Africapitalism: The marketisation of philanthrocapitalism and neoliberalism in African entrepreneurial philanthropy

Abstract

Copyright © The Author(s) 2023. Despite increased interests in marketisation of philanthrocapitalism research worldwide, the arguments emphasise ‘what’ instead of 'how’ and ‘why’ philanthropic philosophy happens across Africa. To address this gap, 51 Tony Elumelu Foundation participants’ narratives are focused on to draw on an Africapitalism framework highlighting chasms within and between western neoliberalism frameworks and philanthrocapitalism’s marketisation. By framing this paper using philanthrocapitalism discourse, the authors critically examined the activities of African philanthropists and the effects of their neoliberal adoption on recipients. Semi-structured interview analysis produced three key ideologies demonstrating ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ philanthrocapitalism is marketised, namely, utopianism and the illusion of a better socioeconomic tomorrow; neoliberalism and a culture of dominance; social investment and marketisation of benevolence. These thematic paradoxes were used to create an additional four-aspect Africapitalism framework contributing to ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ philanthrocapitalism is marketised in Africa, its impacts, challenges and solutions. Contributions, limitations and implications for research are articulated.