CEsA - Centre for African and Development Studies

What CEsA - Centre for African and Development Studies does

CEsA - Centro de Estudos sobre África e Desenvolvimento (Centre for African and Development Studies) is a non-profit academic research center founded in 1983 and hosted within ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management at the Universidade de Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal. The center conducts economic, political, social, and cultural research in development studies with an explicit emphasis on Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, and a stated focus on postcolonial studies and epistemologies of the Global South. Its core products span publication series (Working Papers, Brief Papers, Books, E-books, the Mundo Crítico collection, and the Revista CEsA digital magazine), digital media (weekly Agenda CEsA newsletter, podcasts on Mixcloud, YouTube channel), graduate academic programs (the MDCI Master's in International Cooperation for Development with ISEG and the PDED PhD in Development Studies with IGOT), specialized research project websites (AFRO-PORT, NEVIS, NILUS, Rota do Escravo), and cultural outputs including digital cartography of the Afro-cultural movement and the itinerant exhibition 'Desconstruir o Colonialismo, Descolonizar o Imaginário'.

The underlying technology is a research and academic publishing platform built around a WordPress-based institutional website, social media channels, and a global digital repository for publications, with no proprietary software products, APIs, or SDKs. The organization operates with 14 listed employees and a 128-member affiliated researcher community, drawing on international scholars such as Pedro Miguel Amakasu Raposo de Medeiros Carvalho (Kansai University, JSAS co-founder).

CEsA's business model is non-commercial: it is funded primarily through institutional allocations from its parent university and research grants from bodies such as Portugal's FCT and the EU's Horizon Europe program. Go-to-market is sales-led in the academic sense — disseminating research outputs through scientific publications, conferences, newsletters, and partner networks. Primary customer segments are academic researchers and scholars, policymakers and government institutions, and (secondarily) civil society organizations engaged in development cooperation; named collaborators include EADI, the University of Aveiro, CES at the University of Coimbra, Kansai University, ACEP, and a transatlantic Horizon Europe consortium spanning Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Name

CEsA - Centre for African and Development Studies

Legal name

Centro de Estudos sobre África e Desenvolvimento (CEsA)

Website

https://cesa.rc.iseg.ulisboa.pt

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CEsA is a non-profit academic research center at ISEG/Universidade de Lisboa conducting development studies research focused on Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. It serves scholars, policymakers, and civil society through publications, graduate programs, and cultural exhibitions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisbon

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Institutional Funding: As a non-profit research center part of ISEG at Universidade de Lisboa, CEsA operates primarily through institutional funding from its parent university and research funding bodies

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CEsA is a non-profit academic research centre that conducts economic, political, social, and cultural research on development, with a primary focus on Africa and secondary emphases on Asia-Pacific and Latin America. It disseminates findings through working papers, brief papers, books, e-books, podcasts, and a digital magazine, and delivers graduate-level training via the MDCI Master's programme and the PDED PhD programme. It also supports dedicated applied research projects such as AFRO-PORT, NEVIS, NILUS, and Rota do Escravo.

Product overview

CEsA (Centre for African and Development Studies) is a non-profit research center at ISEG/Lisbon School of Economics and Management, part of the University of Lisbon. The organization operates as an academic research and dissemination platform offering multiple interconnected products and services: (1) Academic graduate programs including the MDCI Master's and PDED PhD in Development Studies; (2) Publication series encompassing Working Papers, Brief Papers, Books, and E-books under the CEsA Collection; (3) Digital media including the CEsA Digital Magazine, weekly Agenda CEsA Newsletter, and CEsA Podcasts; (4) Specialized research project websites including AFRO-PORT, NEVIS, NILUS, and Rota do Escravo; (5) Cultural resources including the Digital Cartography of Afro-cultural Movement and the itinerant exhibition 'Desconstruir o Colonialismo, Descolonizar o Imaginário'.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MDCI Master's Programme
• PDED PhD Programme
• CEsA Working Papers series
• CEsA Brief Papers series
• CEsA Books and e-books
• Applied Research Projects (AFRO-PORT, NEVIS, NILUS, Rota do Escravo)
• Digital Cartography Outputs

