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Ashinaga Association in the UK Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020 / 2021

Reference and Administrative Details

Name: Ashinaga Association in the UK

Company number: 10634278

Charity registration number: 1183750

Address and registered office: 13/14 Cornwall Terrace, Outer Circle London NW1 4QP UK

Trustees:

Ms Noriko Tominaga-Carpentier Mr Yoshiomi Tamai Ms Yukie Seki Dr Michael Rivera King Sir Eric Thomas Professor ‘Funmi Olonisakin

Chief Executive Officer: Dr Michael Rivera King

Bankers:

Barclays Bank 17 St Anns Square Manchester M2 7PW

Solicitors:

Herbert Smith Freehills Exchange House Primrose Street London EC2A 2EG

Accountants:

Sidikies 1 Sun Street London EC2A 2EP

2020-2021 Highlights at a Glance	3
A Message from our Founder	4
A Message from our Director	6
A Message from a Scholar	8
Introducing our Trustees	10
Trustees Report (incorporating Strategic Report) Objectives and Activities Achievements and Performance Our Plans Structure, Governance and Management Financial Review Statement of trustees’	12 12 15 22 24 25
responsibilities	26
Independent Auditors’ Report	28
Financial Statements	32

Accountants:

Moore Kingston Smith LLP The Shipping Building The Old Vinyl Factory Blyth Road Hayes London UB3 1HA

2020-2021 Highlights at a Glance

Scholars:

Despite the challenges posed by Covid-19 and distance-learning, we have had seven Scholars graduate and maintained our record of no Scholar ever failing an academic year.
In the 2019-2020 academic year, 86% of Scholars were at a top 500 university and 92% achieved a first or upper second-class mark in their undergraduate year.
One Kenyan Scholar won funding for his start-up, EcoSokoni, which aims to ‘streamline the flow of ingredients from farms to customers’, empowering farmers and increasing their profits.

2020 Graduates:

Two Graduates secured Commonwealth Scholarships for their master’s degrees.
One gained a senior government job back in their home country.
Two Graduates are working for international engineering firms in roles in which they will gain chartered engineer status, with work in South Africa and Uganda.
One gained acceptance for postgraduate courses for 2021 entry and the final Graduate is in full-time work supporting their family.
One Graduate has been invited to submit their Ashinaga Proposal, on addressing the issues that disabled students in Namibia face in accessing school, to the President of Namibia’s office.

Partnerships:

The University of York have pledged over £2.5 million in tuition fee waivers to support 33 AAI UK Scholars over the next six years.
The University of Warwick have pledged over £2.2 million in tuition fee waivers to support 25 AAI UK Scholars over five years.
We have started a partnership with Herbert Smith Freehills who have provided pro-bono legal support, mentorship to Scholars and Graduates, as well as donations to Ashinaga UK, Ashinaga France, and Ashinaga Foundation in Japan.

Governance:

Professor ‘Funmi Olonisakin, Vice President and Vice Principal (International) of King’s College London joined our board in August 2020.
Professor Olonisakin brings a wealth of expertise, having founded the African Leadership Centre at Kings, and served as one of seven members of the Advisory Group of Experts under the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, on the Review of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture.

A Message from our Founder

It is with great joy that I look at the strides the Ashinaga UK team and Scholars have made this year. This has been a most challenging year, with Covid-19 impacting every aspect of our work and Scholars’ university lives, but everyone has responded with creativity, drive, and passion.

To the UK Ashinaga Africa Initiative Scholars, I want to congratulate you on a successful year, despite it being very different from how you would have imagined it. What is most important to me is that you have all maintained your good health, as well as your passion to positively contribute to sub-Saharan Africa.

I am particularly pleased to see the positive impact our Graduates are having. From working in a medical university in Tanzania, to an international engineering firm improving infrastructure in South Africa, to securing postgraduate scholarships, to working for their government, our Graduates are taking huge steps forward to becoming compassionate changemakers and young leaders who will positively impact their community, country, and continent.

Ashinaga’s vision of development is centred on ‘people helping people’, of doing what you can to help someone else, who in turn will pay forward that kindness to others. This ‘ripple effect’ starts with our donors and our partners, who enable Ashinaga to support over 9,500 students around the world, including 23 exceptional Scholars in the UK. I want to thank the University of York and the University of Warwick for their passion and incredible support for our work. I also want to thank everyone who has joined our first fundraising campaigns in the UK. In supporting our work, you are supporting not just our students but all of those whose lives they will touch. Your kindness will echo through our Scholars and Graduates to sound all around the world.

Yoshiomi Tamai

A Message from our Director

This year has been a year like no other. Yet along with the challenges and disruption of Covid-19 have come opportunities to innovate and reimagine. This has proved true for the UK Ashinaga Africa Initiative (AAI) Scholars as well as for our staff.

AAI Scholars in the UK have had to adapt to the new realities of distance-learning or blendedlearning, a challenge that I was particularly concerned about for those in their first and final years. Yet all the Scholars found new ways to develop their leadership skills, including remote internships, speaking at webinars alongside world-leading experts in their field, and cultivating resilience.

For the AAI, we select Scholars who have lost one or both parents, who are academically excellent, and who have a clear kokorozashi , or heartfelt goal, to enact positive change in sub-Saharan Africa after graduation. All of the seven students who graduated this year have taken positive first steps in their leadership journey, from securing meaningful, impactful jobs on the continent, to scholarships for further studies in their field.

Our team also adapted well to the challenges posed by Covid-19, from the day-to-day of remote working to the bigger picture of reimagining our partnership work. I am delighted to be able to announce two new agreements, with the University of York and the University of Warwick, worth nearly £5 million over the next six years. Under these agreements the universities will meet the tuition fees for 33 and 25 UK AAI Scholars, respectively.

It is also with great pleasure that we have welcomed Professor ‘Funmi Olonisakin onto our board. Professor Olonisakin brings great experience and expertise to our board, having been a founding member of the African Leadership Centre at Kings and having served as one of seven members of the Advisory Group of Experts on the Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture, appointed by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

While I am very proud of the achievements of our Scholars, Graduates, and staff I know that we are only a short way into our journey. The next stage of our journey is the most critical: engaging others to join our work. I invite you to join our movement and empower the next generation of compassionate young leaders for Africa.

Michael Rivera King

A Message from our Director

A Message from a Scholar

I was raised by my mother as my father passed away when I was five years old. I witnessed the struggles that my mother went through to ensure that we did not sleep with an empty stomach, from working as a temporary teacher, being a street vendor, and struggling through a period of unemployment.

I completed my high school with a dream. My kokorozashi (heartfelt goal) is to reduce youth unemployment in Botswana through entrepreneurship. In my country many youth have the desire to start their own business, to create employment for others, but most of them just do not know where to start. For those who are able to start, many end up failing along the way as they don’t understand the management and risks that come with running a business.

For me, the first step in achieving my dream was to study Actuarial Science at university. There is a government scholarship in Botswana for ‘top achievers’ to study abroad, which I had to do as the University of Botswana does not offer Actuarial Science. Unfortunately, as hard as I studied, I also had to do a lot to support my mother and my family, and I was not selected for this programme. However, I did not let my dream die and began my studies at the University of Botswana, in a BSc in Mathematics with Finance. Before going to university, and when I was at university, I used to sell sweets and wash and polish people’s cars at the malls in order to generate money. This is because I did not want to trouble my mother with money as I knew how our situation was at home. I used this money for transport, especially to go to church, to do the extra things I wanted for myself and to buy electricity and other necessary things at home. It was not much but my mother said that it was really helpful. It’s through this small business that my interest in helping entrepreneurs grew more.

