Seeing Europe and Africa grow together.

MeliaCRED grew out of my research on private-sector growth. Starting in 2011, I have advised African governments and international institutions. My focus has been on digital transformation, private-sector growth, and foreign direct investment. In this capacity, I have worked with the governments of Kenya (MinICT), Ethiopia (MInT), and Rwanda (RDB & MINICT), as well as African private sector associations such as the Kenya Private Sector Alliance and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries. I have frequently worked for international institutions such as GIZ, Tony Blair Institute, Rockefeller Foundation, and Friedrich Ebert Foundation. At the University of Oxford, I worked with the Blavatnik School's Digital Pathways at Oxford (on African digital transformation).

My current market focus is Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda, but I have written extensive case studies on Angola, Chad, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. I am a Research Associate at the University of Duisburg-Essen, a Member of INEF, and an Associate Researcher at IDOS in Bonn. If any of this sounds interesting to you, please connect with me on LinkedIn.

Anne Gichuku is a Research Associate and Co-Lead at MeliaCRED, where she has played a central role in the firm's research on AI, digital work, and labour market transformation across East Africa since 2018. With seven years of experience conducting multi-country studies, Anne specialises in data ecosystems, digital platform economies, and the economics of AI adoption in fast-growing markets.

Her research contributions include coordinating Kenya's first comprehensive study to quantify the country's online workers and track their income trajectories for KEPSA and Rockefeller Foundation (2018 to 2019), which informed national policy dialogue on digital work; co-authoring "The 3 a.m. Phone Call: A Gendered Perspective of Online Workers in Kenya" (GIGA, 2024); and supporting research that informed Rwanda's national GBS investment promotion strategy (2021 to 2022). She brings expertise in data ecosystem mapping, mixed-methods research, and translating research insights into actionable policy recommendations. Anne holds a BCom in Accounting, is a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), and is currently pursuing an MBA in Strategic Management and Project Management at Daystar University. Connect with her on LinkedIn.