What development Research and Projects Centre does

Development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC) is an indigenous Nigerian non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 1994 and headquartered in Abuja. The organization functions as an intermediary civil society strengthening entity whose core purpose is to build the organizational and technical capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) to design and implement transformative development interventions. dRPC operates a portfolio of program areas including girls' education and child protection, women's economic empowerment (notably through the Gates Foundation–funded PAWED project), gender-based violence (GBV) prevention via engagement of Muslim Opinion Leaders, health systems advocacy (routine immunization, family planning, Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation), social protection, and civic participation in governance.

dRPC does not develop or commercialize technology products. Its "platform" is a research, advocacy, and capacity-building delivery model that combines action and participatory research, monitoring/evaluation/accountability/learning (MEAL), policy domestication support for federal and state ministries, and direct grant-making to smaller NGOs through the NGO Support Initiative (NSI), which has disbursed N5 million grants to 17 NGOs across 11 states. Program delivery is conducted through dRPC's own field staff and CSO coalition partners across Nigerian states including Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Adamawa, Borno, Lagos, Plateau, Kwara, Niger, and Ondo, with convening and policy influence extending to the African Union and ECOWAS.

The organization is funded entirely through restricted and unrestricted grants from international development partners, including Ford Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GIZ (German Development Cooperation), the European Union, Grand Challenges Canada, and various UN agencies, as well as strategic partnerships with academic institutions (IDS Sussex, University of Leiden, Al-Azhar University) and Nigerian government bodies (Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, NIPSS, National Population Commission). As a non-profit, dRPC provides all services free of charge to beneficiaries, with revenue mechanics governed by grant cycles, program deliverables, and donor reporting requirements rather than commercial pricing.

Name

development Research and Projects Centre

Legal name

Development Research and Projects Centre

Website

https://drpcngr.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC) is an Abuja-based Nigerian non-profit founded in 1994 that builds the capacity of civil society organizations and delivers advocacy, research, and programs in women's economic empowerment, girls' education, GBV prevention, and health across Nigeria.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit Civil Society Development Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Protection, Child Protection & Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Response (BPAGAAAG)

Keywords

• Civil society strengthening
• Community development research
• Capacity building services
• Gender equality advocacy
• Women economic empowerment

Headquarters

HQ city

Abuja

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Development Partner Grants: dRPC generates revenue primarily through grants and funding from international development partners including Ford Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GIZ, EU, and various UN agencies. These grants support specific programmatic areas including women's economic empowerment, health advocacy, and education programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

dRPC is a non-profit intermediary organization that strengthens the organizational and technical capacity of civil society organizations in Nigeria to design and implement sustainable development interventions. It delivers this through capacity building workshops, action and participatory research, policy advocacy, grant sub-awarding to smaller NGOs (via NSI), and direct programs on women's economic empowerment (PAWED), child and family health, girls' education, gender-based violence prevention, and social protection.

Product overview

The development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC) is a non-profit intermediary civil society organization that does not offer technology products or SaaS platforms. dRPC's work encompasses advocacy, research, policy engagement, and capacity-building programs focused on child and family health (PAS), women's economic empowerment (PAWED), girls' education, gender-based violence prevention, social protection, and civil society organization strengthening. The organization also operates the NGO Support Initiative (NSI) grant program providing financial support to other NGOs. All work is conducted through program-based approaches rather than technology product delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NGO Support Initiative (NSI): Resilience response initiative launched by dRPC providing N5 million grants to 17 NGOs across 11 Nigerian states.
• PAWED (Partnerships for Advancing Women in Economic Development)

