MARCAD Plus

What MARCAD Plus does

MARCAD Plus (legally the Malaria Research Capacity Development Consortium) is a non-profit research consortium headquartered at the Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odontology, University Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) in Dakar, Senegal. Founded in 2015 and re-launched in 2023 as part of the DELTAS Africa II programme, it operates as a network of African and European research institutions focused on building malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) research capacity across West and Central Africa. Its primary "products" are tiered fellowship programs — MSc, PhD, and Post-Doc — that train Africa-based scientists, alongside knowledge resources (scientific publications, posters, abstracts) and information services (the ALERTE MARCAD alert system). The consortium serves Africa-based researchers, African health ministries, and global health donors, with programmatic reach extending into Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Ghana.

MARCAD Plus is grant-funded rather than commercially revenue-generating. Its operating model is a consortium-based, community-led GTM motion: it recruits and trains fellows through formal academic pathways, showcases research at international conferences (e.g., ASTMH 2025 in Toronto), and translates fellow outputs into national health policy (e.g., Sierra Leone's 5-Year AMR Roadmap, Ghana's malaria-in-pregnancy prevention in Volta Region). The organization is governed by a Steering Committee, with support from a Research Committee and Advisory Board, and is co-sponsored by Wellcome Trust and the UK's FCDO in partnership with the Science for Africa Foundation. Its go-to-market is not sales-driven but rather mission-driven — building a sustainable pipeline of African scientific leadership to inform evidence-based malaria and NTDs control.

The consortium's underlying "technology" is a human-capital and research-translation platform rather than a software or AI product. There is no disclosed proprietary technology, patents, or AI/ML capability. Its defensible asset is the talent moat — a growing alumni network of trained African scientists — combined with the institutional credibility conferred by DELTAS Africa II selection. MARCAD Plus is one of only 14 consortia globally in the DELTAS Africa II cohort, which is its primary competitive differentiator versus other African research-capacity programs.

Name

MARCAD Plus

Legal name

Malaria Research Capacity Development (MARCAD) Consortium

Website

https://marcad-africa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MARCAD Plus is a non-profit research consortium headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, that trains African scientists through MSc, PhD, and Post-Doc fellowships to build malaria and NTDs research capacity across West and Central Africa, funded by Wellcome Trust and FCDO.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Consortium Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Disease-Specific Global Initiatives (HIV/TB/Malaria/NTDs) (HLAJAOAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Malaria research
• Research fellowships
• Neglected tropical diseases
• Scientific capacity building
• Research consortium

Headquarters

HQ city

Dakar

HQ country

Senegal

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research Consortium Funding: MARCAD Plus operates as a grant-funded research consortium supported by international donors. The program receives funding from Wellcome Trust, FCDO, and the Science for Africa Foundation to conduct malaria and NTDs research and train African scientists.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

MARCAD Plus is a research consortium that delivers MSc, PhD, and Post-Doc fellowship programs to train African scientists in malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) research across West and Central Africa. The consortium coordinates a network of African and European partner institutions to conduct collaborative research and translate findings into national health policy and practice. Operations are funded by grants from Wellcome Trust, FCDO, and the Science for Africa Foundation under the DELTAS Africa II programme.

Product overview

MARCAD Plus is a research capacity development consortium focused on malaria and NTDs elimination in West and Central Africa. The consortium operates as a unified platform offering tiered fellowship programs (MSc, PhD, and Post-Doc) alongside knowledge resources (publications, posters, abstracts) and information services (ALERTE MARCAD alerts, media gallery). These components work together to train African scientists, disseminate research findings, and support evidence-based malaria control and elimination efforts across the continent.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MARCAD Plus MSc Fellowship Program
• MARCAD Plus PhD Fellowship Program
• MARCAD Plus Post-Doc Fellowship Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Fellow contributed to Sierra Leone's national AMR strategy
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Science for Africa Foundation (SFA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Science for Africa Foundation is a key partner of MARCAD Plus, working in partnership with Wellcome Trust and FCDO to support the DELTAS Africa II programme and research capacity development across Africa.
• University Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) of DakarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUCAD hosts the MARCAD Consortium Secretariat at its Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odontology. The university is a key African partner in the consortium.
• DELTAS Africa ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMARCAD Plus is one of 14 consortia selected for the DELTAS Africa II programme, a major African science initiative. The DELTAS Africa II launch ceremony was held on March 14th, 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya.
• American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMARCAD Plus showcased scientific leadership at the ASTMH 2025 Annual Meeting in Toronto, presenting research findings to the international tropical medicine community.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Malaria Consortium: International non-profit specializing in malaria prevention, control, and treatment programs in Africa and Asia. Directly comparable to MARCAD Plus in its disease focus (malaria) and Africa operating geography, though it emphasizes program delivery rather than research training.
• MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM: MRC/LSHTM research unit in West Africa conducting clinical and epidemiological research on infectious diseases including malaria. Comparable to MARCAD Plus as a West-Africa-based research entity training African scientists and producing policy-relevant infectious disease research, though with deeper clinical-trials infrastructure.
• Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF): Charity funding African health researchers' leadership and capacity development, especially early-career scientists. Directly comparable to MARCAD Plus in its mission of building African research leadership and training pipelines, including through fellowship-type programs.
• TDR (Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases): WHO-hosted programme that supports research and training on infectious diseases of poverty, including malaria and NTDs. Directly comparable to MARCAD Plus as a globally-funded research capacity builder for tropical diseases in low- and middle-income countries.
• EDCTP (European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership): Europe-funded partnership that supports clinical research and capacity building for infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. Directly comparable to MARCAD Plus in its mission of funding African-led research capacity development in malaria, NTDs and related diseases, with similar funder-and-consortium model.

Regional players

• West African Health Organization (WAHO): ECOWAS regional health agency coordinating health policy and capacity across West Africa. Comparable to MARCAD Plus in its West African geographic mandate and engagement with member-state health ministries, though it operates as an intergovernmental body rather than a research consortium.

Broad incumbents

• Africa CDC: Continental public-health agency for Africa headquartered in Addis Ababa. It is comparable to MARCAD Plus as a continental body focused on infectious disease research, surveillance, and capacity building in Africa, but operates at a much larger, AU-mandated scale rather than as a malaria/NTD-specific consortium.
• KEMRI (Kenya Medical Research Institute): National medical research institute conducting biomedical and public health research in East Africa. Comparable to MARCAD Plus as a leading African-led health research institution delivering training, publications, and policy-relevant outputs, but with a broader disease mandate and a much larger footprint.
• Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi): International not-for-profit developing new treatments for neglected tropical diseases including malaria. Comparable to MARCAD Plus in its focus on NTDs and malaria and its Africa research footprint, though its primary mandate is product development rather than research training.

Emerging players

• Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ): Africa-based research and implementation organization conducting infectious disease research including malaria and NTDs, with affiliated training programs. Comparable to MARCAD Plus as an African-led health research entity generating policy-relevant outputs, though primarily focused on Zambia rather than West/Central Africa.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/marcad-plus

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 MARCAD Plus