In January, Genesis cut a list of seven forces that would shape Africa in 2026. With three quarters of the year gone, most are running to script. Two were not: A sovereign debt near miss and a climate punch that no forecaster saw coming. The question now is not how the year began, but what remains undecided as 2027 looms. Here is our late year scorecard.

For governments leading digital transformation: GOAT is the implementation discipline that holds legal mandates, operational capacity, citizen adoption and technical architecture in productive tension - because decisions in one area are always the blueprint or constraint for the others. 

Tom Pugh and I represented Genesis, as part of the Numeracy Research and Development Fund. Through NRD, we work to support our partners to strengthen implementation of numeracy pedagogies and help turn evidence of what works into government-led scale-up initiatives. We were there to tackle a tough question: How do we translate what we know works into reforms that reach every child?

Our teams are focussed on equipping decision makers with a rigorous evidence base to answer what the true costs of decisions are, what the return on investment is and what are the right questions to ask before long-term, high stakes directions are locked in.

Ghana's youngest children are being short-changed by public spending. Our new report shows how that can change.

African policymakers need clear, Africa-grounded evidence on AI's economic and social impact, not assumptions imported from elsewhere. Genesis partnered with the International Development Research Centre to develop a research agenda to start building this vital evidence base.

A new study by Genesis, in partnership with FSD Africa, Shell Foundation, and Shortlist Futures, has found that Africa's green transition could generate up to 84.5 million jobs and livelihood opportunities by 2050.

Dr Sue Aitken leads the unit. As a  public health specialist who has built research centres from the ground up in rural South Africa, trained local teams, and advised clients across Southern and Eastern Africa, she knows one thing for certain: Good intentions don't build evidence. Discipline does.

At Genesis we champion country-led solutions, ensuring that local leadership drives the most sustainable impact, even when global shocks hit. In our health team, we see the power of this first hand. In 2025, global HIV funding was cut overnight. 

Short-term financing gaps remain. But the studies argue that domestic resource mobilisation, smarter spending, and innovative financing can bridge them. That is where Genesis comes in.