Shabaka

What Shabaka does

Shabaka is a UK-registered practice-oriented research and advisory organisation (Community Interest Company, company number 9332852) founded in 2014 and headquartered between Brighton and London. It advances humanitarian and development reform by centring people affected by crises, with particular focus on diaspora communities and mutual aid networks as first responders in conflicts including Sudan (post-April 2023), Syria, Myanmar, Haiti, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Venezuela. Its offering is organised around three core service pillars — Insights & Evidence Generation, Strategic Advisory Services, and Capacity Strengthening & Knowledge Exchange — supported by four special initiatives: Nafeer Lab, the Diaspora Humanitarian Exchange Group, the Sudan Programme, and the Switchboard communications platform.

There is no proprietary technology product; Shabaka's 'platform' is its community relationships, decade-long research output, and convening capacity. Revenue is generated through commissioned research, strategic advisory engagements, and grant-based funding drawn from humanitarian institutions (notably OCHA and SaferWorld on Sudan first-responder protection), migration agencies (IOM Sudan), and diaspora networks; pricing is negotiated per engagement and not publicly disclosed. The organisation operates with a small team (1-10 employees) led by Interim CEO Elvina Quaison, and it co-convenes closed roundtables with bodies such as NatCen International and the Centre on Armed Groups to influence policy on locally-led humanitarian action.

Name

Shabaka

Legal name

Shabaka Social Enterprise

Website

https://shabaka.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Shabaka is a UK-registered research and advisory organisation that advances humanitarian reform by centering diaspora communities and mutual aid networks, offering commissioned research, strategic advisory, and capacity strengthening to INGOs, governments, and crisis-affected groups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Research and Advisory Services

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK), Global Health Advocacy, Policy & Rights Organizations (HLAJAKAO)

Keywords

• Humanitarian research
• Diaspora engagement
• Humanitarian advisory
• Capacity strengthening
• Mutual aid networks

Headquarters

HQ city

Brighton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research and Advisory Services: Shabaka generates revenue through commissioned research, strategic advisory engagements, and consulting services for humanitarian organisations, governments, and international agencies seeking expertise on diaspora engagement and locally-led humanitarian response.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Shabaka is a practice-oriented research and advisory organisation that delivers community-centred research, strategic advisory services, and capacity strengthening programmes to advance humanitarian reform. Its work centres diaspora communities and mutual aid networks as critical stakeholders, providing insights, organisational development, and knowledge exchange for humanitarian organisations, governments, and local responders.

Product overview

Shabaka is a practice-oriented research and advisory organisation rather than a product technology company. Its offerings consist of advisory services and special initiatives: three core service pillars (Insights & Evidence Generation, Strategic Advisory Services, Capacity Strengthening & Knowledge Exchange) and four special initiatives (Nafeer Lab, Diaspora Humanitarian Exchange Group, Sudan Programme, and Switchboard). These offerings collectively support humanitarian reform by centering diaspora and mutual aid leadership, with a focus on East and North Africa and West Asia crisis-affected regions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nafeer Lab: A community knowledge lab focused on community-led knowledge initiatives.
• Diaspora Humanitarian Exchange Group
• Sudan Programme
• Switchboard

Products and services

• Insights and Evidence Generation Services Community-centred research services treating communities as partners rather than subjects, co-developing research questions with community partners and recognising diverse knowledge systems.
• Strategic Advisory Services Organisational development and transformation strategy for humanitarian institutions and INGOs, including boundary-setting that protects community autonomy and supports equitable partnership models.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50+ organisations to be strengthened by 2030
• +2 more outcomes

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

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and key.

• Nafeer LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNafeer Community Knowledge Lab - A partnership for community-led knowledge initiatives, announced April 2026.
• IOM SudancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational Organization for Migration Sudan programme partnership focused on diaspora humanitarian exchange and migration response.
• Diaspora Humanitarian Exchange GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecial initiative focused on diaspora engagement in humanitarian response and exchange of knowledge and resources.
• SaferWorldmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSaferWorld commissioned Shabaka's research report on protecting first responders in Sudan, highlighting dangers faced by local responders.
• OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOCHA commissioned Shabaka's research on first responder protection in Sudan, contributing to humanitarian response documentation.
• NatCen InternationalkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerNatCen International co-convened a closed roundtable discussion on humanitarian diplomacy in the Sudan crisis with Shabaka and Centre on Armed Groups.
• Centre on Armed GroupskeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentre on Armed Groups co-convened roundtable on Sudan humanitarian diplomacy alongside NatCen International and Shabaka.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SaferWorld: SaferWorld is a UK-registered INGO working on conflict prevention and peacebuilding; it has commissioned Shabaka's research on Sudan. Both organisations operate as UK-registered non-profits producing policy and programmatic research on conflict-affected contexts.
• ALNAP: ALNAP (Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in humanitarian action) hosts research, evaluations, and learning events on humanitarian system performance. Shabaka's community-centred research and advisory function is highly comparable in terms of producing evidence that shapes humanitarian policy and practice.
• Centre on Armed Groups: Centre on Armed Groups produces research and advisory on armed actors and conflict dynamics; Shabaka is an existing roundtable co-convener partner. The two organisations share a similar niche research-advisory model targeting humanitarian and policy audiences.
• Peace Direct: Peace Direct is a UK-based nonprofit that supports local peacebuilders and locally-led humanitarian response. Like Shabaka, it is a small UK-registered charity championing the localisation agenda and brokering partnerships between local actors and international institutions.
• Start Network: Start Network is a global network of humanitarian NGOs that actively advocates for locally-led humanitarian action and faster, smaller-scale financing. It is closely comparable to Shabaka in mission (localisation), geography (multi-region crisis response), and stakeholder base (humanitarian INGOs, donors).
• Humanitarian Advisory Service: Humanitarian Advisory Service is a small advisory firm supporting humanitarian organisations with strategy, evaluation, and capacity strengthening. It mirrors Shabaka's boutique consulting posture within the humanitarian sector.

Emerging players

• Decolonising the Humanitarian Sector Network: This is a global collective advocating the decolonisation of the humanitarian sector — a theme central to Shabaka's value proposition. It is directly comparable as a peer movement and platform shaping the same discourse Shabaka contributes to.
• CLEAR Global (formerly Translators without Borders): CLEAR Global supports humanitarian and development actors with language and communication services, particularly with crisis-affected and refugee populations. While more language-focused, it overlaps Shabaka's niche of enabling diaspora and locally-led humanitarian communication.
• Forcier Consulting: Forcier is a research, monitoring, and evaluation firm specialising in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Its operating model (commissioned research and MEAL services for humanitarian and development clients) is highly comparable to Shabaka's Insights & Evidence Generation pillar.

Broad incumbents

• ICVA (International Council of Voluntary Agencies): ICVA is a global network of humanitarian NGOs that convenes and advocates on behalf of the NGO sector with UN bodies. It is comparable to Shabaka in operating at the intersection of NGO advocacy, humanitarian policy, and partnership brokering — though at much greater scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/shabaka.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shabaka-social-enterprise
• Instagraminstagram.com/shabaka_org
• Xx.com/shabaka_org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 Shabaka