About Us

Building stronger financial systems through Research, Dialogue and Leadership

Bridgforte Centre for Global Impact is an independent policy research, convening and institutional advisory organisation dedicated to strengthening financial systems across Africa and the Global South. Through rigorous research, unusual conversations and practitioner-led engagement, we help institutions build trust, strengthen governance and expand inclusive opportunity.

Bridging Policy Research & Practice

We bring together policymakers, regulators, practitioners and researchers to develop practical ideas that strengthen trust, institutional resilience and inclusive economic opportunity across Africa and the Global South.

Our Story

The future of financial systems will be shaped as much by the quality of our ideas as by the strength of our institutions

Across Africa and the Global South, profound financial transformation is underway. Yet too often, the conversations shaping that future remain fragmented across research, policy and practice. Academic insight is separated from institutional experience. Policymakers and practitioners rarely have the opportunity for sustained, candid dialogue around the structural challenges they are collectively trying to solve.

Bridgforte Centre for Global Impact was founded by Aishah N. Ahmad after more than two decades working across both the private and public sectors of financial services - first as a banking executive and later as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Moving between those worlds revealed an important gap. The people designing policy, the people implementing it, the researchers studying it and the institutions financing it were often working towards the same goals, but rarely in conversation with one another.

Bridgforte Centre for Global Impact was created to help bridge those divides.

We believe that better institutions are built when rigorous research, practitioner experience and structured dialogue inform one another. Our work combines policy research, high-level convenings and strategic engagement to develop ideas that are intellectually rigorous, practically grounded and capable of strengthening institutions.

We also believe that Africa and the Global South should not simply contribute to global conversations. They should define them. Through practitioner-led research, unusual conversations and partnerships that connect regional experience with international dialogue, Bridgforte Centre for Global Impact seeks to ensure that the ideas shaping the future of financial systems are informed by those closest to the opportunities and challenges they address.

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Our Vision

A future where trusted financial systems enable inclusive growth, resilient institutions and sustainable prosperity.

Our Mission

To advance evidence-led research, high-level dialogue and institutional collaboration that strengthen financial governance, build public confidence and expand inclusive opportunity across Africa and the Global South.

Leadership

Led by experienced practitioners

Bridgforte Centre for Global Impact is led by experienced practitioners committed to advancing research that is intellectually rigorous, policy relevant and grounded in institutional experience.

Research Community

Fellows, reviewers and external experts

Bridgforte Centre for Global Impact’s Research Community brings together Fellows, reviewers and external experts who contribute to the institution’s research through specific programmes and publications.

Their expertise strengthens the quality, rigour and policy relevance of Bridgforte Centre for Global Impact’s work while supporting the development of the next generation of African policy researchers.

Current Research Fellow →

Our Approach

How we work

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Practitioner-led

Our research is informed by those who have designed, regulated and led financial institutions - not simply observed them.

Professionals analyzing charts and graphs

Research with purpose

We produce evidence that is intended to strengthen policy, improve institutions and inform practical decision-making.

Convening unusual conversations

We bring together leaders who rarely share the same table to examine the questions that matter most. By creating space for candid, cross-sector dialogue, we help generate ideas that are difficult to produce in isolation.

Colleagues in front of a green world map

Africa, globally connected

We believe Africa and the Global South should play a leading role in shaping the ideas, institutions and partnerships that define the future of financial systems. Our work connects regional experience with global dialogue, ensuring that solutions are informed by those closest to the challenges they seek to address.

Our Reach

Bridgforte Centre for Global Impact’s work extends beyond research publications

Through research, convenings, partnerships and international engagement, we contribute to the conversations shaping the future of financial systems across Africa and the Global South.

Let’s Connect

Whether you’re a policymaker, regulator, researcher, development partner or institutional leader, we welcome opportunities to collaborate in building stronger, more trusted financial systems.