Kandakat is a New York not-for-profit. We support communities in Sudan and across Africa through education, protection, humanitarian relief, digital skills and economic opportunity.
كنداكات
Kandakat
Kandake was the title of the queens and queen mothers of the Kingdom of Kush, on the Nile in what is now Sudan. Kandakat is its plural.
We chose the name for the women leaders it recalls, and for the women and girls we work with today.
About KandakatOur work covers four areas, with Sudan as our main focus.
Advocacy and legal support for women, and protection for children from abuse, exploitation, child marriage and female genital mutilation.
Humanitarian assistance for conflict-affected communities, food and nutrition support, and access to maternal, child and community health care.
Scholarships, mentorship, literacy and vocational training, and digital skills training, including on artificial intelligence.
Entrepreneurship programs for startups, capacity building for business support organizations, and financial inclusion and literacy.
We met as students at Harvard, coming from Sudan, Egypt and Mauritania. We saw the same challenges in all three countries: women and girls held back by conflict, displacement and lack of opportunity. We decided to bring our experience together to change that, and founded Kandakat to work in Sudan and across Africa.
SA
AF
ALWe work with partners, funders and volunteers who share our goals.
Kandakat is a not-for-profit organization based in New York. We work with women, girls, children and youth in Sudan and across Africa.
We came to Harvard from Sudan, Egypt and Mauritania, and met as students there.
Conflict and displacement, girls kept out of school, and limited access to jobs, finance and digital skills for women and young people, in our own countries and across the continent.
We brought our experience in government, development programs and the private sector together and founded Kandakat, with Sudan as our main focus and work across Africa.
Kandakat works to advance the rights, education and wellbeing of women, girls, children and youth in Sudan and across Africa.
We support communities affected by conflict with humanitarian relief, and we build the skills and economic opportunities people need for the longer term.
Our main focus, given the scale of need among women, children and displaced families affected by the conflict.
Our work covers the whole continent, from North and West Africa to East, Central and Southern Africa, drawing on our founders' networks and local partners.
Our office in New York connects funders, universities and partners with communities in Sudan and across Africa.
We work with organizations that know their communities and are already trusted there.
Where we provide emergency support, we connect people to education, skills and income.
Women and girls help shape the programs designed for them.
We track what our programs achieve and report it openly.
Our work covers four areas. Sudan is our main focus, and our work extends across Africa.
Women and girls face legal, social and economic barriers that limit their choices, and children in conflict-affected areas face higher risks of abuse and harmful practices. This area covers our advocacy, legal support and child protection work.
Conflict and displacement have left many families in Sudan and the region without secure food, shelter or health care. This area covers humanitarian assistance, nutrition and access to health services.
This area covers girls' education and youth development, access to quality learning at every level, and digital skills training, including on artificial intelligence.
This area covers entrepreneurship programs for startups, capacity building for the organizations that support entrepreneurs, and financial inclusion and literacy for underserved communities.
We conduct research, public education and advocacy on the issues facing women, girls, children and youth in conflict-affected and underserved communities.
Kandakat was founded by three Harvard alumni from Sudan, Egypt and Mauritania, who also serve as its board of directors.
SASudanFounder and President
Sahar founded Kandakat and leads its strategy, partnerships and programs from New York. She is from Sudan, which remains the organization's main focus, and she shapes its work across Africa.
Like her co-founders, Sahar is a Harvard alumna. She is also an alumna of MIT Sloan's Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (REAP), where she co-authored a diagnostic of innovation ecosystems in the Middle East and North Africa.
AFEgyptCo-Founder and Vice President
Ahmed designs and manages digital upskilling and entrepreneurship programs across the Middle East and Africa. He is a Senior Program Manager at Village Capital and founder of ElevenRoots, a social enterprise focused on ecosystem building and digital skills.
He previously worked at Egypt's Ministry of Social Solidarity and Save the Children International. Ahmed holds an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, where he was an Edward S. Mason Fellow.
ALMauritaniaDirector
Aïssata was the first Director General of the Investment Promotion Agency of Mauritania (APIM), which she led from its creation in 2021. She co-founded the Youth Chamber of Commerce of Mauritania, which helps young entrepreneurs access finance.
In 2019 she was appointed to the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council and named to the BBC's 100 Women list. Aïssata studied at HEC Montréal and Harvard.
We welcome advisors and volunteers who share our goals. If our work fits your experience, we would like to hear from you.
We work with partners, funders and volunteers who share our goals. Here is how you can take part.
NGOs, universities, companies and community groups working in Sudan or across Africa. We look for partners to design and deliver programs with us.
Foundations and individual donors can support our work in Sudan and across Africa. Write to us to discuss funding.
Volunteer your time and skills in areas such as education, health, law, technology, finance and communications.
Send us a note and we will add you to our updates list.