GK Partners

What GK Partners does

GK Partners is a boutique business and development advisory consultancy founded in 2004 and registered as a private limited company in England (Company No. 5179591). The firm operates from its headquarters at 1 Trafalgar Square, London, and provides expert consulting, policy guidance, and strategic support to commercial, governmental, and charitable organisations across the UK, Africa, and other developing economies. Its service portfolio comprises four integrated advisory modules—Access to Finance (A2F), Access to Property (A2P), Finance for Development (F4D), and Policy for Development (P4D)—alongside the proprietary RemitAid™ programme, which advocates remittance match funding and community tax rebates for diaspora flows tied to the Sustainable Development Goals. The firm is not a technology company; its "product" is the founders' domain expertise, proprietary frameworks (e.g., multiple bottom line business planning techniques), and the RemitAid™ registered trademark.

The firm operates with approximately three core professionals—co-founders Gibril Faal OBE and Katharine Ford (FRSA) plus senior associate Bill Fennell—supplemented by a network of consultants and specialists. GK Partners generates revenue by delivering professional consulting services at competitive market rates, with a portion of profits redirected to subsidised and pro bono engagements for social enterprises and charities. Go-to-market is relationship-driven, leveraging the founders' high-profile institutional positions—Gibril Faal's OBE for services to international development, his UN General Assembly keynote speeches, board seats at Bond and AFFORD-UK, and his Interim Executive Director role at ADEPT in Brussels—to secure engagements with public sector, development funders, and large social enterprise clients. The customer base is organised horizontally across three segments (social enterprises, commercial enterprises, and public/international institutions), with no publicly named large corporate logos identified.

In August 2024, GK Partners executed a notable strategic move by acquiring an 83% stake in NK Empreendimentos e Participacoes, suggesting a geographic pivot toward Latin American or Brazilian operations beyond its historical UK-Africa axis. The firm has no proprietary technology platform, no app, no API, no disclosed funding rounds, and no institutional investors; it is founder-owned and operated. Its brand strength rests on co-founder Gibril Faal's international recognition and Katharine Ford's specialisation in social enterprise property and asset transfer, both cultivated since the firm's participation in the 2001 UK Department of Trade and Industry pilot that preceded its formal founding.

Name

GK Partners

Legal name

GK Partners

Website

https://gkpartners.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GK Partners is a London-based boutique advisory firm founded in 2004 that provides consulting, policy guidance, and strategic support to social enterprises, commercial businesses, and public/international institutions across the UK, Africa, and developing economies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Enterprise Advisory Consulting

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Cooperation, Capacity Building & Policy Advisory Programs (BPADABAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO), Development Finance, Guarantees & Blended Finance Programs (BPADABAM)

Keywords

• Social enterprise advisory
• Development consulting services
• Remittance policy advocacy
• Access to finance advisory
• Sustainability and policy consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

São Paulo

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Consulting and Advisory Services: GK Partners generates revenue by providing high-quality professional consulting services at competitive market rates to commercial, governmental and charitable organisations. Services include business modelling, feasibility studies, policy development, and specialist programmes in access to finance, access to property, finance for development, and policy for development. The firm also provides pro bono and subsidised support to social enterprises and charities from generated profits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

GK Partners is a boutique business and development advisory firm providing consulting services to socially responsible organisations across the commercial, governmental, and charitable sectors. Core deliverables are organised around four specialist service packages—Access to Finance, Access to Property, Finance for Development, and Policy for Development—plus the proprietary RemitAid™ programme advocating remittance match funding and tax rebates for international development.

Product overview

GK Partners is a business and development advisory consultancy providing services to socially responsible organisations. The portfolio consists of four main specialist service packages—Access to Finance (A2F), Access to Property (A2P), Finance for Development (F4D), and Policy for Development (P4D)—alongside the proprietary RemitAid™ programme. RemitAid™ is a distinct branded product focused on remittance match funding and tax relief advocacy for diaspora development, while the four A2F/A2P/F4D/P4D services function as integrated advisory modules addressing finance, property, development investment, and policy needs respectively.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RemitAid™: A programme advocating remittance match funding and/or tax rebates for international development, seeking to mitigate imperfections of diaspora and migrant remittances and facilitate channelling of financial flows towards productive and regenerative ventures in developing countries.