Named customers3 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

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEsA is an integral part of ISEG at Universidade de Lisboa, operating as the centre's research unit under the ISEG Research umbrella
• Universidade de LisboacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEsA is hosted within the domain of the Lisbon School of Economics and Management at Universidade de Lisboa
• EADI - European Association for International EducationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerEduardo Moraes Sarmento, Director of CEsA, was elected as representative of Portugal on the Executive Committee of EADI
• Horizon Europe Consortium (Europe, Africa, Caribbean)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEsA integrates the consortium of universities and institutions from Europe, Africa and the Caribbean in a Horizon Europe project to investigate the legacies of colonialism
• Kansai UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPedro Miguel Amakasu Raposo de Medeiros Carvalho serves as associate researcher at CEsA while being full professor at Kansai University in Osaka, Japan
• FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a TecnologiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch funding institution supporting Portuguese scientific research
• University of AveirominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in the exhibition 'The Alphabet of Cooperation' at the University of Aveiro Libraries
• ACEP - Association for Cooperation Among PeoplesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of the exhibition 'The Alphabet of Cooperation' on development cooperation concepts
• Department of Social, Political, and Territorial Sciences at UAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in exhibition and knowledge sharing initiatives
• Japan Society for Afrasian Studies (JSAS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPedro Miguel Amakasu Raposo de Medeiros Carvalho is Co-Founder of JSAS established in 2019

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED): IIED is an international policy research organisation working on sustainable development, climate and equity themes. Adjacent to CEsA in producing applied development research with policy relevance, with potential comparability on cross-disciplinary development publishing and grant-funded models rather than direct competition.

Broad incumbents

• Centre for Development Studies, University of Cambridge: Cambridge's CDS conducts interdisciplinary research and postgraduate teaching on international development from a leading global university. Comparable to CEsA as an academic centre combining development research with graduate training, though embedded in a much larger, well-capitalised university ecosystem.
• Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex: IDS is one of the world's largest dedicated development-research and postgraduate-training institutions, combining social-science research, policy engagement, and Master's/PhD programmes. Comparable to CEsA's combined research-and-graduate-training model in development studies, though serving a global rather than Lusophone/Africa-anchored agenda.
• Overseas Development Institute (ODI): ODI is a major UK-based development think tank producing applied research and policy advice on international development. Comparable to CEsA in the production of development-focused research for policymakers, though operating as an independent think tank rather than a university-embedded centre.
• Centre of African Studies, SOAS University of London: SOAS's Centre of African Studies is a long-established UK centre pursuing interdisciplinary research and graduate training focused on Africa. It is comparable to CEsA as a university-embedded academic centre producing African and development-studies research and training, though operating at much larger scale and primarily in English.
• African Studies Centre Leiden: Leiden's African Studies Centre is one of Europe's leading dedicated centres for social-science research on Africa, with a large research staff and doctoral training programmes. It is comparable to CEsA in focus (Africa-centred research and graduate training) but with broader disciplinary scope and larger scale.

Direct peers

• Centro de Estudos Africanos da Universidade do Porto (CEAUP): CEAUP is a Porto-based Portuguese university centre dedicated to African studies research, postgraduate training and publications. Directly comparable to CEsA as a fellow Portuguese academic centre focused on African and Lusophone development studies and competing for similar national (FCT) and EU research funding.
• Centre for Social Studies (CES), University of Coimbra: CES/UC is a Portuguese university research unit producing interdisciplinary social-science research with strong links to CEsA in the data (cited as a collaboration partner). Directly comparable as a fellow Portuguese university-based social-science research centre, with overlapping methodological and thematic scope.
• Nordic Africa Institute: The Nordic Africa Institute is a Swedish centre for research, documentation, and policy dialogue focused on contemporary Africa, with mandated international role similar to CEsA's Lusophone/Africa remit. Closely comparable as a publicly funded Europe-based centre conducting African studies research with policy and postgraduate dimensions.

Regional players

• Centro de Estudos Internacionais (CEI-IUL), ISCTE: CEI-IUL is an ISCTE-based Lisbon research centre focused on international relations, area studies and development. Comparable to CEsA as a Lisbon-based academic research centre working on international and development themes, and a likely regional peer for funding and talent competition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xfacebook.com/CEsA.ISEG
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCv21SoDQ5Ywnyo1M_4FpRjQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/CEsA.ISEG
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cesa-centro-de-estudos-sobre-africa-e-desenvolvimento

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CEsA - Centre for African and Development Studies