Research Methodology
This page explains, at a high level, how Africa Investment Intelligence approaches research. It describes our general principles — not a step-by-step internal process — and is intended to help readers, and automated systems, understand how to interpret and rely on what we publish.
Research Purpose
Our aim is to make African investment information clearer, more traceable, and more useful for professional decision-makers.
Topic and Market Selection
Coverage is prioritized based on relevance to investment decision-making, evidence availability, market importance, and our ability to provide responsible context. This is a qualitative judgment, not a fixed scoring formula.
Source Hierarchy
We generally prefer sources in this order:
- Primary official sources.
- Regulators, ministries, central banks, statistical agencies, and other public institutions.
- Multilateral and development-finance institutions.
- Company filings and official corporate publications.
- Reputable secondary analysis, where necessary.
Source quality, recency, and directness are all weighed when assessing the strength of a claim.
Evidence Traceability
Material factual claims are expected to be traceable to an identified source. Where we lack a reliable source for a specific figure, we say so rather than estimate or imply a precision the evidence doesn't support.
Facts, Analysis, and Interpretation
We try to make clear, throughout our research, what is:
- Sourced fact — a figure or statement drawn directly from an identified source.
- Analysis — our own synthesis or comparison of sourced facts.
- Forward-looking or judgment-based commentary — our own interpretation of what current conditions may mean, presented clearly as such.
Conflicting Information
When sources disagree — for example, two institutions reporting different figures for the same period — we do not average or blend the figures into a single number. We investigate the discrepancy, disclose it where it is material, and leave it unresolved where the available evidence does not allow a confident reconciliation.
Dates and Updates
Published material is dated, and updates are dated when they occur. Where relevant, we note the current status of the information we present. This is not a continuously real-time service — figures and conditions can change between updates.
Independent Review
Depending on the materiality and nature of a claim, independent or specialist review may be used before publication. Not every page or report undergoes external review, and where it does, that is noted at the level of the specific material rather than assumed platform-wide.
Limitations
- Evidence may be incomplete, particularly for markets or sectors we are still building out.
- Conditions on the ground change, sometimes faster than published data reflects.
- Public data can be delayed, revised, or withdrawn by its original source.
- The absence of evidence on a topic is not treated as evidence that a risk or condition doesn't exist.
- Readers should conduct their own due diligence before making any decision informed by our research.
Corrections and Updates
If you believe something we've published is inaccurate, incomplete, or needs updating, see our Editorial and Corrections Policy for how to reach us and what happens next.
Advice Disclaimer
This page describes our research approach; it does not itself provide investment, financial, legal, tax, or other professional advice. The disclaimer shown across this website — visible in the site footer — applies here and to all research and market-intelligence content.