Products and services

• Access to Finance (A2F) Advisory service helping clients research, structure and validate investment-ready project and business plans and facilitating access to business loans, grants, equity investment or mixed finance sources from commercial banks, CDFIs, ethical banks, government development funds, International Finance Institutions, and development agencies.
• Access to Property (A2P) Advisory service facilitating access and acquisition of specialist and unusual spaces for diverse community and public usage, including support on negotiating lease or purchase contracts, refurbishments, re-modelling and re-building, and asset transfers from municipal authorities.
• Finance for Development (F4D) Advisory service assisting African and other developing countries to access funds from the 2015 Financing for Development global agreement, facilitating foreign and sustainable investment, job creation, and capacity development for invest-ready development programmes.
• Policy for Development (P4D) Advisory service facilitating negotiations, formulation and implementation of development policies, helping developing countries formulate, implement and improve policy and practice in sectors including social enterprise, environmental enterprises, responsible business, PPPs, community regeneration, and migration and diaspora development.
• RemitAid™ Proprietary programme advocating remittance match funding and/or tax rebates for international development, seeking to mitigate imperfections of diaspora and migrant remittances and to facilitate channelling of financial flows towards productive and regenerative ventures in developing countries supporting the Sustainable Development Goals.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AFFORD (African Foundation for Development)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2012AFFORD is a key promotional partner for the RemitAid™ programme. Gibril Faal was chairman of AFFORD-UK. AFFORD works with the African diaspora to support development in Africa, and partners with GK Partners to promote remittance match funding and tax rebates for international development.
• Africa-Europe Diaspora Development Platform (ADEPT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGibril Faal serves as Interim Executive Director of ADEPT, working to establish it as a service delivery directorate in Brussels. ADEPT focuses on diaspora development between Africa and Europe, aligning with GK Partners' mission in migration, diaspora and development.
• UK Government (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGK Partners was contracted by the UK government in 2005 to deliver its Access to Finance programme. When the programme transferred to the Mayor of London's office, GK Partners was retained as specialist service provider to sustainable business and social enterprise sectors.
• Development Funders and Financial InstitutionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGK Partners has worked with Triodos Bank, Charity Bank, Al Rayan Bank (formerly Islamic Bank of Britain), Business and Intellectual Property Centre of The British Library, Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance, and development agencies including DFID's Global Poverty Action Fund and EC-UN Joint Migration & Development Initiative.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Big Issue Invest: Social investment arm of The Big Issue providing finance and support to social enterprises. Adjacent to GK Partners' Access to Finance and Access to Property services, but operates as an investor rather than an advisor.
• Social Enterprise UK: UK membership body representing social enterprises. Adjacent to GK Partners because both serve the UK social enterprise ecosystem, but Social Enterprise UK operates as a sector membership organisation rather than a consulting firm.

Direct peers

• DAI: International development company implementing programmes in governance, economic growth, and social sector reform. Comparable in serving multilateral donors and developing-country governments on complex mandates.
• Oxford Policy Management: Policy-focused development consultancy providing evidence-based policy advice to governments and donors. Closely comparable to GK Partners' Policy for Development service line and donor client base.
• Adam Smith International: International development consultancy advising governments and donors on policy, governance, and economic reform. Directly comparable to GK Partners in serving DFID, FCDO, and developing-country government mandates.
• Dalberg Advisors: Global advisory firm focused on international development, social impact, and emerging markets. Highly comparable to GK Partners because it serves the same donor, government, and social enterprise clients with policy, strategy, and finance advisory mandates.
• Palladium: International development consultancy delivering large-scale programmes in governance, economic growth, and social impact. Comparable to GK Partners in donor-facing advisory and Finance for Development work.
• Tony Blair Institute for Global Change: Policy advisory organisation working with political leaders on governance, policy reform, and development in emerging economies. Comparable in its senior-policy-led engagement model and developing-country policy mandate.

Broad incumbents

• PwC Sustainability and Climate Change: Sustainability, ESG, and responsible-business practice within a Big Four firm. Comparable in advising commercial enterprises on corporate responsibility and sustainability, but operates at far larger scale and as part of a broader advisory portfolio.
• KPMG Sustainability Services: Big Four advisory practice covering ESG, social impact, and responsible business. Overlaps with GK Partners' commercial-enterprise CSR advisory work, but does not focus on diaspora or international development finance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gk-partners-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GK Partners