REPOA

What REPOA does

REPOA is an independent, nonprofit policy research institution headquartered in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, founded in 1999 (per the company timeline) and operating with approximately 57 employees. Its functional mandate is to produce and disseminate cutting-edge socio-economic and development research on poverty, sustainable development, climate change adaptation, blue economy, renewable energy, trade policy, and governance in Tanzania and the broader East African region.

The institution's core offerings fall into two layers. The first is a research and publications portfolio spanning Afrobarometer public opinion surveys, policy briefs, policy papers, working papers, research reports, journal articles, books, newsletters, and workshop reports, all distributed through the REPOA website and a public Resource Centre / Virtual Library. The second is a programmatic layer that includes the Annual Research Workshop (the longest-running such event in Tanzania by a Tanzanian organization, now in its 29th year as of 2026), the Jobs Network initiative, the REPOA-NRGI Online Training program delivered in partnership with the National Resource Governance Institute, and the TradeCom II Programme focused on trade capacity building. REPOA is the national Afrobarometer partner for Tanzania.

REPOA operates a donor-funded business model rather than a commercial one, with no publicly disclosed pricing for services. Core financial partners include the governments of Norway, Ireland, and Sweden, supplemented by program-level partnerships with Afrobarometer, NRGI, and TradeCom II. Its customers are four non-paying segments: Tanzanian policymakers and government officials, academic researchers, international development partners and NGOs, and civil society organizations, all of which consume REPOA's research outputs as public goods. Marketing and distribution run through the website, social channels (X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube), the public Resource Centre, webinars and seminars including the Mdahalo Huru (open dialogue) series, and the Annual Research Workshop. No commercial product, mobile app, public API, or proprietary technology platform is offered; the underlying technology is a standard CMS-based website with a Liberty ASP virtual library catalogue.

Name

REPOA

Legal name

REPOA

Website

https://repoa.or.tz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

REPOA is an independent, donor-funded nonprofit policy research institute in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, producing socio-economic, poverty, and development research and hosting the country's longest-running Annual Research Workshop for policymakers, academics, NGOs, and civil society.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research and Development Think Tank

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Transitional Justice, Accountability & Reparations (BPADAGAL)

Keywords

• Development policy research
• Poverty and development
• Policy brief publishing
• Economic development studies
• Public opinion surveys

Headquarters

HQ city

Dar es Salaam

HQ country

Tanzania

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

REPOA is an independent Tanzanian research institution that produces and disseminates policy-relevant research on poverty, sustainable development, socio-economic development, blue economy, renewable energy, trade, and governance. It delivers these insights through a portfolio of research publications (Afrobarometer surveys, policy briefs, working papers, journal articles, workshop reports), an Annual Research Workshop, a public Resource Centre / Virtual Library, and targeted programmes including the Jobs Network, REPOA-NRGI Online Training, and the TradeCom II Programme.

Product overview

REPOA is an independent research institution in Tanzania, not a technology product company. Its offerings consist of research and knowledge products, including a comprehensive portfolio of research publications (Afrobarometer surveys, policy briefs, journal articles, working papers, workshop reports), a Virtual Library/Resource Centre providing public access to development research, an Annual Research Workshop (the longest-running research workshop in Tanzania by a local organization), and specialized programmes including Jobs Network, REPOA-NRGI Online Training, and TradeCom II Programme. These are service offerings in the research and policy analysis domain rather than technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TradeCom II Programme: A program managed by REPOA focusing on trade and economic development
• REPOA-NRGI Online Training
• Jobs Network

Products and services

• Research Publications REPOA's portfolio of research publications covering development topics in Tanzania and the region, including Afrobarometer surveys, Annual Reports, Books, Journal Articles, LGRP reports, Newsletters, Policy Briefs, Policy Papers, Research Reports, Working Papers, and Workshop Reports. Produced for policymakers, researchers, development partners, and the general public.
• Virtual Library / Resource Centre

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• AfrobarometercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 January 2025REPOA serves as the national partner for Afrobarometer in Tanzania, conducting public opinion surveys on democracy, governance, and economic conditions. The partnership produces Round 10 survey data on sexual and reproductive health and rights, economic conditions, and other key development indicators.
• TradeCom II ProgrammemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTradeCom II is a programme that REPOA is involved in, likely focused on trade capacity building and economic development research.
• National Resource Governance Institute (NRGI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerREPOA-NRGI Online Training partnership provides capacity building in governance and resource management through online training programmes.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF): ESRF is a Tanzanian policy research institute based in Dar es Salaam conducting socio-economic research and policy analysis; it directly competes with REPOA for Tanzanian government, donor, and academic audiences in the same domestic research niche.
• Afrobarometer: Afrobarometer is a pan-African research network that surveys public opinion on democracy and governance, with REPOA as its Tanzania national partner; both operate in the same evidence-based policy space across Africa and share methodology and donor pools.
• African Economic Research Consortium (AERC): AERC is a pan-African research consortium based in Nairobi that produces and disseminates economic policy research across the continent; it is the closest analogue to REPOA in scale, mission, and donor-funded policy research model, and both serve overlapping government, academic, and development-partner audiences in East Africa.
• Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA): CODESRIA is the leading pan-African social science research council based in Dakar, funding and convening research on development, governance, and society; it overlaps with REPOA on socio-economic and policy research themes across Africa.

Broad incumbents

• Institute of Development Studies (IDS): IDS at the University of Sussex is a global development research and teaching institute; it operates at larger scale and broader geographic scope than REPOA while overlapping strongly on poverty, governance, and development research themes.
• Brookings Africa Growth Initiative: Brookings Institution produces Africa-focused policy research on growth, trade, and governance with global reach; it competes for donor attention and policy influence in the same space as REPOA but with much larger resources and a U.S. base.
• Overseas Development Institute (ODI): ODI is a major London-based global development think tank producing policy research and advisory work; it is a broader incumbent operating across many countries, including Tanzania-adjacent work, and competes for the same donor-funded policy research mandates.

Regional players

• Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Kenya: IEA Kenya is a Nairobi-based independent think tank conducting policy research and public engagement; it is highly comparable in organizational form and mission to REPOA but operates primarily in Kenya rather than Tanzania.
• South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA): SAIIA is a Johannesburg-based policy research institute focused on African international affairs and development; comparable to REPOA in its research-and-policy-bridge role but operating in a different African geography.

Others

• REPOA-NRGI joint training initiative context: National Resource Governance Institute (NRGI): NRGI is an independent non-profit that works on resource governance and capacity building, and is already an active partner of REPOA through their joint online training programme; it is adjacent ecosystem rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/REPOA
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCp-l42Ceyr7A_Xhvh4sANUw
• Facebookfacebook.com/repoatz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/repoa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about REPOA