Tackling Africa’s hardest challenges

Gawani Africa partners with governments, development organisations, foundations and innovators to tackle the problems that matter most on the continent. We bring analytical rigour and deep local knowledge to every engagement, and we stay until the work is done.
how we help

Most clients come to us at one of three moments.

Every engagement starts with a conversation about what you need. These pathways are starting points, not rigid categories — as the work evolves, our support evolves with it.

Turning Complexity into Clear Direction

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Advisory & Problem-Solving

Some of the hardest moments in development work are when you have a mandate, a commitment or an investment, and need to determine what to do with it. The landscape is complex, stakeholders have competing views and the evidence may be incomplete. We help clients cut through that complexity and arrive at a grounded direction that is evidence-based, context-specific and realistic to implement.

Selected example

Refreshing a national nutrition strategy
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation needed to align several connected workstreams into a coherent direction for nutrition programming in Nigeria. Gawani reviewed investments across policy, primary health care, family planning, data and food systems, and facilitated stakeholder alignment on a refreshed strategy that now guides the Foundation's nutrition programming in Nigeria.

What this looks like in practice

  • Strategy & policy development
  • Landscape & market analysis
  • Performance measurement frameworks
  • Institutional & stakeholder assessments

How we do it

We uncover the real problem through research and stakeholder engagement, then turn insights into practical, evidence-based recommendations that help clients make informed decisions.
See all Advisory & Problem-Solving work

Making Plans Work

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Implementation & Delivery Support

A good strategy is only as useful as its execution. Across Africa’s development landscape, the gap between what is planned and what is delivered remains persistent and costly. Coordination breaks down, accountability is unclear and delivery capacity is often stretched across complex stakeholder environments.

When clients have a plan that needs to move, we provide hands-on delivery support with discipline, rigour and a clear view of what success requires at every stage.

Selected example

Turning a national food systems commitment into action
Following Nigeria’s commitments at the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, Gawani led the development of the governance and implementation framework for the National Food Systems Transformation Pathways. The process engaged more than 4,000 stakeholders, clarified institutional roles and established KPIs across six solution clusters. The result was a clearer route from national commitment to coordinated delivery.

What this looks like in practice

  • Programme and project management
  • Programme Management Office design and operation
  • Operational strategy and implementation planning
  • Stakeholder coordination and engagement management
  • Monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks
  • Performance management and reporting systems
  • Governance and accountability strengthening

How we do it

We embed ourselves in the work. We build implementation plans that account for political, institutional, financial and logistical realities, not only the ideal scenario. We track progress against outcomes and help clients adapt when conditions change without losing momentum or integrity.
See all Implementation & Delivery Support work

Building New Solutions

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Ventures & Innovation

Some development challenges cannot be solved by improving what already exists. They require a new platform, a new coordination mechanism or a venture designed from the ground up.
We work with innovators, institutions and investors at the earliest and most uncertain stages of building. We bring strategic thinking, design discipline and practical execution to the foundations that determine whether a new idea can create value at scale.

Selected example

Building Africa’s research-to-industry pipeline
Gawani conceptualised Thinkng, our own venture, to address the gap between the organisations that need research done and the African institutions and researchers who can deliver it. We developed the strategic and operating model, talent development framework, partnership structure and technology direction. Thinkng is being built as a broker that helps organisations access local research capacity while creating clearer pathways into applied R&D careers.

What this looks like in practice

  • Venture design and strategic blueprint development
  • Pre-seed incubation and early-stage advisory
  • Strategic due diligence for angel investors and networks
  • New mechanism and platform design
  • Ecosystem mapping and enabling environment assessment
  • Innovation programme management and quality assurance

How we do it

We begin with the problem: who it affects, why existing responses fall short and what conditions must be in place for a new solution to work. We then design the model, test the assumptions and build the operating foundations that give the idea a stronger chance of succeeding.
See all Ventures & Innovation work
where we work

Deep knowledge across five connected domains.

Our work is concentrated in the sectors and systems where Africa’s development challenges are most acute. These are not artificial boundaries. They are areas where Gawani has built practical knowledge through sustained work with governments, global institutions, funders and private actors.
Nutrition & Food Systems
Health Systems & Global Public Health
Research & Knowledge Systems
Enterprise & Innovation Ecosystems
Sector Reform & Growth

Malnutrition remains one of Africa’s most solvable and most neglected development challenges. The systems that produce, regulate, distribute and monitor food are complex, and changing them requires rigorous analysis, stakeholder alignment and strategies that can be implemented.

