Shifting donor priorities and unpredictable funding landscapes means financial diversification is no longer optional — it is a necessity.
This was the focus of the virtual OBF workshop on Navigating Changes in Grant & Soft Funding held on 25 March 2025. The session aimed to provide OBF partners with insights into the donor funding landscape, trends, and impact on grant and soft funding space.
The donor funding landscape is shifting rapidly, impacted by global geopolitics, changes in global aid policies, and donor priorities. This has seen NGOs and corporates compete for the shrinking pool of funds.
These changes have impacted businesses in various ways. However, hope is not lost. OBF partners are already re-looking at strategies to stay ahead of the curve, including focusing on economically viable projects, collaborating and building on existing work to cut out duplication of efforts, transitioning to local financial and human resources to address these challenges, and restructuring and building sustainable finance models.
OBF partners called on a collaborative and consolidated funding structure as donors seek project sustainability, financial resilience, and muti-stakeholder engagement.
The workshop is part of OBF Resource Mobilization efforts to provide structured and impactful support to stakeholders involved in marine and coastal conservation and sustainable development in the Western Indian Ocean.