While I am studying, I am also working on a project, my Ashinaga proposal, that addresses my kokorozashi , tackling youth unemployment in Botswana. My research so far is focused on better understanding the problem so that I can find a solution. Through studying Actuarial Science, I am also beginning to understand the concepts of risk management and insurance. I believe I will be able to use this knowledge in the future and communicate it to the young Batswana entrepreneurs.

After graduation I want to use the skills and knowledge I am gaining from Ashinaga, my university, my course, and from the internships I intend to do while in the UK. I am currently doing an internship virtually with DOWA, Doing Good Work in Africa, which has been helping me understand how I can contribute to the development of our continent.

I am really grateful for Ashinaga, who are so passionate to see us grow and develop. The mentorship from Ashinaga has been a good motivation for me to keep focused and achieve my dream.

Winter Pule

My journey with Ashinaga started in 2018. To me Ashinaga is a family and my blessing from God. I went through all the stages of the application and interview process with a strong assurance inside me that I will get the scholarship. It was not easy, but I made sure to give my best.

Ashinaga is giving me all the support I need to achieve my goals and to develop into a professional future leader of Botswana and Africa. Through the financial, academic and emotional support that Ashinaga provides me with, I am now studying the course of my dreams, Actuarial Science, at the University of East Anglia in the UK. The journey has been challenging because of Covid but amazing so far due to the support I get from my university and Ashinaga. Just a month ago I completed my first year with top results.

Introducing our Trustees

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Noriko Tominaga-Carpentier
Noriko Carpentier-Tominaga joined the Board
of Trustees of Ashinaga Association in the UK in
February 2017. Noriko is also a board member of
the Ashinaga Foundation. Based in Paris, Noriko
works to strengthen French-Japanese economic
relationships as Deleguee Generale of the Comite
d’Echanges Franco-Japonais. Working with companies
seeking broader and deeper connections, Noriko
cares about the interests of each of them and
tries to offer a variety of activities to facilitate
them developing their business. Noriko’s focus
for Ashinaga is to support the development of
professional opportunities for alumni to enable
them to contribute to African development.
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Yukie Seki
Yukie Seki has been on the Board of Ashinaga
Association in the UK since February 2017.
Yukie works as the secretary general of the
Ashinaga Foundation, where she is also a
member of the board, with responsibility for
international activities. Before joining Ashinaga,
Yukie worked at Hewlett Packard as the
Business Manager and Corporate Director.
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‘Funmi Olonisakin
Professor ‘Funmi Olonisakin joined the Ashinaga
UK Board of Trustees in August 2020. Professor
Olonisakin is Vice-President and Vice-Principal
International and Professor of Security, Leadership
and Development at King’s College London, where
she founded the African Leadership Centre. She
was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-
General, Ban Ki-moon, as one of seven members
of the Advisory Group of Experts (AGE) on the
Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding
Architecture. Professor Olonisakin also serves
on the board of the Centre for Humanitarian
Dialogue and chairs the Africa Regional Advisory
Committee of the Open Society Foundation.
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Yoshiomi Tamai
Yoshiomi Tamai joined the Board of Trustees of
Ashinaga Association in the UK in February 2017.
Yoshiomi Tamai is the founder and president
of the Ashinaga Foundation. After losing his
mother in a traffic accident over fifty years ago, he
became passionate about working to support the
educational and emotional needs of orphans who
lost their parents in traffic accidents. He founded
an organisation, Ashinaga, that gave scholarships
to these orphans before extending the support
to all children who have lost one or both parents.
Tamai’s work has been recognized with numerous
awards, including the Global Fundraising award
and, most recently, the Goto Shinpei award.
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Eric Thomas
Sir Eric Thomas joined the Board of Trustees of
Ashinaga Association in the UK in February 2018.
Sir Eric was Vice-Chancellor of the University
of Bristol from 2001 to 2015, and President of
Universities UK, the body that represents all UK
universities, from 2011 to 2013. His childhood
was in the North-East of England, and he
qualified as a medical doctor in 1976 from the
University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He trained as
a gynaecologist and was Professor of Obstetrics
and Gynaecology at the University of Southampton
from 1991 to 2001. He was Dean of Medicine
there from 1995 to 2000. He currently has a
number of charitable trustee roles in the UK.
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Michael Rivera King
Dr Michael Rivera King joined the Board of Trustees
of Ashinaga Association in the UK in February 2017.
Michael completed his doctorate at the University
of Oxford before publishing a book on alternative
care and social work in Japan. Prior to this, Michael
set up a volunteer organisation, Smile Kids Japan,
to promote local, sustainable volunteering at
child welfare institutions, and raised $900,000 for
children affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake
and tsunami. Michael also advised the Japanese
Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare on the
2016 revisions to the Child Welfare Act that
promoted family-based foster care and adoption.
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Objectives and Activities

Purpose as set out in governing document.

The charity’s objects (“Objects”) are specifically restricted to the following:

a advancing the education of Orphans anywhere in the world but, in particular, in sub-Saharan Africa (or any part thereof) including (but without limitation) by:

i. providing scholarships, grants and loans to Orphans to meet expenses associated with education (including course fees, travel and maintenance and subsistence expenses);

ii. providing educational and professional guidance and mentoring, emotional and moral support to Orphans; b) supporting community and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa (or any part thereof) by supporting and facilitating Orphans’ education with a view to:

i. developing their leadership skills and capacity; ii. fostering enthusiasm and tolerance, individual

and community selfconfidence, and

engendering respect for individuality, difference and the importance of teamwork; and

iii. using their education and skills to the benefit of their communities (whether national, regional or local) within sub-Saharan Africa;
c) the prevention or relief of poverty or financial hardship in sub-Saharan Africa (or any part thereof) by providing or assisting in the provision of education and training; and
d) such other exclusively charitable purposes as the directors may from time to time think fit.

Nothing in the articles shall authorise an application of the property of the charity for purposes which are not charitable in accordance with section 7 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and/or section 2 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008.

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Ashinaga Association in the UK Annual Report 2020/2021
Page section hereObjectives and activities
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Main activities related to these purposes

Ashinaga Africa Initiative: Young Leaders for Africa

Ashinaga Association in the UK works closely with the Ashinaga Foundation, Japan, and Ashinaga offices in Uganda, Senegal, United States of America, France, and Brazil on the ‘Ashinaga Africa Initiative’.

The mission of the AAI is to contribute to sub-Saharan Africa’s expanding role in global development by increasing access to higher education abroad. Ashinaga supports orphaned students who are committed to returning home, or to the region of sub-Saharan Africa, to initiate change, innovation, or development.

The Ashinaga Africa Initiative (AAI) is an international leadership programme that cultivates the next generation of leaders to contribute to the development of sub-Saharan Africa.

AAI Scholars are orphaned students who are committed to returning to sub-Saharan Africa to initiate change, innovation, and development. Each year, Ashinaga aims to select one AAI Scholar from each country in sub-Saharan Africa.

