In 2025, the Mawazo institute grew our network to 152 African women researchers as we welcomed 60 new Fellows and broke our own record for the number of women in our network who completed their PhD programmes. 

In Africa the attrition rate for PhD programmes can be as low as 5% to as high as 50%. Our mission in supporting women pursuing their PhDs is to increase the number of African women involved in research, increase the quality of the research they are able to produce, and increase the avenues that they can turn their research into impact. 

This year, for the first time, the support we gave our Fellows, in addition to the research funding  and capacity building we already provide, included a Flex fund that covered random emergencies that a Fellow may encounter that would impact their academic progress, and general wellness, as well as a School Fees Fund, that covered outstanding fees owed to the universities. 

Additionally, we have continued to support our alumni in the Connects Network through Flexible Funds, the Connects Fund, and a new Communities of Practice Fund which funds interdisciplinary, multinational group projects. 

In 2025, with Mawazo’s support 12 women in our network have successfully defended their PhD thesis, and a further 12 women graduated with their PhDs.

This means that 55 women in our networks have completed their PhD programmes, an attrition rate of 36% that is only growing.