I'm part of Genesis and we partner with central banks across Africa to build and improve the systems that let people and businesses send and receive money electronically. From Ethiopia to Rwanda, that means supporting teams on the ground, from figuring out what's already working, to helping shape a strategy, to managing the rollout of new financial infrastructure.

As the independent evaluator of South Africa's innovative outcomes-based financing programme in early childhood education, Genesis is generating robust evidence on what works - from access and quality to child development. By combining deep on-the-ground ECD expertise with technical rigour, Genesis supports the learning agenda to help link funding to real impact where it matters most: for children.

Genesis, through its digital livelihoods team of industry insiders and local practitioners, focuses on digital job creation in Africa by unlocking global demand.

Following our recent convening with Audere Africa and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, we have published The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Nutrition Programming.

Governments know how to treat malnutrition. The challenge is making sure public budgets actually fund and deliver them. Since 2022, Genesis has partnered with UNICEF to strengthen the financial systems that sit behind nutrition programmes.We support countries to plan better budgets, track nutrition spending, and ensure resources get to the front lines. The result? Over 25 countries took part in the programme, 500 officials trained, and practical reforms taking hold.

This matters to us because our Economic Growth and Impact practice works where business and development intersect. We see companies as engines of progress, and this agenda, fixing binding constraints, mobilising investment, rebuilding state capacity, is exactly the terrain we operate in. Here are the five key outtakes that will shape the year ahead.

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.