Ashinaga provides financial support for international university degrees, along with leadership training and support to develop Scholars into compassionate changemakers. After graduation, Scholars return to sub-Saharan Africa, empowered to turn their vision into reality.

Ashinaga in Africa

The first stage of this programme is the recruitment and selection of Candidates. This is conducted by the Ashinaga Foundation.

Selected Candidates then complete a year-long programme in Senegal, for Francophone Scholars, or Uganda, for Lusophone and Anglophone Scholars. This centres around a six-month study camp, focused on academic development and university relations, and a two-month prep camp, focused on socio-cultural preparation. Both camps also focus on leadership development. This year travel restrictions have meant that much of this work had to be delivered online.

Ashinaga Association in the UK

The UK office first engages with potential Candidates during the end of the recruitment stage. We provide feedback on applicants based on our evaluation and their suitability for studying in the UK and of their suitability for the AAI’s mission. Once selected, we work with the Candidates on which universities they will apply to and to confirm that their academic plans will enable them to achieve the impact they want to have after graduation.

The vast majority of our work occurs once the Scholars have arrived in the UK. There are three threads to the Ashinaga Africa Initiative: a leadership development programme, a full scholarship for university, and holistic support for the Scholars.

The leadership work is structured on our leadership development framework. This cultivates leadership skills across professional, personal, and academic fields and underpins our work with the Scholars. As part of this programme, Scholars are required to complete an internship in Africa and an ‘Ashinaga Proposal’. The latter sees the Scholar identify an issue in their community, country, or region, and lay out a wellresearched, structured proposal on how to address it – either as a social entrepreneurship plan or as an advocacy paper. In addition to helping Scholars develop a network and new skills, the internship and Proposal ensure a close bond with Africa is maintained.

The highlight of the year is our annual tsudoi (camp) focused on leadership development. As well as structured programming, this three-day camp develops a strong cohort mentality, facilitating peer-to-peer support networks. To date in the UK, we have never had a Scholar fail to gain entrance to university and no Scholar has failed or left the programme. The role that Scholars play in supporting one another, above and beyond the support we provide, undoubtedly contributes to their success.

Broadly, our work can be divided into three categories: student-facing, external, and administrative. Our student-facing work focuses on cultivating leadership, developing programming, and supporting our students holistically. This work is the heart of what we do: cultivating young African leaders who will determine the development needs of their continent and gain skills to develop innovative means of addressing them.

Our external work covers our work with universities, along with our fundraising and communications efforts. Our new partnerships with the University of York and the University of Warwick are transformative in their impact of our work. These partnerships have reduced the cost of a Scholar completing the AAI in the UK by 62% and paved the way for more Scholars

to study here. In addition to these new partnerships, we are very proud to have agreements with the University of Bristol, the University of Portsmouth, the University of Edinburgh, University College London, the University of Central Lancashire, and Royal Holloway. We also want to thank Kaplan International Pathways for their invaluable support of our work at the University of York, where Scholars entering via the foundation pathway will also have their fees covered. Finally, we are grateful to King’s College London, which hosts our annual leadership camp for free.

Our fundraising and communications work this year has focused on establishing a platform to broaden awareness of our work and to start to fundraise. We are grateful to the support of Herbert Smith Freehills, who have provided us with pro-bono legal support, mentored our Scholars and Graduates, and donated money to Ashinaga UK, Ashinaga France, and Ashinaga Foundation, Japan. We are also grateful to the JET Alumni Association UK and the Japan Society, for nominating us as their charity to support. Finally, we are grateful to every donor and fundraiser who supported our fundraising campaigns this year – from juggling footballs to running marathons, thank you all for your incredible support!

to when reviewing the organisation’s aims and when planning future activities and the Trustees are satisfied that the work carried out by the charity complies with the public benefit requirements set out by the Commission.

Activities, projects, services in the period

As outlined previously, our work in this period centred on the Ashinaga Africa Initiative, with a focus on building new partnerships with universities, improving the content of our leadership programme, and building our fundraising capacity. This work is assessed in the following section. There were no additional projects or services offered in this period.

The final category of work is administrative. This year we have made significant changes in practice that will reduce staff time spent on ‘back-office’ work. We continue to work to reduce time spent on this to ensure we are as efficient as possible.

Our work with our beneficiaries is assessed as part of a comprehensive Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) system. This tracks both the impact of our work with Scholars and in turn the impact that Graduates have in sub-Saharan Africa.

Our final goal is not the Scholars’ education, but that through education and training the Scholars will be equipped to initiate change, innovation, and development in sub-Saharan Africa. As such, it is ultimately not us who defines the aim of this work, but the Scholars, who have a deeper knowledge of the challenges their communities, countries, and regions face. This ‘pay it forward’ philosophy empowers the Scholars to initiate change on their own terms.

Confirmation that purposes are for the public benefit, having had regard to Charity Commission guidance on this

Ashinaga Association in the UK was entered on the Register of Charities on the 6th of June 2019 (Registered charity number 1183750). The Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit has been referred

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Achievements and Performance

Our main achievements in the period

The board of trustees are very happy with the progress made in 2020-2021, which marks a transition from establishing foundations to building upwards. In 2020 the board approved a three-year strategy, which guided our work during this fiscal year. Our primary target was to reduce the total cost to Ashinaga (including overheads) of a student completing the AAI by over 50% within three years. With the new partnerships with the University of York and the University of Warwick, which reduce costs by 62%, we have already achieved this goal. Our second key three-year strategic goal, to further develop our comprehensive, holistic student programming, has seen good progress and is ongoing.

In addition to the successes with these longer-term objectives we hit all our key objectives for the year and did so well under our anticipated budget. The board are confident in the future direction of the charity and the team’s ability to implement these plans. Taking each of our strands of work in turn:

Our Student-facing work covers Student Relations, Programming, and university support for Candidates and Scholars. For our Student Relations work our main objectives were: all Scholars progressed to the next academic year; 2019 Scholars successfully transitioned to life in the UK; seven students graduated and are well supported in their transition out of the programme; and that all relevant staff completed mental health first aid (MHFA) training. All of these objectives were achieved, with the exception of two staff members whose MHFA training was postponed to 2021-2022 due to Covid-19 impacting on course delivery.

For our Programming work, our objectives were: to redevelop the ‘Ashinaga Proposal’ for all Ashinaga offices; to start to customise the new AAI curriculum to fit the UK context; and to work on the support delivered in the final year of the programme.

Two UK staff members were responsible for pioneering an AAI-wide upgrade to the ‘Ashinaga Proposal’ framework. Under the new framework Scholars can choose between developing an implementable social project, through the Social Entrepreneurship track, or proposing recommendations for change to decision makers, through the Advocacy track. The new Ashinaga Proposal framework will encourage Scholars to remain connected to the continent by building networks and relevant experience, as well as gaining transferable skills and developing an innovative mindset to approaching problems. Finally, Scholars’ participation in researching real-world issues and

proposing solutions will directly touch upon skills in the AAI’s Leadership Development Framework, which underpins all our programme delivery.

