Bloomberg Philanthropies, the King Baudouin Foundation, and Foundation Center have announced the launch of Equal Footing, a free data portal highlighting philanthropic resources for economic development in Central Africa.

With the goal of putting people around the globe on an “equal footing” to improve their lives, the portal provides research, case studies, and maps detailing funding activities to highlight what types of development projects are underway, what solutions have had a measurable impact, and what needs are currently underserved — enabling philanthropists, NGOs, and others to learn from and collaborate with one another and leverage resources for maximum impact.

Equal Footing initially will focus on effective economic development approaches to support women, their families, and their communities in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda. The most comprehensive philanthropic database about the region to date, the portal also features more than a thousand profiles of foundations and NGOs working in the field, how-to materials, and content on topics such as effective approaches to funding in conflict and post-conflict societies.

“Without good data, funders and nonprofits don’t know how to best target their resources and they can’t measure what’s working, which means we’re missing out on many opportunities to improve people’s lives,” said Bloomberg Philanthropies founder and former New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “This new database will make sure help goes where it is needed most — and it will point the way to new opportunities for collaboration.”