WHO ARE WE

We are a business development and investment advisory firm operating in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Our mission is to drive impact through private sector development in the Agrifood, Renewable Energy and Circular Economy sectors.

In 2050, the number of people living on this planet will have doubled. To this extent, we believe that AgriFood Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) will play a key role in feeding this population, as they occupy critical positions along the value chains as producers, input suppliers, off-takers, processors, and distributors. At the same time, access to affordable energy is a pre-condition for sustainable development, and renewable energy production in developing countries already surpassed the capacity generated by fossil fuels. SMEs in the renewable energy sector are pivotal in assuring that 900 million people, who currently do not have electricity, will gain access to affordable energy by 2030.  Lastly, there is a need to transition to a Circular Economy, as we cannot sustainably continue extracting the earth’s limited resources.

Our team of 50+ dedicated professionals contributes to these goals from our offices in the Netherlands, Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Jordan. Additionally, 12 consultants from our sister company, Advance Insight, support high-impact SMEs with digital transformation services from a shared office in Kenya.

WHAT WE OFFER OUR CLIENTS

We have been active in the private sector development space since 1999, and work across 60 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Our clients include SMEs, Impact Investors, NGOs, Donors and Governments. Our offering includes:

• Development: We support SMEs and NGOs to develop and strengthen their value propositions, project designs and business cases. With an impact mindset and private sector approach, we co-create partnerships and project proposals that qualify for funding.
• Fundraising: We assist SMEs to access impact finance – grants, debt, and equity – intended to create positive change besides and beyond financial return. We connect impact investors to investible businesses, and support them to improve the performance of their portfolio by raising capital for their investees. We also assist NGOs to qualify for grants for their private sector development programmes.
• Implementation: We initiate and implement private sector development programmes at the request of Donors and NGOs to deliver on their Sustainable Development Goals, with a focus on value chain development, job creation and climate resilience. We offer business coaching, financial training, matchmaking and technical advice to SMEs.
• Intelligence: We support our clients with performing actionable research, market sector studies, impact measurement and feasibility assessments. In partnership with our sister company, Advance Insight, we support SMEs to organise, digitalise and optimise their operations, finances, and ultimately impact.