The Addax and Oryx Foundation is an independent Swiss non-profit foundation, registered in Geneva, Switzerland. We have been supporting projects run by non-profit organisations since 1996, with the aim of helping poor communities in Africa and the Middle East to sustainably rise out of poverty.

We are convinced that in the fight against poverty a virtuous circle of sustainable development can be created by working with communities to share and develop the basic knowledge, skills and conditions that empower them for the future.

Our Mission

Our mission is to fight the root causes of poverty in Africa and the Middle East, by supporting projects focused on four core areas:

• Health
• Education
• Community development, and
• The Environment.

 We believe that, together, Health, Education, Community development and the Environment are essential to sustainable development.

• Health: the cornerstone of human development and activity, essential to our capacity to learn and to look after ourselves and others. It includes access to proper healthcare as well as good health and hygiene practices.
• Education: the ability to read and write, the acquisition of a minimum education and practical professional skills, as the building blocks to apprehend the world, generate an income, innovate and create our own future.
  We are convinced that health AND education are essential to a sustainable rise out of poverty.
• Community development: a broad expression of the skills, organisation and activities that enable a community to be self-sustaining. It includes food security, income-generating activities, sanitation, power generation and much more.
• Environment: a cross-cutting area that the Foundation considers from the start in all projects. Human development is only sustainable if it respects and protects its natural environment.

How we work

The Addax and Oryx Foundation funds the projects of non-profit, non-governmental organisations that demonstrate the experience and expertise to help poor communities in Africa and the Middle East to become the masters of their own destiny, with tangible and sustainable results.

We give priority to projects that take a holistic approach, incorporating more than one of our core areas, in recognition of their inter-dependence in the fight against poverty. Projects must also be anchored in local communities, with individual and collective participation and empowerment, to ensure that actions are relevant and viable for the long-term.

 We give preference to projects run by highly committed and professional individuals who are directly involved in the projects they propose, and to smaller organisations that do not have access to major governmental or agency funding.

In allocating funds, the Foundation aims to:

• create a sustainable and measurable impact;
• develop self-sufficiency within local populations;
• spark an individual and collective development momentum.

We have developed a set of values and principles that guide our decisions on the eligibility of the projects applying for funds.