A multilateral agency and a philanthropic investment fund sought to make clearer strategic choices about where, when, and how to invest across Africa’s high-growth and fragile regions. GIST was commissioned to support the design and sequencing of investment and programme strategies grounded in local realities and operating constraints.
Our approach
GIST worked with partners to design investment and programme strategies across the Lake Chad Basin, Central Africa, and the Horn of Africa, focusing on how investments could be sequenced and adapted in complex operating environments.
Building on on-the-ground market research and contextual analysis, GIST assessed political, security, and market dynamics to develop realistic strategic options rather than static recommendations. This included identifying trade-offs, timing considerations, and operational pathways across governance, peace, security, and justice sectors, as well as private-sector investment opportunities.
GIST supported partners to translate analysis into practical strategy, aligning priorities, resource allocation, and implementation pathways under conditions of uncertainty.
What this enabled
Related experience
GIST has supported strategy design and operational planning for governments, foundations, and financial institutions across Central Africa, the Great Lakes region, Central Asia, and Eastern Africa.
By combining local field access with foresight, scenario planning, and sectoral expertise, GIST helps partners design strategies that remain adaptive as contexts evolve.
This work has enabled the identification of commercially viable and context-responsive opportunities while managing political, security, and operational constraints.