One of our first steps in customising the AAI curriculum was creating a new tracking spreadsheet that allows students to regularly self-evaluate and track their progress in each skill on the AAI Leadership Development Framework. This approach took into account Scholars’ feedback on our previous method of data collection as well as our broader approach of coaching self-development, rather than doing things ‘for’ Scholars. In this new model we coach Scholars to set 3-5 tangible goals every few months and conduct a review of each goal at the end of that period. We trialled this in January 2021 and have received positive feedback from Scholars, who feel that this new format allows them to easily visualize their own progress in a select few leadership development skills. Self-reflection is an essential component of the AAI curriculum, and we are confident that this new approach will meet the Scholars’ needs here.

Our work on the support delivered to final year Scholars this year was two-fold. First, we worked with each individual graduating Scholar on their postgraduation plans and the steps they needed to make to achieve their dreams. Second, on a programme level, we invested time in further developing ‘Ashinaga Connect’, a platform that facilitates cross-office, cross-cohort, Scholar and Graduate communication. This platform now has a postgraduate scholarship board, as well as internship and job opportunities.

The two largest events in the Scholar-facing calendar are the orientation for new Scholars upon arrival, and the tsudoi (leadership camp). Two new Scholars from cohort six travelled to the UK in September. Although both had to go through a self-isolation period, they were able to arrive and start their online studies through their universities. Orientation was conducted virtually during the self-isolation period and older Scholars volunteered to prepare parts of the content and answer questions from the new Scholars.

Our online tsudoi was held between the 21st and 23rd of December 2020. We invited Estelle Bougna Fomeju, founder of Tissi Consulting, to host a workshop regarding identity in leadership. Students explored the process of developing a clearer sense of self in the context of leadership and discussed how antiracism and cultural inclusion affect leadership. We also had other Ashinaga staff members conduct sessions on career development and soft skills such as time management and communication. Time was allocated to announce the new stipend system and the abolishment of the forgivable loan, to which Scholars responded positively. Finally, a significant amount of time was dedicated

to the Ashinaga Proposal. Scholars in their final year had an opportunity to present on the evolution of their work as this would be their final tsudoi , while younger Scholars also took part in workshops to help integrate Scholars into the new Ashinaga Proposal system. Despite the challenges online delivery posed, both orientation and tsudoi were successful and received very positive feedback from Scholars.

Due to Covid-19 and travel restrictions, we, along with HQ, determined that we would not be able to fund any internships in sub-Saharan Africa during the summer of 2020. In order to support the Scholars’ development over the summer lockdown, we created a summer goal-setting document and asked each Scholar to identify which skills they wanted to develop and how. One Scholar, for example, chose to take multiple online courses to earn certificates in hard skills that would help boost their CV.

As part of our ongoing work to incorporate Scholars’ feedback into our work and programming, we revised our stipend system to give Scholars more control of their finances. This new system, which will start in September 2021, gives Scholars much more flexibility over where they live and how they choose to spend their stipends. We are grateful to the Scholars for always sharing with us their thoughts on areas they think we can improve, and will continue to seek new ways to respond to and incorporate Scholars’ ideas into our work. Other work completed by the student-facing team includes a method for anonymously tracking student wellbeing across all offices and the creation of an extensive ‘homework pack’ for Candidates to complete during the preparation camp in Uganda, prior to arrival in the UK. This 130-page handbook replaced the work we normally do in person with Candidates in Uganda, with travel impossible this summer.

Finally, we provided Candidates, Scholars, and Graduates with university-related support. First, we worked with Candidates studying with the Uganda office to confirm that their academic plans would allow them to have the impact they wanted post-graduation, and on the list of universities they would apply to. All six Candidates have now received unconditional offers for September 2021 at a partner university or foundation course. We also worked with the first-year students who were doing foundation programmes in the UK on their university progression. Three of the four students progressed to their first-choice universities, with the fourth student successfully entering their back-up choice. Finally, we supported final-year Scholars and Graduates with their applications for master’s programmes and funding. So far three AAI Graduates have secured Commonwealth Scholarships for their postgraduate studies in the UK, and one has secured MasterCard Funding for their

postgraduate studies in Canada. The academic year was rounded off by a wonderful virtual graduation ceremony that younger Scholars held for our seven Graduates.

Our External work covers three broad areas: University Relations, Fundraising, and Communications.

This year we signed two new long-term partnerships, with the University of York and the University of Warwick. Under the agreement with the University of York, three Scholars will enter in September 2021 and then six Scholars will enter per year for the following five years. Of these Scholars, four will enter via the foundation pathway with Kaplan and two will enter undergraduate directly. Under the agreement with the University of Warwick, five Scholars will enter per year for five years, of whom four will enter via Warwick’s foundation pathway. This agreement will commence in September 2022. Under both agreements AAI Scholars will have to gain admission through the standard admission processes. These agreements will see Ashinaga making a donation to the universities, to be used for AAI Scholars’ stipends, and the universities will waive the tuition fee. Earlier in the year we also signed a partnership with University College London, for a joint tuition scholarship on an ad hoc basis for AAI Scholars.

Our university partners have pledged over £5.85 million in support towards UK-based AAI Scholars, of which £170,770 was received in 2020-2021.

We launched our first ever fundraising campaign in February 2020, a campaign that had to be rapidly revised after the outbreak of Covid-19. While we did not quite reach our initial target of £30,000, we did raise £18,000 for the UK office along with a further 5,800 Euros for Ashinaga France and 5,000 US Dollars for Ashinaga Foundation, Japan, totalling just over £26,600.

We are very proud to have secured pro-bono legal support from Herbert Smith Freehills, who have also provided mentorship to our Scholars and Graduates, along with donations to Ashinaga UK, Ashinaga France, and Ashinaga Foundation. We also gained a Google advertising grant, worth up to $120,000, and worked with Ashinaga Foundation to ensure that other offices are also able to benefit from this. In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, we used £39,158 of this grant, which is recorded in our financial statements as ‘In kind support’.

Our fundraising work has shifted in focus since January 2021. After an extensive feasibility assessment which included internal consultations, analysis of last

year’s activities and input from an expert fundraiser, we decided to change our fundraising strategy. The new strategy will take a more focused approach to fundraising for Ashinaga internationally, specifically building funding partnerships with organisations aligned with Ashinaga’s mission and values and based in key donor markets: the UK, the USA, and the EU. As part of the new strategy, we will also develop a new case for support for Ashinaga’s impact internationally. There are two key reasons why we are doing this. First, the ‘Case for Support’ is much stronger when we are discussing 9,500 students supported globally, rather than the 23 in the UK. Second, this approach allows us to capture all of Ashinaga’s funding needs, create a larger portfolio of fundraising projects and widen the scope of applicable grants and interested companies.

Our Communications work has focused on increasing our brand awareness with relevant audiences in the UK. To this end, we ran four campaigns in 2020-2021: The 2.6 Challenge; I Know Someone Who…; Access to Education for All; and African Heroes. Two of these were tied with fundraising efforts. The first of these saw us join a nationwide campaign responding to the cancellation of the London Marathon. We encouraged people to join in fundraising activities themed on ‘2.6’. One highlight of this campaign was one of our Scholars beating our director in a football juggling challenge!

Our Administrative work this year has had several focal points. The first was to improve work processes, reducing staff time spent on administration. We have created new systems to simplify payments to Scholars and the administrative process that tracks Scholar funding. We also proposed changes to the Terms and Conditions that led to these being simplified, which benefits Scholars and staff. Other work included ensuring governance mechanisms remained strong, GDPR compliance, and establishing HR goals around staff development and progression. We have also started the process of reviewing all forms that Scholars have to submit to ensure these are as streamlined as possible.

