The continent’s path in 2026 will be defined not by external aid, but by its urgent pursuit of economic sovereignty and accelerated growth.

The Genesis-led NRD Challenge Fund, backed by the Gates Foundation, is on a mission to revolutionise early maths education in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. By equipping teachers with clear, actionable tools, the initiative is closing the global numeracy divide and building a stronger foundation for children's futures

Genesis is working with clients to navigate these choices: from DPI implementation strategies and AI applied to system-level change, to regulatory frameworks that actually enable local innovation. 

Our work led to the co-development of a nutrition taxonomy, a system that identifies nutrition-specific, nutrition-sensitive, and indirect nutrition expenditures across multiple sectors. 

At Genesis, our health practice pivoted decisively to support countries, organisations and programmes to build resilience and foster more sustainable health systems.

Analysis of supplementation programmes in four African countries reveals opportunities to improve child health outcomes while optimising resources.

Through a major national dialogue convened by the Department of Social Development and its partners, a clearer vision is emerging for the future of South Africa’s social grants. At the heart of this plan is a smart digital backbone for the country's support system. This framework would use data to understand each person's circumstances and actively connect them to the right help - whether basic income support, finding work, starting a business, or gaining skills. The goal is to help transform basic cash transfers into a true springboard, creating a clear pathway for millions to move from reliance toward a more secure future.

Coordination alone will not unlock capital at the required scale. To translate these platforms into real investment flows, they must be anchored in a financial architecture capable of executing adaptation at system level - with aligned policies, incentives, regulatory frameworks, and market infrastructure that allow capital to move efficiently into resilience-building sectors.

Maina will provide senior strategic counsel and client leadership. Her career includes serving as Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Development and as the transformative Chief Executive of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM).

Produced by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, Africa Forward, the African Union Commission, the Motsepe Foundation, SAP and Genesis Analytics, this is the one of the most comprehensive data-driven studies of its kind.