We help clients design and deliver interventions that improve nutrition outcomes — from national food systems strategies and large-scale fortification to value chain and policy reform. We work on food fortification policy and programme design, value chain analysis, food policy, nutrition strategy design and refresh, food systems governance and accountability, and market intelligence.

Selected clients and partners include Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GAIN, TechnoServe / USAID, World Food Programme, NAFDAC and Federal Ministry of Finance.

See work in Nutrition & Food Systems

Strong health systems save lives. Fragile ones cost them. Across Africa, systems face underinvestment, coordination gaps and shocks they are not always equipped to absorb.

We work with governments, global health agencies and private actors to strengthen health systems, improve primary care and build the clinical, regulatory and institutional infrastructure required for health security. Our work covers health financing and cost modelling, primary health care strategy and delivery, clinical research infrastructure, pandemic preparedness, health policy and market intelligence.

Selected clients and partners include World Health Organization, UK Department of Health & Social Care, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Pfizer / Speyside and MSD.

See work in Health Systems & Global Public Health

Africa produces a small share of global research relative to its burden of disease and development need. The gap is not a lack of talent. It is a lack of infrastructure, investment and coordination.

We strengthen the systems that allow African researchers and innovators to do relevant, well-supported work — from governance and capacity building to funder coordination and research-to-industry connections. Our work covers LMIC research capacity strengthening, research governance, research fund design, funder coordination, women’s inclusion in R&D, research-to-industry platforms and R&D strategy.

Selected clients and partners include WHO / TDR, London School of Economics, PATH / Gates Foundation, African Academy of Sciences, Grand Challenges / Speak Up Africa and Nyaho Dove Foundation.

See work in Research & Knowledge Systems

Africa’s entrepreneurs and innovators are building ideas with the potential to create jobs, drive growth and solve local problems. What is often missing is access to capital, rigorous support and the systems that help promising ideas become viable enterprises.

We work with foundations, investors and programme operators to strengthen the ecosystems that support venture creation and growth. Our work covers venture design and incubation, angel investment due diligence, entrepreneurship programme management, green economy enterprise, youth innovation and investor readiness.

Selected clients and partners include Tony Elumelu Foundation, UNICEF, IKEA Foundation and Abuja Angel Network.

See work in Enterprise & Innovation Ecosystems

Economic diversification requires more than identifying new sectors. It requires stronger institutions, clearer rules and sustained delivery across complex, politically sensitive reform environments.

Gawani brings strategy, policy and programme management capabilities to sector reform and growth engagements, helping public institutions and development partners build more productive and resilient systems. Our work covers sector governance and policy reform, economic diversification, programme management for sector development, institutional capacity strengthening, value chain development and regulatory improvement.

Selected clients and partners include World Bank, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Oxford Policy Management, Lagos State Government and Federal Ministry of Finance.

See work in Sector Reform & Growth
HOW OUR CAPABILITIES WORK TOGETHER

One challenge can require more than one kind of support.

Our three ways of working and five areas of expertise are not separate services. They are different dimensions of the same commitment: helping clients make progress on the development challenges that matter most.

A nutrition strategy may begin with research and direction, then move into delivery as implementation starts. A research systems project may combine advisory support with the design of a new coordination mechanism. A venture may require implementation support as it moves from blueprint to operation.

We do not force clients into service categories. We design each engagement around what the work requires and stay responsive as the need evolves.
ENGAGEMENT MODELS

Structured around the work, not a fixed formula.

Advisory

Time-bound engagements that provide strategic direction, rigorous analysis or clear recommendations around a defined question or decision.

Programme Design and Delivery

End-to-end support from design through implementation and close-out, including delivery capacity, stakeholder management and outcome tracking.

Embedded Partnership

Longer-term integration into client teams where sustained presence, institutional knowledge and consistent delivery support are essential.

Blended Engagements

A tailored combination of advisory, delivery and building support where the challenge spans more than one stage or capability.

Ready to start a conversation?

We work best with organisations that are serious about solving hard problems and building the capacity to sustain progress.
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Strategy, policy and innovation advisory for Africa's most complex development challenges.
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