Finally, there are two other types of work that we are currently exploring. The first is establishing a master’s programme for Japanese students of single or no-parent families to study in the UK. The second is to provide leadership development services to universities. Both of these activities will be developed further in 2021-2022.

The aim of the I Know Someone Who… campaign was to introduce our Scholars and their ambitions to the world, to help our audience in the UK and beyond relate to them and their ambitions. Our Access to Education for All campaign was focused on advocacy and sharing expertise. We were delighted to welcome Dr Joanna Newman, the secretary-general of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, and Professor ‘Funmi Olonisakin, Vice-President and Vice-Principal International at King’s College London, to join one AAI UK Scholar and one AAI Graduate in a webinar titled ‘The World in Crisis: Does International Access to Education Still Matter?’ We also shared our expertise in applying to universities in the UK to those in the African continent and beyond. As part of this, we held a webinar with the University of Edinburgh and the University of Bristol on ‘How to Make a Successful International Application to a UK University’. These two webinars had over 5,000 views and generated significant interest in our work.

As part of our communications work, we overhauled and updated our website to reflect our new focus. We are also revising the communications strategy, which will shift towards supporting our more targeted fundraising approach. The new communications strategy will support building Ashinaga’s profile among international donors in key donor markets.

Impact on beneficiaries

Our impact assessment work focuses both on the impact of our work with Scholars and the impact Graduates have on sub-Saharan Africa.

In our programme, Scholars can remain overseas for up to four years before returning to subSaharan Africa. This enables them to pursue further study or gain professional experience.

Looking first at our graduates’ impact : our first two Scholars graduated in the summer of 2019, with a further seven Scholars graduating in the summer of 2020. Of these Graduates, four are in sub-Saharan Africa and five are in the UK. Of the four in Africa, all are working at a high level in their chosen field, of politics, health, and engineering.

Four of the nine Graduates have either started a master’s or are due to start in 2021, with two gaining a Commonwealth Scholarship. Of the Graduates who are in the UK and working, one has a graduate job in an international engineering firm that does a significant amount of work in Uganda, one is working to provide for their family, and two are working to save for their master’s degree, to start in 2021.

Turning next to the impact of our work on AAI Scholars , our monitoring, evaluation, and learning framework tracks development over their personal, professional, and academic fields, as well as anonymously looking at the overall wellbeing of AAI Scholars. Before this stage we first evaluate the calibre of Scholars accepted onto the programme. All of the UK-bound Candidates who started university in 2020-2021 received an unconditional offer from their first-choice university.

The wellbeing of AAI Scholars in the UK, which is assessed anonymously on an externally-validated survey, AAI Scholars in the UK scored above the national average for wellbeing. This is surprising, given that many of our Scholars have challenging or traumatic backgrounds, and speaks to the work of the UK team in supporting the Scholars and the strength of the peerto-peer support network among Scholars. We have revisited mental health as a topic annually with our Scholars and have created a space where Scholars feel comfortable discussing their wellbeing with staff, peers and most importantly with professional counsellors.

The second component we consider is the level of confidence AAI Scholars have in fulfilling the AAI mission. Here we performed worse than expected and are looking at ways we can improve our Scholars’ confidence for next year.

The academic performance of AAI Scholars is evaluated by the number of Scholars who achieve a First, the number who achieve a First or Upper Second, the

The Ashinaga Proposals are increasingly moving from a theoretical exercise to projects that Scholars plan on implementing upon graduation. Projects that Scholars have already launched include:

Using affordable technology to widen access to science materials for those from disadvantaged regions in Ethiopia. This is a critical bottleneck that has limited access to government scholarships.

number who pass the year, and the number who graduate. This report draws on the data for the end of the 2019-2020 academic year. Of the UK Scholars doing an undergraduate course (i.e. excluding the three in foundation programmes), 40% achieved a First for the year and a further 52% achieved a 2:1. Finally, all UK Scholars passed the academic year and all in their final year successfully graduated. This is all the more impressive when we consider that 86% of the Scholars are enrolled in one of the top 500 universities worldwide.

While UK Scholars’ academic performance was not too impacted by the pandemic, the lockdown had a greater impact on Scholars’ ability to undertake inperson activities to develop their professional skills, such as internships. We have encouraged Scholars to engage in remote internships and other online activities, such as professional courses, to help fill this gap. Other Scholars have used this time to focus on their personal development and Ashinaga Proposal.

The most notable improvement this year across UK Scholars has come in the Ashinaga Proposals, in which Scholars identify an issue in their community, country, or region, and lay out a well-researched, structured proposal on how to address it – either as a social entrepreneurship plan or as an advocacy paper. At various points throughout their journey, the Scholars present their Proposals to their peers, staff, and external experts. UK Scholars’ Proposals cover topics that span almost all the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including:

Setting up a peer-support group for burn victims in Mauritius, where there is no psycho-social care postsurgery.
Establishing a Foundation in The Gambia to improve maternal health outcomes.

In addition, one Graduate has been invited to submit their Proposal, on addressing the issues that disabled students in Namibia face in accessing school, to the President of Namibia’s office.

When considering the positive impact of our work with Scholars and of our Graduates it is important that we pause to remember the background of our Scholars. All are from single or no-parent families and all have overcome significant hardship to get to where they are today. From growing up in an orphanage to being a refugee of a civil war, even just adjusting to the UK as an international student, the UK Scholars have a different ‘start line’ from their peers. The quality of Scholar and Graduate outcomes speaks to both their excellence and to the quality of support provided. Our role is to help these young people realise their potential, to give them the leadership skills they need to make a significant contribution to sub-Saharan Africa. While there are elements we can still improve, such as the Scholars’ confidence, this year has been a tremendously positive one in terms of impact.

Using robotics and AI to replace child labour on Cocoa Farms in the Ivory Coast
Using ‘ATMs’ to address non-compliance of HIV medication in Benin
Empowering women’s co-operatives by introducing collectively owned machines
Reducing child marriage in Malawi
Empowering more women to enter STEM degrees and careers in Mauritius
Providing support, information, and legal advice to victims of sexual assault in Lesotho
Improving maternal health outcomes in Ethiopia

“I am a passionate and ambitious law student who is hoping to work in the field of international human rights law and actively advocate against sexual violence against women and girls. Having Ashinaga’s support has been, and continues to be, of great help to me not only because of the opportunity it granted me to study at one of the leading universities in law, University of Edinburgh, but also because it enabled me to exemplify a black African girl that can dream and achieve, despite being raised in a community not supportive of the idea.”

Tlalane

“Losing my mother during childbirth shifted my focus from wanting to be a journalist to having a deeper understanding

of the socioeconomic, political, geographical and cultural determinants of poor health in The Gambia. Ashinaga has been the greatest driving force in achieving my dream of being a Global Health specialist by giving me the opportunity to study in one of the world’s best Universities, training me to be a better leader and helping me grow to the best version of myself.”

Mariama

“Everyone has a story but not everyone can tell it. I want to be a journalist so that I can help girls and women who are marginalised in Tanzania. Ashinaga has provided me with the intellectual and emotional support to hone my journalist skills and fulfil my potential.”

