As the Africa Evidence Network (AEN) continues its mission to advance evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM) across the continent, 2025 emerged as a year of renewal, strategic growth, and deeper member engagement. Building on more than a decade of collective learning and collaboration, the Network entered this year with a clear commitment to strengthening governance, amplifying African leadership, and expanding opportunities for connection and capacity development.

From launching new leadership structures to celebrating five years of the Manifesto for African-Led Capacity Development, each milestone achieved this year reflects the energy, innovation, and shared purpose that define the AEN community. This blog highlights five key achievements that shaped our work in 2025 and set the stage for an even more impactful future.

Established the Council of Chairs and celebrated the Africa Evidence Leadership Award winners

2025 marked a defining moment in AEN’s governance evolution with the establishment of the Council of Chairs, a body designed to strengthen strategic leadership, accountability, and regional representation across the Network. Formalised as part of the 2025 governance refresh, the AEN Council of Chairs was announced on 2 October 2025 at the Evidence 2025 event in Cotonou, Benin. The Council is led by AEN Chair Rhona Mijumbi-Deve, supported by Regional Chairs: Patrick Mbah Okwen (Central Africa), Dr Josephine Watera (East Africa), Olfa Soukri Cherif (North Africa), Jennifer Opare-Kumi (Southern Africa), and Kirchuffs Atengble (West Africa). Additional representation includes Global Chair Shelly-Ann Hunte and Youth Chair Penka Marthe Bogne, with two ex officio members: the AEN Director to be appointed in 2026 and Founding Chair Ruth Stewart. This milestone was shaped through preparatory meetings that reflected a highly collaborative and consultative process within the AEN community, aiming to deepen member-driven decision-making and ensure the Network’s work reflects Africa’s diverse evidence priorities.

This milestone also coincided with the successful announcement of the 2024 and 2025 Africa Evidence Leadership Award winners, a recognition mechanism honouring individuals and organisations making outstanding contributions to EIDM on the continent. Together, these initiatives have elevated leadership visibility, strengthened governance systems, and reinforced AEN’s commitment to celebrating excellence within the evidence ecosystem.

Delivered a High-Impact Evidence 2025 Event

AEN’s flagship convening, Evidence 2025, stood out as one of the Network’s most dynamic and inclusive gatherings to date. Hosted in Cotonou, Benin, the event brought together government policymakers, youth leaders, researchers, civil society practitioners, and evidence intermediaries from across Africa and beyond. The programme spotlighted African-led narratives on evidence production and use, showcased practical innovations transforming decision-making systems, and facilitated powerful cross-country collaborations. Evidence 2025 not only reaffirmed the centrality of evidence to Africa’s development ambitions but also strengthened the relationships and shared learning that underpin the AEN’s mission.

Celebrated Five Years of the Manifesto for African-Led Capacity Development

This year also marked five years since the publication of the Manifesto on Capacity Development for Evidence-Informed Decision-Making in Africa, a landmark framework that continues to shape conversations on strengthening evidence ecosystems on the continent. To honour this milestone, the AEN reflected on the Manifesto’s influence through learning products, including a storytelling series, a learning brief, and a commemorative video. These reflections celebrated progress made in championing African-led approaches to capacity development, while reaffirming the Network’s commitment to nurturing locally driven, sustainable, and context-responsive ways of embedding evidence into policy and practice.

Expanded and Deepened Engagement Within the AEN Community

In 2025, AEN experienced significant growth in both membership numbers and the depth of engagement across regions, youth groups, and professional sectors. Members are increasingly connected through learning exchanges, webinars, storytelling initiatives, newsletters, and collaborative activities facilitated by the Secretariat and the wider community. This strengthened engagement not only diversified voices within the Network but also encouraged more member-driven contributions, further embodying the AEN’s ethos of shared learning and collective leadership.

Strengthened Strategic Partnerships Across Africa and Globally

Finally, 2025 saw meaningful strengthening of AEN’s partnerships, both within Africa and with global evidence actors. Existing collaborations matured into deeper strategic alliances, while new partnerships were forged with regional institutions, multilateral bodies, and capacity-development organisations. These relationships expanded opportunities for joint programming, enhanced AEN’s visibility, and contributed to broader resource mobilisation efforts. Through these partnerships, the Network has solidified its role as a continental thought leader and collaborator in advancing evidence use systems.

The milestones achieved in 2025 demonstrate the AEN’s continued evolution into a stronger, more inclusive, and strategically grounded community. With newly established governance structures, an expanding evidence leadership movement, a vibrant and growing membership, and strengthened continental and global partnerships, the AEN is better positioned than ever to influence and support evidence use systems across Africa.

As we look ahead to the years leading up to Evidence 2027, the Network remains committed to fostering collaboration, elevating African voices, and championing the transformative power of evidence in policymaking and practice. The progress made in 2025 is not only a celebration of what we have achieved together, but also a foundation for the impact we will continue to build collectively in service of a thriving, evidence-enabled Africa.

About the author: Siziwe Ngcwabe is the former Director and Co-chair of the Africa Evidence Network (AEN). She is currently the Director of People and Operations at the Pan-African Collective for Evidence (PACE). She is a South African strategic EIDM & HR Leader, an award-winning advocate, and a social worker, as well as a coach and mentor. For the past eight years, Siziwe played a key role in advancing the mission of the AEN, where she championed the use of evidence to drive meaningful change across Africa. Through her work, she supported the growth of a vibrant, collaborative evidence ecosystem by promoting the production, use, and dissemination of evidence to improve policy and practice across the continent.

Her leadership within AEN has focused on strengthening connections, facilitating partnerships, and amplifying African voices in global EIDM conversations. Siziwe has consistently advocated for inclusive, innovative, and contextually relevant approaches that ensure no one is left behind, particularly underserved, underrepresented, and marginalised communities.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in social work with honours from the Walter Sisulu University (UNITRA), a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDBM) from MANCOSA – Undergraduate & Postgraduate Qualifications, Online, a master’s degree in public management, and a Master of Business Administration from Regenesys Business School. She worked at several organisations across different sectors in South Africa. She approaches the challenge of working in various environments with dedication and diligence. She believes that, with her willingness to continuously face new challenges, her intellectual curiosity, and 28 years of academic and professional experience, she aims to continually support connections and collaborations that drive meaningful African and global impact through evidence networks. This is achieved by promoting the production, use, and mediation of evidence for effective change. She is also committed to building innovative, collaborative solutions.

Acknowledgements: The author(s) are solely responsible for the content of this article, including all errors or omissions; acknowledgements do not imply endorsement of the content. The author is grateful to Charity Chisoro for her guidance in preparing and finalising this article, as well as her editorial support.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in published blog posts, as well as any errors or omissions, are the sole responsibility of the author/s and do not represent the views of the Africa Evidence Network, its secretariat, advisory or reference groups, or its funders; nor does it imply endorsement by the aforementioned parties.

Suggested citation: Ngcwabe S (2025) Five AEN Milestones That Shaped 2025. Blog posting on 12 December 2025. Available at: https://africaevidencenetwork.org/five-aen-milestones-that-shaped-2025/2025/12/12/