PROFILE: A fan of Beyoncé — and philanthropy
Africa’s youth bulge creates challenges but also opportunities, says Ashleigh Fynn Munda, head of Oppenheimer Generations Philanthropies.
Philanthropy can do what commercial capital cannot by funding bold, ambitious ideas with “patient” capital, giving beneficiaries the time they need to test and learn for innovation.
“It can be catalytic and crowd in other forms of capital, therefore making the pool of accessible funds larger, which can magnify the impact,” says development economist Ashleigh Fynn Munda, the new head of Oppenheimer Generations Philanthropies (OGP).
Fynn Munda, 32, steers strategy at the philanthropic arm of Oppenheimer Generations, which represents the global interests of the Nicky and Jonathan Oppenheimer family. With her team she seeks partners in finding solutions to Africa’s challenges.
Durban-born Fynn Munda says during her undergraduate years at the University of Cape Town she “fell in love with economics for the way it tried to explain the world”. She completed a master’s in development economics, researching innovation in low-cost housing.
She started her career at Genesis Analytics, the largest economics-based consultancy in Africa, and joined OGP in 2020 as a social investment associate.
Philanthropy “is not simply charitable giving, but a wonderful source of funds that can be used for testing, innovating and learning”, she says.
One example is uMaStandi, a subsidiary of the Trust for Urban Housing Finance. OGP provided a grant to uMaStandi “to create a programme that would build the capacity of entrepreneurs who would then become mini-property developers and to seed a fund that would provide them with capital”.
The project raised another R110m, creating a pool of R125m for loans to entrepreneurs to build affordable rental housing units in peri-urban areas. It also provides guidance throughout the process, from negotiation to construction and renting.
The project is reaching scalability, benefiting not only the entrepreneurs but communities who now have access to affordable homes.
A highlight for Fynn Munda is awarding the annual Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer research grant to a postdoctoral African scientist.
“I get to work with really fantastic early-stage career scientists doing tremendous work across the continent on urgent challenges and finding solutions that will have an impact in the future.”
The fifth such award, valued at $150,000, will be announced in October at the Oppenheimer Research Conference.
Fynn Munda tells the FM she is motivated by the work, people and learning.
“The work is hard and complex, and I am constantly interacting with people who challenge the way I think about how systems, processes and interventions should work.
“What I always try to keep in mind is the end beneficiary and how what we fund will not just positively affect their lives but help drive the growth our continent desperately needs. For me, it is about improving people’s lives as well as the spaces they live in.”
OGP works closely with the Oppenheimer Generations research and conservation team (focusing on human interaction with the planet), the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust (providing support to educational organisations and students) and the South African Future Trust, which was established with a R1bn OGP grant to support SMMEs during the pandemic. The trust continues to support the sector.
Asked about Africa’s biggest challenge, Fynn Munda says: “There is no denying the youth bulge that the continent is experiencing, and this will continue to increase. While this presents a big challenge, it is also a huge opportunity … if that youthful energy can be capitalised upon.
“It is a sad reality that many of these young people have had their growth prospects hindered by failed systems. There are so many interrelated problems — nutrition, access to health care, education, jobs, access to the internet and appropriate infrastructure — that we cannot boil it down to one challenge that needs one solution. We need a multipronged approach,” she says.
“To improve these systems, we need to assess the inefficiencies that are suffocating business growth and social and economic opportunities. Philanthropies can break through that by funding new, innovative practices that reduce the costs of delivering interventions, allowing more money to flow to where it is most productive.”
Asked who she would most like to meet, Fynn Munda does not hesitate: “Beyoncé — she has an incredible work ethic and is an inspiring artist. She demands nothing but the best from those she works with, and endeavours to find a diverse pool of talent.”
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