Nanyori

Our Graduates

Mokhele Comfort Allan

Kristoph

Idriss

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Gaelle
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Eyerusalem
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OUR PLANS

Ashinaga UK visit to the University of York, where we met Vice-Chancellor Professor Charlie Jeffery & Provost Professor Saul Tendler

Our Plans

At the end of 2019-2020 the UK board approved a threeyear strategy for the period 2020-2023. The primary goals of this were to (i) meet the objectives of the Ashinaga Africa Initiative (AAI) (ii) in a financially sustainable manner. Our key financial target was to reduce the total cost to Ashinaga (including overheads) of a student completing the AAI by over 50% within three years.

With the new partnerships agreed with the University of Warwick and the University of York we have already achieved this three-year goal, with direct student costs reduced by 62% .

As we have made such good progress here, we are currently revising our three-year strategy, which will be presented to the UK board in the 2021 summer board meeting. The goals for the ‘internal facing’ work will not change and the team are working on creating and implementing a more comprehensive and holistic leadership programme. The success of this will be measured though our Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning system.

This change has been agreed with all Ashinaga offices and allows us to present a significantly stronger ‘Case for Support’. Ashinaga supports over 9,500 Scholars around the world, with programmes spanning from primary school education in Uganda to master’s level support in Japan. With this shift, there is now less of an urgent need to build a broad awareness of our work in the UK so we will be refocusing our work here from general work on social media to more tailored PR and communications.

Within administrative work we will invest in staff training to allow us to start bringing in some of the work that is currently outsourced, allowing us to reduce costs. This is part of a broader drive to develop staff capacity across all aspects of our work and invest in our team members’ professional development.

Finally, with Governance we will look to add a Graduate of our programme to our board to increase the voice of our beneficiaries at all levels of our organisation.

The most significant change comes with the fundraising and communications teams. Previously these had a narrowly-defined focus, of fundraising for the UK and raising awareness of our work within the UK context. As noted previously, the fundraising team will now fundraise for all of Ashinaga’s international work and support fundraising activities in all the Ashinaga offices. Specifically, the fundraising team is focusing on partnership work, with corporates and foundations.

Structure, Governance and Management

Our governing document

Ashinaga Association in the UK is registered as a private company, limited by guarantee (10634278), and with the Charities Commission (1183750). Our governing document is our Articles of Association. This document is available from Companies House.

How our organisation is constituted

Ashinaga Association in the UK works closely with the Ashinaga Foundation, based in Japan, and the Ashinaga offices in Uganda, Senegal, France, America, and Brazil. The Ashinaga Foundation has provided seed-funding for these offices, including our own, to undertake their work and to establish a self-sustaining model over time. Yoshiomi Tamai, a UK board member, is the founder of the Ashinaga Foundation. Noriko Tominaga-Carpentier and Yukie Seki are also members of both the UK and Japanese boards. Sir Eric Thomas is a member of the UK board and a member of the Kenjin-Tatsujin advisory board.

Methods for recruiting and appointing new trustees, including any constitutional provisions

The trustees of the charity shall be as follows:

Up to five persons (willing to act as trustees) appointed by ordinary resolution;
Up to two persons (willing to act as trustees) appointed by Ashinaga Japan from time to time by written notice to the charity;
Up to two persons with expertise, knowledge or connections of particular value to the charity in furthering its objects (willing to act as trustees) appointed by trustees; and
Up to two persons (willing to act as trustees) appointed by the trustees from time to time.

The Board regularly reviews the skills present within its members, and where any gaps lie, and works with the Ashinaga Foundation to ensure the effectiveness of the makeup of the Board. Full details of the Appointment process may be found in our Articles of Association.

Training is offered on a continual basis to all Trustees to assist them in their role and governance of the Charity.

Day-to-day managerial responsibility is delegated to the Chief Executive Officer.

Ashinaga is also a member of the HALI (High-Achieving Low-Income) Access Network. The HALI Access Network is an association of non-profit organizations in Africa that work with high-achieving, low-income (HALI) students to access international higher education opportunities. HALI strives to level the playing field in international education to increase inclusion, access and scholarship support for remarkable students who only lack finances to make their educational dreams come true. HALI believes in the power of education to change communities, and in the impact our students have on college and university campuses.

Financial Review

Ashinaga Association in the UK achieved all its key targets for the 2020-2021 fiscal year and its 2023 financial target for reducing costs. These goals were achieved well under the anticipated budget. The board are delighted with the achievements of this fiscal year and feel that the charity is very well positioned to take the next steps in its growth.

A budget for 2021-2022 has been agreed with Ashinaga Foundation, who will support our activities on an ongoing basis. This support includes a commitment to provide the financial support the organisation needs for at least 12 months from the date of sign off of these financial statements.

The trustees regularly consider and evaluate the risks and uncertainties the charity faces. Some of the challenges posed by Covid-19, addressed in last year’s trustees’ report, remain, most notably on fundraising, though the trustees note that the organisation has managed and adapted well to the new landscape we find ourselves in. We thank the staff members for the flexibility and creativity they have shown in this period. Other risks assessed include that of our beneficiaries, the AAI Scholars, potentially struggling with extended periods of online-only-learning, which is the current mode of delivery of most universities. To address this risk, the student relations team have been checking in more frequently with Scholars on their academic plans and concerns. The Charity also continues to consider the opportunities and associated risks with forming strategic partnerships, in particular with universities, to develop the activities in line with its objects.

The trustees would like to highlight the financial commitments made this year. As noted in the financial statements, see Note 10, this year we entered partnerships with the University of York and University of Warwick. Under these partnerships, the universities will meet the tuition fees for AAI Scholars and Ashinaga UK will provide restricted grants to the universities for use on AAI Scholars’ stipends. These partnerships will reduce the average cost to Ashinaga UK of an AAI Scholar completing the program by 62 per cent. These liabilities were taken on after a full discussion with the Ashinaga Foundation, as the major donor to Ashinaga UK, on the impact of this on our budget. Ashinaga Foundation has agreed to underwrite these grants on behalf of the charitable company. In accordance with the requirements of accounting standards, at the year-end, the charitable company has recognised as liabilities, the contracted value of the commitments made to the universities for the term of the agreements. The benefit of the lack of tuition fees will be recognised over the term of the agreements. This treatment has caused the balance sheet to reflect a net deficit position.

Our reserves policy aims to build up 3 months of operational expenditure, estimated to be approximately £155,000. In making this calculation, the long term commitment to the universities mentioned above is excluded. This policy is underpinned by a letter of support from the Ashinaga Foundation, along with their balance sheet and profit and loss statements. This is based on the trustees’ assessment of the appropriate level of security for the charity’s operations in the event of a reduction or delays to income. They expect the charity’s reserves to build up to this level over the next few years

Remuneration of senior staff members is reviewed on an annual basis by the Board of Trustees.

Statement of trustees’ responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, the trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the income, expenditure and financial activities of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent
state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements
prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies’ exemption.

The Trustees’ Report is signed on behalf of the Board

Dr Michael Rivera King Trustee

27[th] September 2021

“Ashinaga UK is a family to me. It was a privilege to Tsudoi . interact with the scholars especial during They motivated me to focus on my studies and renewed my confidence.

I am look forward to starting my master’s in structural engineering. With more specific and concrete knowledge, I plan to gain professional experience while also networking with the disabled community in my home country to bring my ideas to life.”

