African Institute for Development Policy

What African Institute for Development Policy does

African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) is a non-profit policy research institute founded in 2010 and headquartered in Lilongwe, Malawi, with a regional headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The institute bridges research evidence and public policy decision-making across sub-Saharan Africa, working directly with African governments, national parliaments, research institutions, and civil society to strengthen the use of evidence in legislation, budgeting, and programme design. Its work spans health systems strengthening, population dynamics and demographic dividend, governance and accountability, gender equity, and environment and climate change, with active engagements in Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Botswana, and South Africa.

AFIDEP's core technology is the EIDM/EIPM Portal (eidm.org), a digital knowledge repository aggregating publications, policies, best practices, case studies, and tools for evidence-informed policymaking. This is complemented by the Evidence-Informed Policy-Making Training Curriculum, the Health Tech Platform for advocacy on transformational health technologies, and the Financing Accelerator Network for NCDs (FAN). The institute operates through multi-country consortia including LIGHT (with LSTM, LSHTM, and African partners), SECURE Health (with FHI360, ECSA-HC, and others), Enhance DELTAS (funded by Wellcome Trust), and ARCS, producing systematic reviews, policy briefs, technical assistance, and convenings such as the inaugural Evidence for Development (Evi4Dev) Conference co-hosted with AUDA-NEPAD and Science for Africa Foundation in May 2025.

AFIDEP generates revenue primarily through institutional donor grants and commissioned research and technical assistance contracts — no commercial pricing or licensing fees apply to its core services. Funders include Wellcome Trust, UK Aid, the former UK Department for International Development (DFID), and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), alongside partnerships with African Union agencies and academic consortia. The institute holds diplomatic status granted by the Government of Malawi in September 2021 and operates under a 2030 strategy launched in April 2025 to guide its next phase of continental policy engagement.

Name

African Institute for Development Policy

Legal name

African Institute for Development Policy

Website

https://afidep.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

AFIDEP is a non-profit policy research institute founded in 2010 that bridges evidence and policy across sub-Saharan Africa, serving governments, parliaments, and research institutions with technical assistance, capacity building, and digital knowledge platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research and Development Consulting

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations (HLAJAKAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Policy, Regulatory & Public Affairs Research (BPAHALAF)

Keywords

• Policy research institute
• Evidence-informed policymaking
• Technical assistance services
• Capacity building programmes
• Development policy consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Donor Funding: AFIDEP is a non-profit policy institute primarily funded through grants and funding from international development donors and foundations. The organization receives funding from donors and development partners to conduct research, provide technical assistance, and build capacity across African governments.
2. Research and Technical Assistance Contracts: The organization generates revenue through commissioned research, evaluations, and technical assistance engagements with governments, multilateral organizations, and development agencies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

AFIDEP is a non-profit policy research institute that generates evidence, synthesizes research, and provides technical assistance and capacity building to African governments, parliaments, and research institutions to strengthen evidence use in policy and legislative decision-making. Core offerings include the EIDM/EIPM digital knowledge portal, an evidence-informed policy-making training curriculum, and multi-country programmes such as the Financing Accelerator Network for NCDs (FAN), the Health Tech Platform (HTP), the LIGHT tuberculosis consortium, and the SECURE Health policy engagement initiative.

Product overview

AFIDEP operates as a research and policy institute offering a portfolio of knowledge products and platforms rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include the EIDM/EIPM Portal—a digital knowledge repository for evidence-informed policymaking—and the Evidence-Informed Policy-Making Training Curriculum. These are complemented by thematic programs such as the Health Tech Platform for health technology advocacy and the Financing Accelerator Network for NCDs. The institute also produces extensive publications and multimedia resources including research reports, policy briefs, videos, podcasts, and infographics. The various programs work together to advance evidence use in African development policy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EIDM/EIPM Portal: Digital repository for evidence-informed policy and decision-making resources, publications, policies, best practices, case studies, tools and resources.
• FAN (Financing Accelerator Network for NCDs)

Products and services

• EIDM/EIPM Portal A digital repository for information and knowledge sharing catering to researchers, policymakers, media, civil society and other stakeholders working in evidence-informed policy and decision-making. Provides access to EIDM-related publications, policies, best practices, case studies, tools, and resources, along with capacity building and mentorship facilitation.
• Evidence-Informed Policy-Making (EIPM) Training Curriculum A training curriculum designed to strengthen capacity in evidence use for decision-making, helping participants access, synthesise, and utilise evidence in policy processes. Delivered to government officials, researchers, and civil society stakeholders across Africa.
• Health Tech Platform (HTP) An advocacy platform facilitating informed, objective, transparent, gender-inclusive discussions on the development and use of transformational tools and technologies to address key health challenges in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Financing Accelerator Network for NCDs (FAN) Sub-Saharan Africa Accelerator A network supporting countries to develop innovative and sustainable financing solutions for non-communicable diseases across sub-Saharan Africa.
• LIGHT Consortium (Leaving no-one behInd: Transforming Gendered pathways to Health for TB) A six-year global health research programme addressing gender-sensitive TB care pathways in Kenya, Malawi, and other African settings, with AFIDEP leading evidence use and policy engagement components.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supported governments of Kenya, Malawi and Zambia to increase domestic financing for health and implement expenditure efficiency measures
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and supporting.

• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021LSTM leads the LIGHT (Leaving no-one behind: Transforming Gendered pathways to Health for TB) Consortium, a six-year global health research programme. AFIDEP is a key implementation partner working on evidence use and policy engagement in Kenya and Malawi.
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in the LIGHT Consortium for TB research. LSHTM is a core partner in the global health research programme addressing gender-sensitive TB care pathways.
• Makerere University Lung Institute (MLI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUganda-based partner in the LIGHT Consortium, contributing to the research on gender-sensitive TB pathways in urban, HIV-prevalent settings.
• Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (MLW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMalawi-based research partner in the LIGHT Consortium, contributing clinical and public health research expertise on TB and related conditions.
• Respiratory Society of Kenya (ReSoK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormerly Kenya Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (KAPTLD). Kenya-based clinical and professional society partner in LIGHT Consortium for TB policy and practice.
• Zankli Research Centre (ZRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNigeria-based partner in the LIGHT Consortium, contributing to research on gender-sensitive TB pathways and health systems strengthening.
• African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of the first-ever Evidence for Development (Evi4Dev) Conference held May 6-8, 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya. Partnership focuses on research, data, and innovations for Africa's development and Agenda 2063.
• Science for Africa FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of the Evi4Dev Conference 2025, partnering to advance evidence use in Africa's development efforts toward SDGs and Agenda 2063.
• FHI360coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead implementer of the SECURE Health programme, a consortium working to strengthen capacity of policymakers to utilize research evidence in health policymaking in Kenya and Malawi.
• East and Southern African Health Community (ECSA-HC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional health organization partner in SECURE Health consortium, providing technical guidance on health policy and systems strengthening.
• Consortium for National Research (CNHR-Kenya)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKenyan research consortium partner in SECURE Health programme, contributing to health systems and policy research.
• College of Medicine, University of MalawicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in SECURE Health consortium, providing medical research and training expertise from Malawi perspective.
• UK Parliamentary Office of Science and TechnologysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical partner providing expertise on parliamentary science advice and evidence use in policy-making for SECURE Health programme.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ThinkWell: Global health policy and financing organization that provides analytical and advisory services to governments and donors. Directly comparable given shared focus on health financing reform and evidence-driven policy advisory work in low- and middle-income countries.
• Population Council: International non-profit conducting research on sexual and reproductive health, gender, and population dynamics. Directly comparable given shared focus on population dynamics, demographic dividend research, and evidence-to-policy work in Africa.
• Results for Development (R4D): US-headquartered non-profit that partners with global health and education funders to strengthen systems in low- and middle-income countries. Directly comparable as a non-profit applying research and technical assistance to drive policy and financing reform in Africa and beyond.
• African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC): Africa-based non-profit research institute generating population, health, and policy evidence across the continent. Most comparable peer given shared non-profit structure, Nairobi headquarters, donor-funded research model, and emphasis on translating evidence into African policy action.
• African Economic Research Consortium (AERC): Pan-African capacity-building network conducting economic policy research and training researchers across African universities. Directly comparable as a Nairobi-based non-profit research consortium funded by donors that builds evidence-to-policy capacity in African governments.

Broad incumbents

• International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED): UK-headquartered research and policy organization focused on sustainable development and climate action in low-income countries. Comparable as a global policy research non-profit partnering with African institutions, but broader in scope and more established.
• International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI): Larger, more established CGIAR research institute providing evidence-based policy solutions across food, agriculture, and development. Comparable model but operates at significantly greater scale and thematic breadth within the global evidence-to-policy space.
• Centre for Global Development (CGD): Major US- and Europe-based think tank producing research on global development, aid effectiveness, and health financing. Comparable as an evidence-to-policy producer, but operates as a broader, more established global development think tank rather than Africa-specialized implementation partner.
• ODI Global: Long-established UK-based global affairs think tank producing international development research and policy advice. Comparable as a research-to-policy intermediary with African programming, but considerably larger and more diversified across geographies and themes.

Emerging players

• Africa Policy Research Institute: Africa-focused policy research think tank producing research on governance, development, and economic policy. Comparable as a younger African policy research outfit focused on continental evidence and policy engagement, though narrower in thematic scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Afidep
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCJcQ5mArdH8DmCR1wjVcXEg
• Facebookfacebook.com/Afidep.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/african-institute-for-development-policy
• Instagraminstagram.com/afidep_org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about African Institute for Development Policy