your proposal. (recommended)

14.1. Number of participants, editors, and organizers.

All metrics provided are optional, please fill them out if they are aligned with your programs and activities.

Participants, editors, and organizers
Metrics name	Target	Description
Number of all participants	1000	N/A
Number of all editors	300	N/A
Number of new editors	100
Number of retained editors	30
Number of all organizers	15	N/A
Number of new organizers	5	N/A

14.2. Number of new content contributions to Wikimedia projects. (recommended)

Contributions to Wikimedia projects
Wikimedia project	Created	Edited or improved
Wikipedia
Wikimedia Commons	2167
Wikidata	1500	500
Wiktionary
Wikisource	1000	500
Wikimedia Incubator
Translatewiki
MediaWiki
Wikiquote
Wikivoyage
Wikibooks
Wikiversity
Wikinews
Wikispecies
Wikifunctions / Abstract Wikipedia

Description for Wikimedia projects contributions metrics. (optional)

Other Metrics

15. Do you have other quantitative and qualitative targets for your project (other metrics)? (required): No


Other Metrics	Description	Target
N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	N/A	N/A

Budget

16. Will you have any other revenue sources when implementing this proposal (e.g. other funding, membership contributions, donations)? (required): No

16.1. List other revenue sources. (required)

N/A

16.2. Approximately how much revenue will you have from other sources in your local currency? (required): N/A

17. Your local currency. (required): NGN

18. What is the total requested amount in your local currency? (required): 52061000 NGN

Multi-year funding request summary
Year	Amount (local currency)
Year 1	N/A NGN
Year 2	N/A NGN
Year 3	N/A NGN

Requested amount in USD: 31236 USD ^{[note 1]}

Multi-year funding request summary in USD
Year	Amount USD ^{[note 1]}
Year 1	N/A USD
Year 2	N/A USD
Year 3	N/A USD

↑ ^a ^b ^c The following amount in US dollars was calculated by Wikimedia Foundation staff using the fixed currency rates. This amount is approximate and may not reflect the actual currency exchange rates on the day of submission or distribution. If the application is funded, the funding will be sent in the recipient’s local currency.

19. Does this proposal include compensation for staff or contractors? (required): Yes

19.1. How many paid staff members do you plan to have? (required)

Include the number of staff and contractors during the proposal period. If you have short-term contractors or staff, please include them separately and mention their terms.

5

19.2. How many FTEs (full-time equivalents) in total? (required)

Include the total FTE of staff and contractors during the proposal period. If you have short-term contractors or staff, please include their FTEs with the terms separately.

3

19.3. Describe any staff or contractor changes compared to the current year / ongoing General Support Fund if any. (required only for returning grantees): An increase of 1

20. Please provide an overview of your overall budget categories in your local currency. The budget breakdown should include only the amount requested with this General Support Fund (required).


Budget category	Amount in local currency
Staff and contractor costs	23100000 NGN
Operational costs	5760000 NGN
Programmatic costs	23200000 NGN

21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1c0QZeF6lS35DKI99j_EbyS5TxKhbt2zB/edit?gid=1317624397#gid=1317624397

Additional information

22. In this optional space you can add any other additional information about your proposal or organization that you think can help us when reviewing your proposal. (optional)

By submitting your proposal/funding request you agree that you are in agreement with the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and the Universal Code of Conduct.

We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.

Yes

Feedback

Please add any feedback to the grant discussion page only. Any feedback added here will be removed.

[fixedrate-1] The following amount in US dollars was calculated by Wikimedia Foundation staff using the fixed currency rates. This amount is approximate and may not reflect the actual currency exchange rates on the day of submission or distribution. If the application is funded, the funding will be sent in the recipient’s local currency.

[note 1]