Thinkng is an R&D brokerage platform. We connect businesses that need research done with the research providers who can deliver it, and we manage the transaction from start to finish.

In practice, that means:

•  Scoping your business challenge into a defined research brief
•  Matching it to a qualified research provider
•  Structuring the contract so the intellectual property stays with your company
•  Managing delivery through to handover

You get a research result you own, without building the infrastructure to procure and manage R&D yourself.

We work across five capability areas: Agricultural Intelligence, Health & Biomedical Innovation, Digital & Financial Systems, Resource & Environmental Technology, and Industrial & Manufacturing.See what we do for our clients

Build, Match and Scale describes how Thinkng turns Africa's research capacity into something a business can commission.

•  Build. We develop research talent through structured, cohort-based programmes that equip researchers with the practical skills and industry knowledge applied R&D requires. Competency assessment runs alongside the training, so we understand what each researcher can credibly deliver.

•  Match. We work with businesses to curate and scope R&D opportunities, then match each project to qualified research providers. We manage the full research lifecycle, from brief through execution to delivery, so that outputs meet industry standards and risk is controlled on both sides.

•  Scale. We channel capital into prioritised R&D projects by working with businesses, government institutions and research funders. This allows organisations to scale their research activity without building the internal function to support it.

Thinkng works with four groups across the R&D landscape.

•  Private-sector businesses and enterprises commission research to solve operational problems, develop new intellectual property, or build a research pipeline, accessing local R&D capability and managing projects efficiently.

•  Government and public institutions work with Thinkng to advance national R&D targets, strengthen local innovation ecosystems, and ensure publicly funded research aligns with industry needs.

•  Research funding organisations partner with us to deploy capital into African R&D with the governance, reporting and delivery infrastructure that makes outcomes measurable.

•  Students and research talent join the Thinkng network to build skills, grow professional networks, and gain access to funded, industry-linked research projects.

You can find detail on how each group engages with us on the Who We Serve page.

Quality is managed at three points in every engagement.

•  Before the match. We assess the skills, competencies and experience of research providers against the specific requirements of each project, so that work is only matched to providers able to deliver it.

•  Through development. Our cohort-based programmes build practical, industry-relevant research capability, so that researchers entering commissioned work have applied experience rather than academic training alone.

•  During delivery. Thinkng actively manages each project through to completion, tracking milestones, supporting the research team, and reporting progress to the commissioning organisation.

Quality is maintained through active management, not assumed at the point of introduction.

Thinkng measures impact differently for each group we work with.

•  Businesses. R&D output, new intellectual property generated and retained, and the productivity gains that follow from research a company can act on.

•  Government and public institutions. Growth in national R&D capacity, and the extent to which publicly funded research connects to industry need.

•  Research funders. Allocation efficiency, reduced duplication, and the outcomes and returns generated by the projects they fund.

•  Students and research talent. Career progression, employability, and access to funded research work.

Across all four, the underlying goal is the same: strengthening Africa's R&D capacity so that industry and business innovation on the continent has a research base to draw on.