Bespoke research and strategic advice for sub-Saharan markets
Bespoke research and strategic advice for sub-Saharan markets
About
We help companies and organisations succeed and generate positive impact in sub-Saharan Africa.
We have access to a unique range of people and insights across 35+ sub-Saharan African markets.
We value transparency in the way we work, we are innovative in our approach, and we are motivated to be the best at what we do.
Our team has several decades of combined experience advising the most influential companies and organisations operating in Africa. With offices in London and Nairobi, our team works at the heart of information flows, drawing on an in-market network that covers 35+ countries in the sub-Saharan region.
Southern Africa
Recent work: Selected examples
- Scenarios-based political risk forecast for mining sector client in South Africa
- In-depth market risk assessment and stakeholder engagement advice for mobile financial services company in Zambia
- Investment due diligence on acquisition target in Zimbabwe for global mining company
- Political economy analysis of the food commodity sector in Mozambique for international organisation
- Regulatory risk assessment in Namibia for global oil and gas investor
Client testimonials





Services
We advise
- Multinational companies
- African businesses
- Sovereign wealth funds
- Private equity and venture capital
- Law firms
- Development agencies
- Multilateral organisations
- Non-governmental organisations
- Impact investors
- Research institutions
To address
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Investment strategy
Targeted ground-level insight, helping CEOs to make the best, risk-adjusted investment decisions in markets where reliable data is scarce.
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Risk and scenario analysis
Comprehensive analysis of an operating environment, mapping the various ways events may unfold in order to pre-empt critical challenges.
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Sector mapping
Identification of the people, policies, companies and organisations with influence over a sector, and recommended stakeholder engagements.
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Transaction advisory
Locally informed insight and advice to enable durable local partnerships and to navigate legal and regulatory processes.
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Due diligence
Detailed integrity checks on an entity or individual to protect our client against reputation damage.
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Corporate strategy
We source opportunities for investors, drawing on our sector expertise and local footprint.
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Political economy analysis
Analysis of political dynamics, stakeholders, regulatory environment and macroeconomic trends with actionable insights.
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Stakeholder mapping and analysis
Identification of the most relevant, influential individuals and organisations; and analysis of highest priority stakeholders to provide insight into their views and priorities.
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Issue advocacy
Development and implementation support for robust, locally relevant advocacy strategies to achieve change in targeted areas.
Our thinking
Our team

Jyrki Koskelo
Chairman, Advisory Board

Baïdy Dieng
Advisory Board Member
For his last 12 years at EY, Baïdy held senior leadership positions including Advisory Services Leader for French Speaking Sub Saharan Africa (FSSA), Business Development Leader for FSSA, and member of the Africa Advisory Executive Committee for the Africa Region. Since leaving EY in 2019, Baïdy has created an investment vehicle taking minority influential stakes in SMEs, while participating in Senegalese investment clubs and networks as a board member to support local private sector development. He has also served on the board of the Economic Policies Study Centre (CEPOD) of Senegal’s Ministry of Economy since 2003 as a private sector representative. Baïdy holds a Master’s degree in Management and Finance from the Paris Business School (ISC) and an Executive Master’s degree in Public Affairs from the Paris Institute of Political Sciences (Sciences-Po).

Sarah-Jane Boulos
Senior Advisor

Anna Riley
Managing Partner
Anna established and ran the first risk advisory firm in Tanzania from 2011-2014 and subsequently led the Southern Africa business for africapractice from South Africa. She has particular expertise in the mining, oil and gas, and agriculture sectors, having advised companies on project development and stakeholder relations in these sectors across the sub-Saharan region. Recently, Anna has provided advice on managing policy risk to a leading investor in African agriculture; sector analysis on East Africa’s fast-evolving digital payments sector for a leading global payments firm; and market intelligence in support of a multi-billion dollar oil and gas project in West Africa. A dual Finnish-British national, Anna started her career as a reporter at the Finnish News Agency (STT) and later led advocacy for investors in Africa towards multilateral bodies at the Brussels-based Private Investors for Africa. Anna’s motivation lies in supporting private sector-led development in the region. She has degrees in Political Science and International Relations from the Universities of Edinburgh and Helsinki, respectively.

Ashley Elliot
Managing Partner
Early in his career, Ashley worked in the office of the Director of Strategy at the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C. and at the United Nations Development Programme in Nairobi, Kenya. He holds a BA in Social and Political Sciences from University of Cambridge and an MA in International Relations and Economics from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Kitty Llewellyn
Managing Partner
Having begun her career at the International Herald Tribune in Paris, Kitty speaks French and has worked throughout French speaking Africa, particularly in Gabon, the Republic of Congo and the DRC. Kitty ran the Africa desk at Aegis Advisory before heading their specialist investigations division. She has a masters in African politics and history from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. In 2009 she founded the charity A Partner In Education which works to improve the quality of teaching and learning in Rwanda.

Rico Natali
Associate Partner
Since joining the Sofala team as an Associate Partner, Rico has conducted ground-level market research to inform product launch strategy for a market-leading Pay-As-You-Go platform in East Africa, leveraging micro-payment technologies to drive financial inclusion. In addition, he has advised an innovative global healthcare provider on market entry in East and West Africa. Based in our London office, Rico will help lead Sofala’s growing market entry and investment advisory practice, drawing on a proven ability to develop custom analytics and tools that enable clients to make informed decisions in data-scarce contexts. He holds a BA in International Studies and a Master’s degree in Policy from the Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington.

Henrietta Southby
Associate Partner
Henrietta has worked on a range of multi-jurisdictional projects across the African continent for private equity and impact investors, development finance institutions, law firms, and natural resource multinationals. She has particular expertise on South Africa and Iran, recently spending six months at the Dehkhoda Institute in Tehran. She holds an MA in History and History of Art from the University of Edinburgh, and an MA in Terrorism, Security and Society from King’s College London.

Adam Taylor
Associate Partner
Early in his career, Adam spent time in Zimbabwe, carrying out academic research into military involvement in government and working for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) party in 2011 during the government of national-unity. Adam has a BA in Geography from the University of Oxford, and an MSc in Violence, Conflict and Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

Ditte Krogh Olesen
Senior Analyst
As Ditte grew up in Mombasa, Kenya, she is very familiar with central, east and southern Africa. She holds a BA from the University of Cambridge in Politics and International Relations, and an MSc in Defence, Development and Diplomacy from the University of Durham.

Wadeisor Rukato
Analyst
She recently completed a Master of Social Science degree in Security, Leadership & Society as a Fellow at the African Leadership Centre, King’s College London. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in China Studies, with a concentration in International Relations, from Peking University’s Yenching Academy.
Wadeisor is a co-founder of From Africa to China, an online platform that seeks to add a youth voice to the discourse on Africa-China relations.

Quentin Mareuse
Analyst
Quentin has also interned for Kenya’s Hivisasa.com platform, where he developed a customer relationship management system to enable engagement with the platform’s network of citizen journalists across Kenya.
Quentin served as university president of the Columbia Association for Foreign Affairs. In addition to his native English and French, Quentin speaks intermediate Russian.
Contact
For information about our team, our track record and our pan-African network of partners and associates, please contact us:
Sofala Perspectives Newsletter
A platform for friends of Sofala covering our latest news and insights on African markets.