The Nkafu Policy Institute of the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation and the Building Resilience and Impact through Dialogue and Galvanising Action for Evidence-Informed Policymaking (BRIDGE-Africa) Consortium have been awarded a USD 10 million grant under the Africa Think Tank Platform (ATTP), a flagship five-year, USD 50 million initiative of the African Union funded by the World Bank Group.
The grant agreements were recently signed in Addis Ababa by the African Union Commission, and 13 leading African think tanks organised into three pan-African consortia. BRIDGE-Africa is one of three consortia selected under the ATTP, and is coordinated by the African Centre for Economic Transformation (Ghana), with Nkafu Policy Institute of the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation (Cameroon), the African Institute for Development Policy (Kenya), the South African Institute of International Affairs (South Africa), and the Policy Centre for the New South (Morocco) as consortium members.
The 2.5-year grant will support collaborative policy research, institutional capacity strengthening, and the production of actionable, policy-ready evidence aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063. BRIDGE-Africa’s research will address priority thematic areas, including economic transformation, governance, regional trade, climate change, food security, human capital development, and digitalisation.
Nkafu’s Role: Leading Health Systems Financing Research in Central Africa
Within the BRIDGE-Africa Consortium, Nkafu Policy Institute will lead the health policy research stream, focusing specifically on health systems financing across Central Africa. This stream will generate high-quality, policy-relevant evidence in a region where capacity constraints have historically limited the availability of in-country research to guide government decision-making.
Dr Denis A. Foretia, Executive Chairman of the Nkafu Policy Institute, Associate Dean for Global Health at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Co-Principal Investigator of the BRIDGE-Africa Consortium, will provide strategic leadership and scientific oversight of the consortium’s health policy work.
“This award is a powerful affirmation of what African think tanks can accomplish when they work together with the ambition and rigour that our continent’s challenges demand,” Dr Denis A. Foretia, Executive Chairman, Nkafu Policy Institute, and Co-Principal Investigator, BRIDGE-Africa Consortium.
“We are honoured to lead the health systems financing workstream. Central Africa has one of the highest burdens of preventable disease in the world, with significantly constrained health financing systems. This grant provides the platform and the resources to begin to change that, to produce the kind of evidence that informs policymakers.”
“The Nkafu Policy Institute was built on the conviction that Africa’s development must be driven by African knowledge, African evidence, and African voices. This award is a testament to that conviction and to the extraordinary work of our team,” Jennet Chinje, Board Chair, Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation.
A Historic Milestone for African Think Tanks
The Africa Think Tank Platform represents the largest dedicated investment in African think tank capacity in the history of the African Union. By channelling resources directly to African-led research institutions, the ATTP signals a decisive shift toward home-grown, continent-driven solutions to Africa’s most pressing challenges. The platform is implemented by the African Union Commission in partnership with the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and the African Union Development Agency, NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD).
For Nkafu, the award marks an important milestone in the institute’s history, adding to a growing portfolio of internationally recognised policy research and strengthening its capacity to produce, disseminate, and advocate for evidence-based policy across the continent.
About the BRIDGE-Africa Consortium
BRIDGE-Africa brings together five leading African think tanks spanning West, East, Southern, North, and Central Africa. The consortium will produce collaborative cross-border policy research and evidence across multiple strategic thematic areas, with each member institution leading specific research streams aligned with their areas of expertise.
About Nkafu Policy Institute
The Nkafu Policy Institute is the think tank of the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation, headquartered in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Founded in 2012, Nkafu is dedicated to producing independent, evidence-informed policy research that addresses the governance, health, economic, and development challenges facing Cameroon and the broader Central African region. Nkafu’s work spans health policy, political economy, governance, and security, and it engages a network of researchers, policymakers, and civil society leaders across Africa and internationally. For more information, visit www.nkafu.org.
About the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation
The Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation is a Cameroonian philanthropic foundation committed to advancing health, education, policy, and economic opportunity in Cameroon and across Africa. The Foundation houses the Nkafu Policy Institute and supports a range of programmatic initiatives focused on human capital development, health systems strengthening, and evidence-based governance.
