Build the people. Build the evidence. At the same time.
Who we are
Gmac Group is a research and advisory firm that builds human capital, produces decision ready evidence, and connects investors to investable projects across Africa.
01Our story
Gmac Group began with a gap that was visible from both sides of the same room. Graduates were leaving university with credentials but without a route into work. Institutions were making decisions about those same graduates, and about the markets they were entering, on evidence that was thin, imported, or several years out of date.
The firm started where the need was loudest: training, coaching and convening. Workshops became series. Series became cohorts. Cohorts became a community of young professionals who kept coming back, and who told us plainly what the labour market was doing to them.
Alongside that work, a research practice took shape, led by doctoral researchers who wanted to produce evidence about their own markets rather than interpret someone else's. That capability now serves institutions directly: baseline studies, labour market assessments, sector diagnostics and feasibility work.
The vision behind Gmac Group is simple. Build the people and build the evidence at the same time, from inside the continent they concern, and hold both to a standard that travels.
Fig. 1 How the firm grew
- 01
Workshops
- 02
Series
- 03
Cohorts
- 04
Community
- 05
Research practice
02A word from the founder
Raphael Sochima Ajana
Founder
We set out to build capability, and the evidence to direct it.
Raphael is an economist trained at the University of Ghana, with research and advisory experience across labour markets, development policy, and capital mobilisation for African markets. He founded Gmac Group to bring rigorous evidence and practical capability building into the same firm.
He leads Gmac Group’s executive advisory work and the monthly Personal Brand and Professional Positioning Series, and chairs the firm’s flagship convenings. The Business Development and Partnerships team reports to him directly.
03How we work
Six commitments we hold ourselves to.
- 01
Evidence before advice
We would rather establish a baseline than assert a conclusion. Where the data does not exist, we go and collect it.
- 02
Specialists, not generalists
Every engagement is staffed from the team that owns the capability. Nobody is asked to work outside their discipline.
- 03
Scope written down
Deliverables, milestones and pricing bands are stated before work begins.
- 04
Africa based, and it shows
Local context is not a section in our reports. It is why the fieldwork is faster and the findings hold up.
- 05
Warm to work with
Rigour on the page does not require coldness in the room. Clients and participants get the same courtesy.
- 06
Built to be handed over
Methodology is documented and transferable, so your team can run the second study without us.
04Remote by design
The team assembles around a brief, not a building.
Five specialist teams work across time zones, convene in person for flagship events, and are assigned to each engagement from the team that owns the capability.
- 30+
- Countries represented among our participants
- 10
- Countries our team works from
- 25
- Colleagues across five specialist teams
- 5
- Specialist teams
Focus marketsTeam locations
05Why Gmac Group
What clients get from working with us.
Africa based, with genuine local context
We live in the markets we study. Fieldwork starts sooner, respondents answer, and the findings account for how things actually work on the ground.
Doctoral depth, applied to real decisions
Our research practice is led by doctoral researchers with quantitative and policy expertise. Methodology is documented, defensible and handed over.
Competitive against Washington and London
Comparable rigour at a materially lower cost base, so more of your budget goes into fieldwork and analysis rather than overhead.
Reach across the continent
A remote team working from ten countries, with programme participants from more than thirty.
Dual sided market insight
We serve talent and employers in the same week. That vantage point makes our advice on either side sharper.
Clear scope from the start
Defined practice areas, deliverables and bands. Procurement teams can evaluate us without a discovery process first.
Five specialist teams, one standard
Work is staffed from the teams that own the capability, and the founder stays close to institutional relationships throughout.
An audience we can convene
Our events reach graduates, professionals and leaders across the region, a distribution channel for partners as well as a platform for us.
Sectors we are built to serve
- Development finance and donor programmes
- Financial services
- Telecommunications
- Higher education
- Government and public agencies
- Investment funds and family offices
- NGOs and foundations
Working alongside
Tarragon Edge
Partner on the Young Professionals Network mentorship programme.
LevelUp Africa
Partner on professional development and audience programming.
University of Ghana Economics Students' Society
Student partner for the NIS Webinar Series.
Company registration and compliance documentation are available on request.