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Primary Data Intelligence (PDI)


Primary Data Intelligence (PDI)

Overview

The Primary Data Intelligence (PDI) Unit serves as Genesis' Centre of Excellence for data intelligence. We are the powerhouse for all primary data-related activities at the firm, committed to delivering high-quality, evidence-based and high-frequency data intelligence. Our vision is to drive informed decision-making and unlock value for our clients and across the Young World, ensuring Genesis is globally recognised for data intelligence that underpins sound strategic choices.

Leading The Team

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    Dr Sue Aitken

    Principal (Primary Data Intelligence)
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    Kim Bloch

    Manager (Primary Data Intelligence)
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    Elzeth Zastrau

    Manager (Primary Data Intelligence)

Areas of Expertise

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      Economic opportunity

      Expanding access to economic opportunity is essential for improving lives and livelihoods, generating jobs and creating wealth. The private sector plays a leading role in delivering economic growth and is increasingly expected to do so in a way that is inclusive and sustainable.

      There are a number of ways in which businesses, foundations, governments and development organisations work to support private sector development. These include developing inclusive market systems; supporting the creation of quality jobs; developing value chains and access to markets for businesses; development of the financial sector and supporting access to finance; MSME development; capital markets development; and overall business enabling environment.

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      Agriculture and agribusiness

      Africa’s agricultural sector is critical to sustainable economic development. It supports economic opportunities in rural communities, the alleviation of poverty and plays an essential role in food security. Genesis works across the public-private interface for governments, donors, philanthropic and private sector clients.

      Unlocking the sector’s potential requires a combination of political will, enabling regulatory frameworks, improved access to finance, skills investment and climate change adaptation. An understanding of these interlocking factors underpins our approach to programme design and implementation.

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      Health

      We work with our clients to develop solutions aimed at improving the health of populations throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. 

      Our region faces the challenges of the quadruple burden of disease, which includes both communicable and non-communicable diseases, as well as violence and injury. 

      Coupled with this are relatively weak health systems, heavy reliance on donor funding and inequitable public and private sectors. Within this context, we provide experts with decades of experience in the design, implementation, costing and evaluation of health programmes, and strengthening of sustainable health systems.

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      Research, monitoring and evaluation

      We design and implement a variety of research projects ranging from national household surveys to discrete and focused programme reviews, formative research, as well as process and end-of-programme evaluations. We have specialist expertise in research translation and utilisation.

      Our researchers have decades of experience in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and understand how to apply these in a practical way. This ensures that commissioning companies and organisations can confidently use our findings.

      We work with clients on the design of appropriate evaluations for their programmes, using robust methods and a cost-effective approach. We jointly develop user-friendly M&E frameworks and plans. We find ways to represent routinely collected data to encourage better decision making.

      Our work on research translation and utilisation has positioned our clients as leaders in the use of evidence-based approaches for adaptation, innovation uptake and programme improvement.

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      Human Development

      We work for a world where everyone can develop to their full potential. We are focused on expanding meaningful rights and opportunities for people who are marginalised. Part of a global African firm, we are particularly committed to children, women and young people in Africa and the Middle East. 

      We work in key human development areas: health, nutrition, and WaSH (water, sanitation and hygiene); youth, education and early childhood development; and social protection and social care. Rapid changes in demography, climate and technology are generating massive challenges and tremendous opportunities for human development. At the same time, Covid-19 has caused a severe shock to human development from which people and systems need to recover.

      We help governments, their global partners, and private and non-state clients to improve the delivery of key human development services while navigating these changes. To do so, we provide services in diagnostics; regulation, governance and oversight; strategy, planning and implementation; financing and budgeting; service delivery; and monitoring and evaluation.

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      Early childhood care, development and education

      We believe deeply in the transformative value of high-quality early childhood care, development and education (ECCDE) services for their profound impact on young children, their families and caregivers, and for the betterment of societies and economies.

      In the countries where we work, which have large young populations, we view early childhood investment as a major opportunity to build human capital, realise child rights and promote gender equality.

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      Programme and impact evaluation

      Genesis specialises in conducting evaluations of development programmes, including performance evaluations, process evaluations, mid-term evaluations, and final evaluations with the aim of providing reasoned and independent views of the progress achieved to date, as well as the identification of successes and challenges.