Products and services

• CSO Capacity Building and Organizational Strengthening Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 150 scholars and opinion leaders trained and mobilized to speak against GBV
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GIZ (German Development Cooperation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementing partner for women political participation programs in Borno and Adamawa states through the Sustainable Social Protection Participation and Economic Resilience programme. EU-funded project on gender-responsive governance.
• National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment think tank partner for policy research, high-level dialogues on health and population, and gender policy domestication workshops.
• Federal Ministry of Women AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment ministry partner for women's empowerment policy, GBV prevention advocacy, and national WEE policy domestication across states.
• National Population CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for family planning advocacy and population growth research collaboration.
• Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth sector partnership for routine immunization advocacy and essential health services promotion.
• Sight and LifeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConvened cross-sector experts to advance Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) for pregnant women in Nigeria.
• Trust AfricaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in West Africa dialogue on Africa's future and power building initiatives.
• IDS (Institute of Development Studies) SussexcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership for chronic poverty research, social assistance studies, and insecurity and livelihoods analysis in Northern Nigeria.
• CPAN (Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on nutrition advocacy and health budget tracking activities.
• Al-Azhar University EgyptminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for Muslim Opinion Leaders study tours on Islamic perspective on health worker responsibility and child health.
• University of Leiden NetherlandsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for Traditional Authorities Research Project in Nigeria.
• State Ministries of Women Affairs (Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Plateau, Borno, Kwara)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubnational government partners for WEE policy domestication, women's empowerment programs, and GBV prevention initiatives.
• Women Economic Collectives (NCWS, AWITA, NAWE, NNEW, NACCIMA Women's Group)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWomen's collective organizations partnered through PAWED project for economic empowerment advocacy and budget monitoring.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• African Women's Development Fund (AWDF): AWDF is a pan-African grantmaking foundation resourcing women's rights organizations across Africa, headquartered in Accra. Comparable to dRPC's NSI sub-granting mechanism, but at continental scale and as a dedicated funder rather than implementer.
• ActionAid Nigeria: ActionAid Nigeria is the country affiliate of a large global federation working on women's rights, governance, and education across Nigeria. Overlaps with dRPC on girls' education, women's economic empowerment, and CSO coalition work, but at significantly larger scale and budget.
• Save the Children Nigeria: Save the Children Nigeria is a large INGO operating across child protection, education, health, and humanitarian response in Nigeria. Overlaps with dRPC on girls' education, child protection, and Northeast programming but operates with much larger budgets and global brand.

Direct peers

• Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC): WARDC is a Nigerian women's rights organization conducting research, litigation, and advocacy on gender equality and GBV. Highly comparable to dRPC's gender advocacy, research output, and coalition-building with civil society.
• Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD): CDD is a West African civil society and governance organization based in Abuja, conducting research and policy advocacy on democracy, security, and development. Comparable to dRPC on research-to-policy work, government partnerships, and multi-state programming in Nigeria.
• Connected Development (CODE): CODE is a Nigerian civic-tech and accountability NGO that builds CSO capacity and tracks government budgets in Nigeria. Closely aligned with dRPC's CSO strengthening work, health budget advocacy, and community-led accountability model.
• Women's Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA): WRAPA is a Nigerian nonprofit working on women's rights, GBV prevention, and policy advocacy across Nigerian states. Directly comparable to dRPC on gender-based programming, government engagement, and CSO capacity-building within Nigeria.
• BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights: BAOBAB is a Nigeria-based (with West Africa reach) women's rights NGO using legal empowerment, research, and advocacy. Comparable to dRPC on women's empowerment programming, Sharia/legal pluralist contexts, and research-to-advocacy pipeline.

Others

• Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex: IDS is a UK-based global development research institution and a current dRPC research partner on chronic poverty and social assistance in Northern Nigeria. Relevant as a research/IP collaborator rather than a direct program competitor.

Emerging players

• Trust Africa: Trust Africa is a Dakar-headquartered foundation that supports civic engagement and power-building across Africa and is an existing dRPC partner. Comparable on West African civil society strengthening, though focused on grantmaking rather than direct program delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/drpc_nig
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@drpc_nigeria
• Facebookfacebook.com/DRPCNigeria
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/development-research-and-project-centre-3331aa200
• Instagraminstagram.com/drpcnigeria

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about development Research and Projects Centre