Expertise/The Capability
Evidence, then
judgement.
A data platform on Africa, an operating record next to it, and the ability to say what the two together mean.
The Capability/01
Four parts.
In this order.
The first three are the work. The fourth is what they make possible. Each one rests on the one above it.
The Sovereign Engine is our own database of African economic, infrastructure and geospatial statistics. It holds tens of thousands of data points and it grows on every release.
It covers the continent, at country level and below, across the nine forces.
Storing figures is the easy half. The engine compares each new release against the last one and marks what moved.
It also holds what things depend on. Power sits under industry. Ports sit under trade. So when one series moves, the system can point at the others that sit downstream of it.
No dataset tells you why a project stalled. That comes from having done the work: planning, permitting, financing, building, and keeping every party at the table for years.
The founder spent twenty years on large construction and infrastructure developments in West Africa, in board and operating roles. That is the layer that reads the data.
The company also provides research, advisory, project management and marketing services. These rest on the platform and the operating record.
Sectors follow the platform: cities and infrastructure, capital, energy, technology, industry, agriculture, environment, and the sectors that serve people, including education and health.
THE ORDER MATTERS.
Coverage/02
Nine areas.
One continent.
The engine covers the nine forces set out on the home page. It reads each one at country level and below.
A move in one area is rarely contained. Power sits under industry. Ports sit under trade. The system holds those links, so a change in one place points at the next.
The Brief/03
The NextStep Africa
Brief.
What the engine turns up, every fortnight. From Lagos.
- What moved
- The change that mattered, and the number under it.
- How it connects
- The systems involved, and what one does to another.
- What it turns on
- What has to go right, and who is already building it.
- What to watch
- One indicator, and when it resolves.
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From the founder's desk.
NextStep Africa / Lagos