Athletes from 15 African countries will be coming to the Special Olympics after €100,000 was raised by sponsorship and donations from the host towns of the countries involved.
The countries were having difficulty raising the money required to travel to the Olympics in Ireland next month.
The countries affected were Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo and Zimbabwe.
The Special Olympics chief executive, Ms Mary Davis, said: "We appreciate the challenges each delegation has to face in terms of team selection, logistics as well as financial implications".
"We are delighted to have a full representation from the African countries and commend all those involved in making it happen".
Mr David Mutambara of Special Olympics Africa said: "This financial support has already impacted on the lives of athletes preparing for the Games as well as enhancing the role Special Olympics plays in our countries."
The 2003 Special Olympics take place in the greater Dublin area and Belfast from June 21st to 29th. Over 7,000 athletes, 3,000 coaches and officials from 160 countries will participate in 21 sports at 23 competition venues.