Before the Planting: Preparing the Soil for Localisation’s Next Harvest
With Eric Onyango, Shahida Arif, Lulseged Mekonnen, Jonas Habimana, Nancy Sitima
2022 Africa Summit in Nairobi, Kenya
Nairobi turns 125 years old this year, its quasquicentennial anniversary (best pronounced early in the morning!). What began as a modest railway supply depot for the Uganda Railway has evolved into one of Africa’s most dynamic capitals. The city’s name, Nairobi, is derived from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, meaning “a place of cool waters.”
Over time, the city’s slang name has transformed from “Nai” to “KaNairo”, reflecting both affection and the rhythm of its evolving identity.
Today, Nairobi stands as a continental and global hub. The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), established in 1996, is the UN’s official headquarters in Africa, making the city one of only four global centres hosting multiple UN agencies under one roof. This has positioned Nairobi as a key site for international diplomacy and humanitarian coordination.
The city’s innovation and technology eco-system continues to flourish. Major companies such as Google and Microsoft have established regional offices here, and the Westland's district is fast emerging as an anchor for Africa’s tech-driven future.
Nairobi is increasingly being recognised as a strategic global hub, with several UN agencies relocating key operations from New York to the Kenyan capital, a move that underscores the UN’s commitment to being closer to the communities it serves.
Nairobi, Kenya, has the privilege of hosting the Africa Summits twice in the last three years. The first one in 2022 was the inaugural face-to-face meeting, which brought together leaders from across Africa to align on a shared vision and deepen collaboration. They contributed to the design of the Locally Led Development and Humanitarian Action programme, which is known as the Localisation Lab Initiative. The Summit also deepened the region's engagement in NEAR's Governance structure, including the Leadership Council and the Change Fund Oversight Body.
The second one in 2024, where the Africa Local Leaders Platform was launched in March 2024 in Nairobi, made a significant milestone in advancing locally led action across the continent and for the NEAR movement in the region with opening many opportunities for the membership to effectively engage with the Network. During the convening, NEAR kick started the deliberations of the Strategic Plan 2024–2026 from the Africa Summit 2024 where Africa leaders had the opportunity to co-create and develop a common understanding of NEAR’s strategic priorities as well , exploring how members could collectively contribute to its implementation and lead to specific areas of work.
The Africa Summit in Lagos 2024 provided an opportunity to delve into the implementation of the Localization Labs Initiative, gaining a clearer grasp of NEAR’s four foundational pillars: Movement Building, Building Bridges, Solutions, and Learning.
Participants established a clear roadmap and way forward to strengthen locally led action across the region with the launch of South Sudan Localisation Lab, and Ethiopia Localisation Lab in 2024 and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Localisation Lab and Somalia Localisation Lab in 2025. We see active movements starting in Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Liberia and many others.
This week, the Africa Local Leaders Summit is back in Nairobi. Participants drawn from 11 countries will meet from 26-28 November under the theme ‘Continuum of Localisation’. The 2025 Africa Local Leaders Summit will provide a unique opportunity to reflect on progress since Nairobi in 2023 and Lagos in 2024, experience the journey of founding labs South Sudan and Ethiopia, explore the priorities for the new labs and share regional lessons, and co-create concrete pathways to amplify collective voices and local solutions for transformative change in their receptive contexts and at the regional level.
Through sessions dedicated to revisiting past experiences, solutions, collective learning, and launching new initiatives, participants will jointly define the next phase of the localization movement in Africa. The Nairobi gathering will also showcase country-level progress, strengthen partnerships, and reaffirm the central role of African actors in shaping both the regional and global localisation agenda.
Nairobi is more than a place of cool waters, it is a field where the future of African Localisation is being sown, once again, by those who know the soil best.
Reflections from Local Leaders
“The gap between those who control resources and those who need them is still staggering. Really thinking clearly about who your decision makers are, and if you can shift those decision makers to have greater impact has been an uphill task for many local actors. So many foundations are just talking to themselves or talking to academics; they are not actually talking to the local actors and end users who will benefit from those resources.
Despite the slow progress, effective, locally-led models for aid and development already exist e.g in Kenya we have M-Changa platform, spontaneous local philanthropy in disasters and local actors are increasingly advocating for a complete re-examination of the aid system. These models emphasize community ownership, flexible funding, and contextually relevant solutions, often proving to be quicker and more cost-efficient. The journey has shown that true localization demands not just new policies, but a fundamental change in mindset and a genuine willingness by international actors to relinquish control and trust the leadership of local CSOs in the Global South.” -Nancy Sitima, NEAR Member, Kenya.“My reflection is that NEAR is a great network to achieve a localisation agenda based to existing Localisation Impact Measurement developed by NEAR and used by many stakeholders. NEAR is influencing decision makers via advocacy process and is still shifting the power to National and Local NGOS via existing Change Fund and by equipping members to be delegates. New solutions within Labs from different countries give NEAR a unique model for Localisation ownership.” -Jonas Habimana,DRC Localization Lab Convener.
“The Ethiopian Localisation Lab stands as a testament to the strength of collaboration among local actors. Over the past year, we have built a vibrant lab grounded in shared learning, advocacy, and leadership-amplifying local voices and advocating for a more inclusive and sustainable humanitarian system.”
My expectation:
“As we gather for the NEAR Africa Summit in Nairobi, we carry the spirit of partnership, collaboration and the lessons from our journey. This summit is a moment to reaffirm our commitment to locally led action and to push forward a collective agenda that places local and national actors at the center of decision-making and resource allocation," -Lulseged Mekonnen,Ethiopian LocaliSation Lab Convener.