The Cartographers Series

Mapping 100 Under-Reported Transformative Projects Across Africa

Redrawing the Map of What’s Possible

Africa is brimming with stories the world doesn’t tell.
Everywhere—far from capital cities and corporate headlines—transformative work is happening: communities rebuilding, cities reimagined, cooperatives flourishing, schools thriving, builders persevering.

The Cartographers Series exists to find them, document them, and place them firmly on the map.

This is our act of narrative justice.

What is The Cartographers Series?

The Cartographers Series is a continent-wide documentation and mapping project spotlighting 100 under-reported, high-impact, locally driven projects that are quietly reshaping Africa’s future from the ground up.

Through essays, photos, interviews, maps, and short films, the Series will offer an alternative archive of hope, ingenuity, and place-rooted transformation—one that elevates stories that matter but often go unseen.

Why It Matters

History is written by those who hold the pen. But futures are shaped by those who draw the maps.

Africa’s imagination has long been outsourced. But a new generation of builders, educators, farmers, technologists, urbanists, and spiritual leaders are building a different story—one that deserves documentation, connection, and celebration.

By spotlighting 100 such efforts, we aim to:

  • Re-map influence across the continent
  • Inspire local and global actors with living proof
  • Strengthen networks of place-rooted practitioners
  • Offer funders a fresh pipeline of investable change
  • Archive hope in a time of noise, despair, and neglect

What We’re Documenting

We’re looking for initiatives that are:

- Locally led and long-term
- Serving underserved geographies (secondary cities, university towns, rural districts)
- Demonstrating transformational impact
- Operating under the radar of mainstream media and funders
- Models of redemptive innovation, faith-rooted work, or resilient systems-building

These could be:

  • A school with a 20-year legacy of transforming a town
  • A cooperative reviving a regional economy
  • A sacred space anchoring cultural and spiritual renewal
  • A tech lab restoring dignity through employment
  • A land project regenerating an ecosystem and economy

What the Series Includes

Interactive Digital Map – Plotting all 100 stories with layered insights
Print Anthology – Beautifully bound profiles for archival and gifting
Mini-Documentaries – Select stories told in film
Storytelling Events – Live showcases in key cities
Photo Essays – Visual storytelling from place
Funders Briefing Pack – For interested philanthropic and investment partners

Our Approach

This is not a quick journalistic sprint. It is a curated, careful, context-sensitive mapping effort, grounded in:

  • Research + Relationship - We work with local scouts, regional advisors, and trusted networks
  • Dignified Storytelling - With consent, collaboration, and care
  • Narrative Design - Framing stories not as charity, but as credible futures
  • Place Emphasis - Every story is rooted in where and why, not just what

Who It's For

  • Curious citizens and city-makers
  • Donors and investors seeking off-grid impact
  • Journalists and researchers
  • Students of African transformation
  • The next generation of African builders

A Different Future is Fundable

We believe in the long game.
We believe places can flourish without being gentrified.
We believe that what capital does to a place is as important as what it builds.

The Funds for Place Lab is where that belief becomes blueprint.

How to Get Involved

📬 Nominate a Project
Know a quiet revolution happening in your town? Submit it.

🤝 Partner With Us
We're seeking funders, research allies, and media collaborators.

📚 Join the Reader Circle
Be the first to access the map, stories, and special editions.

📍 Become a Regional Cartographer
Field researchers and storytellers are welcome to join the team.

Start Seeing Differently

Africa’s brightest lights aren’t always loud.
The Cartographers Series was made to shine a light on them—so that those who build the continent from the edges aren’t left out of the center.

These are the stories the world needs to read.

Nominate a Story

Help us spotlight under-reported, transformative projects reshaping Africa from the ground up.

Nominate a Story