      We also conduct formative evaluations with the aim of providing strategic recommendations to improve programmes’ alignment to achieve/realise the desired outcomes. Genesis is inherently invested in ensuring that evaluations are of a high quality, are useful and value-adding to the needs of all stakeholders, and that there is local ownership of the evaluation process and subsequent findings.

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      Financial Services Strategy

      Our Financial Services team has completed more than 1000 projects across sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East since 2001. We work with leading financial institutions to address their challenges, unlock value for their stakeholders and shape the future of the industry.

      Our team understands the evolving technology and market structures, economics and regulatory trends across all segments of the financial services sector. Our distinct approach is characterised by deep specialisation and rigorous analysis based on a strong economics foundation.

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      Centre of Digital Excellence

      The Centre of Digital Excellence (C0DE) focuses on technology innovation as well as the opportunities that this provides for improving the development potential of African nations and for managing the risks inherent in an increasingly digital world.

  • Primary data intelligence

Projects

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    Data for Impact: Shaping Early Childhood Development in South Africa

    For too long, crucial decisions about early childhood development (ECD) in South Africa lacked authoritative data, limiting effective policy-making and strategic investment. The Thrive by Five (TB5) Index, launched in 2021, emerged to fill this critical gap. Now the largest nationally representative survey of preschool child development in South Africa, the Index has directly informed government strategies, including the National Planning Commission’s 2024 2024 ECD Advisory Document and the Department of Basic Education’s 2030 Strategy for ECD Programmes.

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    Driving Public Health Insights: A Transformative Approach to Disease Surveillance

    Genesis partnered with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on a landmark household cohort study in South Africa, central to the country’s efforts to monitor vaccine-preventable illnesses and shape national immunisation policy. From 2022 to 2025, Genesis led the SARS-CoV-2 and Multi-pathogen Serosurveillance (SAMS) longitudinal study, bringing deep expertise in data collection, management, and quality assurance to a complex, multi-year research programme.

View all

Related Focus Areas

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    Health

    We work with our clients to develop solutions aimed at improving the health of populations throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. 

    Our region faces the challenges of the quadruple burden of disease, which includes both communicable and non-communicable diseases, as well as violence and injury. 

    Coupled with this are relatively weak health systems, heavy reliance on donor funding and inequitable public and private sectors. Within this context, we provide experts with decades of experience in the design, implementation, costing and evaluation of health programmes, and strengthening of sustainable health systems.

    image

    Human Development

    We work for a world where everyone can develop to their full potential. We are focused on expanding meaningful rights and opportunities for people who are marginalised. Part of a global African firm, we are particularly committed to children, women and young people in Africa and the Middle East. 

    We work in key human development areas: health, nutrition, and WaSH (water, sanitation and hygiene); youth, education and early childhood development; and social protection and social care. Rapid changes in demography, climate and technology are generating massive challenges and tremendous opportunities for human development. At the same time, Covid-19 has caused a severe shock to human development from which people and systems need to recover.

    We help governments, their global partners, and private and non-state clients to improve the delivery of key human development services while navigating these changes. To do so, we provide services in diagnostics; regulation, governance and oversight; strategy, planning and implementation; financing and budgeting; service delivery; and monitoring and evaluation.

    image

    Financial Services Strategy

    Our Financial Services team has completed more than 1000 projects across sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East since 2001. We work with leading financial institutions to address their challenges, unlock value for their stakeholders and shape the future of the industry.

    Our team understands the evolving technology and market structures, economics and regulatory trends across all segments of the financial services sector. Our distinct approach is characterised by deep specialisation and rigorous analysis based on a strong economics foundation.

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    Competition economics

    As the leading provider of competition economics services in Africa, Genesis Analytics has an unmatched breadth and depth of skills and experience. Blue-chip companies across Africa routinely rely on us for expert advice and support when they interact with competition authorities. We also work extensively with regulators and competition authorities, giving us a position of trust based on a strong reputation for providing robust and independent expert economic views.

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    Centre of Digital Excellence

    The Centre of Digital Excellence (C0DE) focuses on technology innovation as well as the opportunities that this provides for improving the development potential of African nations and for managing the risks inherent in an increasingly digital world.

IMPACT UNLOCKED.

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