Kristoph

Independent Auditors’ Report to the Members of Ashinaga Association in the UK

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Ashinaga Association in the UK for the period ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable laws and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard Applicable in the UK and Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2021 and of its incoming resources and application of resources for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs(UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

the information given in the trustees’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the trustees’ annual report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies exemption in preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and from preparing a Strategic Report.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 26, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below.

Explanation as to what extent the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

The objectives of our audit in respect of fraud, are; to identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud; to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud, through designing and implementing appropriate responses to those assessed risks; and to respond appropriately to instances of fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit. However,

the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both management and those charged with governance of the charitable company.

Our approach was as follows:

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory requirements applicable to the charitable company and considered that the most significant are the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011, the Charity SORP, and UK financial reporting standards as issued by the Financial Reporting Council.
We obtained an understanding of how the charitable company complies with these requirements by discussions with management and those charged with governance.
We assessed the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements, including the risk of material misstatement due to fraud and how it might occur, by holding discussions with management and those charged with governance.
We inquired of management and those charged with governance as to any known instances of non- compliance or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations.
Based on this understanding, we designed specific appropriate audit procedures to identify instances of noncompliance with laws and regulations. This included making enquiries of management and those charged with governance and obtaining additional corroborative evidence as required.

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK) we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:

Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purposes of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the charitable company’s internal control.
Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the trustees.
Conclude on the appropriateness of the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the charitable company to cease to continue as a going concern.
Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken for no purpose other than to draw to the attention of the company’s members those matters which we are required to include in an auditor’s report addressed to them. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to any party other than the company and company’s members as a body, for our work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Mahmood Ramji Senior Statutory Auditor For and on behalf of Moore Kingston Smith LLP, Statutory Auditor

27[th] September 2021

The Shipping Building The Old Vinyl Factory Blyth Road Hayes, London UB3 1HA

Statement of Financial Activities For the year ended 31 March 2021

					Unrestricted	Unrestricted
	Notes	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
		Funds	Funds	Funds	Funds
		2021	2021	2021	2020
		£	£	£	£
Income from:
Donated services
In kind support		39,158	-	39,158		-
Donations		18,434	510,985	529,419	1,728,358
Other income		6,920	-	6,920	41
Total income		64,512	510,985	575,497	1,728,399
Expenditure on:
Fundraising activities			237	237		-
Charitable activities
Student support	2	39,158	2,853,297	2,892,455	590,717
Total expenditure		39,158	2,853,534	2,892,692	590,717
Net income/(expenditure)		25,354	(2,342,549)	(2,317,195)	1,137,682
Fund Balance brought forward
At 1 April 2020		139,771	-	139,771	(997,911)
Fund balance carried forward
At 31 March 2021	11	165,125	(2,342,549)	(2,177,424)	139,771

There were no recognised gains or losses during the year other than the movements shown above. All the above results derive from continuing activities.

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these accounts.

Balance Sheet

As at 31 March 2021

Note Fixed Assets Tangible Assets 5 Current Assets Debtors and prepayments 6 Cash at bank Current Liabilities 7 Net Current Assets Total assets less current liabilities Non-current Liabilities 8 Total Net Assets Total Funds General Unrestricted Funds 11 Restricted Funds 11	2021 £ 45,551 87,109 132,660 (85,307) 165,125 (2,342,549)	2021 £ 3,250 3,250 47,353 50,603 (2,228,027) (2,177,424) (2,177,424) (2,177,424)	2020 £ 61,823 98,463 160,286 (26,597) 139,771 -	2020 £ 6,082
				6,082 133,689 139,771 -
				139,771
				139,771
				139,771

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime.

Approved by the Board and authorised for issue on 27[th] September 2021.

Michael Rivera King, Director

Company registration number: 10634278 (England and Wales)

Statement of Cash Flows For the year ended 31 March 2021

Note Cash fows from operating activities Cash absorbed by operations 13 Investing activities Purchase of tangible fxed assets Net cash used in investing activities Financing activities Borrowing Net cash generated from fnancing activities Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	2021 £ - -	2021 £ (11,354) - - (11,354) 98,463 87,109	2020 £ (4,988) -	2020 £ 58,866 (4,988) -
				53,878 44,585
				98,463

Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 March 2021

1 Accounting Policies

1.1 Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). The incorporated private company is a public benefit entity for the purposes of FRS 102 and a registered charity (charity number 1183750) established as a company limited by guarantee (company number 10634278) and therefore has also prepared its financial statements in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (The FRS 102 Charities SORP), the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011. The company’s registered office address is 13/14 Cornwall Terrace, Outer Circle, Marylebone, London, NW1 4QP.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest pound.

1.3 Income and Expenditure

All income in the Statement of Financial Activities is shown gross of the associated costs and is accounted for where there is entitlement to the income, it is probable that the benefits associated with it will flow to the charitable company and it can be reliably measured.

In kind support is recognised as income when the following criteria are met:

Entitlement – Control over the expected economic benefits that flow from the donation has passed to the charity and any performance related conditions attached to the donation have been fully met.
- Probable – It is more likely than not that the economic benefits associated with the donated item will flow to the charity.
Measurement – The fair value or value to the charity of the donated item can be measured reliably.

1.4 Expenditure

1.2 Going concern

The charitable company generated a deficit of £2,317,195 in the year ended 31 March 2021, resulting in a balance sheet with net liabilities at the year-end of £2,177,424. The key element of expenditure are committed donations to Universities of £2,285,750, which will be payable over several years. This commitment, in particular, will be supported by Ashinaga Foundation Japan, the ultimate controlling party.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been significant. From an operational perspective, the charitable company has amended plans for orphans it supports given social distancing and travel restrictions, and revised methods of learning by education institutions. The directors of the charitable company expect to continue to meet the charitable objectives.

A confirmation has been received from Ashinaga Foundation in Japan that it will continue to financially support Ashinaga Association in the UK for a period of at least one year from the date of the approval of these financial statements. Donations from Ashinaga in Japan has been the primary source of income for the charity. As a result the directors believe that the charitable company will be able to continue to meet its liabilities as they fall due for a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of the financial statements. Accordingly, the company has adopted the going concern basis of accounting.

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been allocated on the bases indicated below:

Governance costs include those incurred in the governance of the company and are primarily associated with constitutional compliance and statutory requirements.

Costs are allocated to direct expenditure where they relate directly to the pursuit of the objectives. Non specific administrative costs are allocated to other expenditure.

1.5 Fixed Assets and Depreciation

Tangible fixed assets anticipated to have a useful life extending beyond the period end are capitalised and included at cost. Depreciation is provided on fixed assets at rates which will write off the cost of the assets over their useful effective lives on a straight line basis.

The effective lives are: Furniture, fixtures and equipment - 5 years. Computer equipment - 3 years.

1.6 Investments

Realised and unrealised gains and losses are added to or deducted from the appropriate fund in the Balance Sheet.

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued) For the year ended 31 March 2021

1.7 Cash and cash equivalents

1.12 Government grants

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with bank, and other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.

Government grants are recognised at the fair value of the asset received or receivable when there is reasonable assurance that the grant conditions will be met and the grants will be received.

1.8 Financial instruments

Financial instruments are recognised in the company’s balance sheet when the company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Other financial assets, including investments in equity instruments which are not subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures, are initially measured at fair value, which is normally the transaction price. Such assets are subsequently carried at fair value and the changes in fair value are recognised in profit or loss.

