User Profile

Managing Partner, Gawani Africa

Martin is an experienced strategy and policy advisor and certified program/project manager. He has worked extensively across Africa, advising public institutions, bilateral and multilateral development agencies, international foundations, and private corporations on strategy and execution, public policy reform, and organisational effectiveness. He is currently the Managing Partner at Gawani Africa, a strategy and innovation advisory start-up he founded in 2019. Prior to founding Gawani Africa, he was an Associate Partner and member of the global management team at Dalberg Advisors – and before then, he worked with Accenture playing a key role in the firm’s successful expansion into the public sector in Nigeria, and helping build the firm’s internal capabilities in strategy development. Over the last 5 years, Martin has worked extensively on global research and innovation with a specific focus on strengthening national research capacities of low- and medium-income countries (LMICs) across the world, and particularly in Africa. His work in this domain includes helping to incubate an African coalition for strengthening research and innovation; advising on an initiative to establish a continental research fund for Africa; and helping to implement a mechanism to improve coordination between large global funders of health research for greater synergy in investments in LMIC clinical research capacity strengthening. He currently is a Consultant to the Special Programs for Tropical Diseases Research (TDR) on the UK-led G7 initiative to strengthen global infrastructure for clinical trials towards faster development of vaccines, drugs, and therapeutics during global public health emergencies. Martin has recently started work on developing a tech-enabled platform to help young thinkers and potential innovators in Africa’s higher institutions develop their critical thinking skills and strengthen their research competencies, to improve their readiness to conduct or participate in international standard research. Other interests include public health, nutrition, tech-driven innovation in the public sector, and economic growth strategies and policy execution. He has recently become involved with the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA) a Pan-African network for social investors aimed at bridging the social investment financing gap on the continent. He also founded LearnHistory Africa, an NGO with a mission to help preserve the connection between African children and Africa’s rich history, by giving children a modern and positive perspective of African history and culture through immersive experiences. Martin has a Bachelors’ degree in Geography and Regional Planning from the University of Benin in Nigeria and a masters’ degree in Information Technology from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He served on the Planning Committee of the annual Nigeria Economic Summit between 2011 and 2016. He has been a certified Project Manager on the PRINCE II methodology since 2006.