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The Nigeria-based anticorruption and advocacy group, Connected Development (CODE) has won the ninth ONE Africa Award. The award, with $100,000.00 prize, is granted to civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations and other groups based in Africa, that have demonstrated commitment and success in advocacy to promote the attainment of one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals.

According One Africa, CODE’s impact in advocacy stood out from a pool of 123 impressive applications from 10 countries across Africa. CODE’s most successful campaign, Follow The Money (FTM), is an action advocacy-based project, which tracks, visualises and advocates for transparency in government and international aid spending.

CODE’s list of accomplishments include effectively wielding small gains and wins in the fight against corruption through FTM while developing a robust online presence to track its campaigns and projects, demanding that government deliver funding where it has promised.
 
Chief Executive of CODE and co-founder of Follow The Money, Hamzat Lawal said: “The award will be useful in broadening our impact through facilitating change in marginalised communities, as well as empowering them to hold their leaders accountable.”

President and CEO of the ONE Campaign, Gayle Smith said: “In the fight against poverty in Africa, corruption and the lack of transparency in the governance system is our ultimate opponent. Therefore, we at ONE are delighted to announce CODE as the winner of the ninth annual ONE Africa Awards, as they empower and equip rural communities to keep their local government's representatives transparent and accountable.”      
 
The $100,000 prize money is underwritten by an endowment from The Howard G. Buffet Foundation which recognizes innovative African efforts to fight poverty and incentivises more of such efforts.
                            
ONE is a campaigning and advocacy organization of nearly 8 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. ONE’s board of directors includes Aliko Dangote, Co-founders Bobby Shriver and Bono, and Mo Ibrahim.