Basic financial liabilities, including trade and other payables and loans from fellow group companies are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest.

1.9 Foreign Currencies

Government grants are recognised as income over the periods when the related costs are incurred.

1.13 Judgements and key sources of estimation purposes

In the application of the company’s accounting policies, the directors are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

There are not considered to be any critical judgements or key sources of estimation which have a significant impact upon the financial statements, apart from the decision to prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis as mentioned above.

Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate ruling at the date of the transaction. All differences are taken to the statement of financial activities.

1.9 Unrestricted Funds

These are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the directors.

1.10 Restricted funds

These are funds which must be used in accordance with the particular terms specified by the donors.

1.11 Unrestricted Funds

These are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the trustees.

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued)

For the year ended 31 March 2021

2 Student support Direct expenditure (note 3 (a)) Support costs (note 3(b)) 3 (a) Direct expenditure Housing costs Subsistence and living costs Other living services Restricted grant (note 10) (b) Support Costs Staf costs Rent Advertising Venue hire Travel and subsistence Stationary Telephone and internet Computer equipment Repairs and maintenance Insurance Recruitment Training Bank charges Legal and professional Depreciation Sundry expenses Governance costs (see below)	2021 £ 2,708,862 183,593 2,892,455 2021 £ 131,060 119,585 172,467 2,285,750 2,708,862 100,987 13,860 39,158 - 40 273 667 726 343 1,369 504 946 545 11,668 2,832 25 9,650 183,593	2020 £ 452,588 138,129
		590,717
		2020 £ 154,212 150,666 147,710 -
		452,588
		78,952 13,805 - 1,575 2,820 1,107 647 691 1,594 1,225 474 4,030 247 17,573 1,844 25 11,520
		138,129

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued) For the year ended 31 March 2021

(c) Governance Costs Auditor's remuneration: - for audit services - for non audit services 4 Staf Costs Wages and salaries Social Security costs Pension costs	2021 £ 9,650 - 9,650 2021 £ 237,172 15,394 12,653 265,219	2019 £ 11,520 -
		11,520
		2020 £ 201,285 14,221 10,716
		226,222

The average monthly number of persons employed by the charitable company during the year was as follows :

	2021	2020
	Number	Number
Administration	6	6

No employees were paid in excess of £60,000.

insurance contributions) received by a trustee, Dr Michael Rivera King for his services as the chief executive officer, to the company was £59,032 (2020: 59,838). This arrangement has been as allowed by the governing document and as notified to the Charity Commission on charity registration.

No trustees' expenses were reimbursed in the current or the prior year.

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued) For the year ended 31 March 2021

5 Fixed Assets

Cost At 1 April 2020 Additions At 31 March 2021 Depreciation At 1 April 2020 Charge for the year At 31 March 2021 Net Book Value At 31 March 2021 At 1 April 2020	£ 709 - 709 (418) (142) (560) 149 291 Furniture and Fixtures	£ 8,527 8,527 (2,766) (2,660) (5,426) 3,101 5,761 Computer equipment	Total £ £ 263 9,499 - - Ofce equipment
			263 9,499
			(233) (3,417) (30) (2,832)
			(263) (6,249)
			- 3,250
			30 6,082

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued)

For the year ended 31 March 2021

6 Debtors and Prepayments Prepayments Other debtors 7 Current Liabilities Trade creditors Other creditors Other taxation and social security Loan from Ashinaga Foundation Accruals 8 Non-current Liabilities Other creditors (note 10)	2021 £ 43,956 1,595 45,551 2021 £ 3,288 59,908 7,597 - 14,514 85,307 2021 £ 2,228,027	2020 £ 60,373 1,450
		61,823
		2020 £ 7,893 3,287 - - 15,417
		26,597
		2020 £ -

9 Retirement benefit schemes

assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charitable company in an independent administered fund.

(2020: £10,716).

£3,280).

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued) For the year ended 31 March 2021

10 Financial commitments, guarantees and contingent liabilities

of students studying in the UK for the rest of the academic year. This financial commitment was estimated to be £42,900 (2020: £67,400).

In 2020-2021 the charitable company signed partnership agreements with the University of York and University of Warwick. Under these agreements the charitable company has agreed to provide restricted grants to the universities, to be used to provide stipends to AAI Scholars over the period. These liabilities were taken on after a full discussion with the Ashinaga Foundation, as the major donor to Ashinaga UK, on the impact of this on the charitable company's budget. Ashinaga Foundation has agreed to underwrite these grants on behalf of the charitable company.

11 Analysis of Net Assets between Funds

Fund balances at 31 March 2021 are represented by:

Tangible fxed assets Current assets and liabilities Non-current liabilities Total net assets	General Funds £ 3,250 161,875 - 165,125	Restricted Funds £ - (114,522) (2,228,027) (2,342,549)	Total Funds £ 3,250 47,353 (2,228,027)
			(2,177,424)

controlling party.

12 Operating lease commitments

Lessee

At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:
	2021	2020
Operating leases expiring:	£	£
Within one year	1,155	1,155

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued) For the year ended 31 March 2021

13 Related party transactions

over the company. Ashinaga's corporation number is 0100-05-028962. Its registered office is Main Office 2-7-5 Sabou Kaikan Hirakawa-cho Chiyoda-ku Tokyo, Japan. During the year Ashinaga Foundation made donations to the charity of £510,985 (2020: £1,728,358).

14 Cash generated from operations

Surplus/(defcit) for the year Adjustments for: Depreciation and impairment of tangible fxed assets Movements in working capital (Increase)/decrease in debtors (Decrease)/increase in creditors Cash absorbed by operations	2021 £ (2,317,195) 2,832 16,272 2,286,737 (11,354)	2020 £ 1,137,682 1,844 8,392 (1,089,052)
		58,866

“Becoming part of the Ashinaga family has been life-changing. Not only has Ashinaga enabled me to achieve my aspirations of studying medicine to help vulnerable people, but it has helped me to become a strong woman who is not afraid to chase her dreams to create a better world.” Sakiinah

“I gained leadership experience and a feeling of unity at the annual training events, in which we acted as ‘future leaders,’ discussing effective solutions that we could potentially implement to improve Africa.” Mokhele

“My vision is to empower more people through education and entrepreneurship. Throughout my time in Ashinaga I have been surrounded by inspiring people who have shown me a world of possibilities. Ashinaga has played a crucial role in helping me refine my goals and work towards achieving them.” Josephine

Join Us

The Ashinaga Africa Initiative (AAI) is Ashinaga’s flagship programme in sub-Saharan Africa. Its mission is to contribute to the region’s development by providing students who have lost one or both parents with the education, network, and opportunities necessary to become leaders in their home countries. Ashinaga invests in students who want to study internationally and then return home to make a positive difference in their country and community.

There are many ways you can support the Ashinaga movement in the UK. Tell your family and friends about our work, connect us with like-minded people or organisations, or donate to support our students. Your donation empowers the next generation of compassionate changemakers for Africa.

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Ashinaga Association in the UK, +44 (0)20 3075 1991 13/14 Cornwall Terrace. London, NW1 4QP Registered Charity: 1183750, Company Number: 10634278

2021-03-31-accounts

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