Our priorities

Data analysis to guide action

Healthy
food

To increase sales of affordable nutritious food, we analyze data on product attributes and construct indicators of nutritional quality and affordability.

Effective
markets

To build inclusive businesses, we analyze supplier demographics to construct indicators for capacity building, diversification, and economic growth.

Resilient
supply chains

To improve supply chain resilience, we analyze data on geolocated food flows, pricing, and storage to identify opportunities for risk reduction.

How we work

DAFMA will equip its members with new data analysis tools to inform decision-making, networking opportunities to build connections, and insights from market intelligence and validation to build resilient, healthy, and effective food markets in Africa.

Our activities are grouped into five complementary workstreams:

1) Shared governance

DAFMA’s foundation is a steering committee of members that will guide project activities, ensuring accountability and service of the full range of stakeholders in African food markets. Our members will meet online in thematic working groups to network and build connections, strengthening the consortium’s ability to collaboratively meet it’s goals.

2) Innovation

The value of participating in the consortium comes from using the results of new data analysis methods and software tools developed in response to consortium members’ needs. This workstream builds on the success of new metrics using retail prices to monitor and improve diet costs and affordability, recognizing the potential for further improvements in how raw data is transformed into actionable guidance.

3) Market intelligence

Euromonitor International uses Africa’s largest network of local market analysts to assemble proprietary data on quantities, prices and attributes of retail sales and other market conditions. Through the consortium, Euromonitor International will offer tailored data products and market intelligence services allowing use of proprietary operational information under agreements appropriately protecting intellectual property.

4) Validating new methods

The consortium’s success depends on the accuracy and usefulness of its data analyses, including qualitative insights and quantitative guidance. DAFMA will engage local market analysts to test and validate methods and results, focusing on priority questions set by the consortium’s steering committee. Analysts will then disseminate their findings through policy briefs, opinion articles, and in-person meetings,to reach other market actors, civil society and government officials in each country.

5) Enabling environments

DAFMA’s fifth workstream consists of monitoring the market environment, working with national governments and international organizations to track change in food environments and respond in ways that help private enterprises improve access to healthy diets, build climate resilience and develop more inclusive food markets.

Guiding principles

  • New data analysis tools will be co-created with consortium members to answer their most pressing business questions relevant to healthy, resilient and effective food markets.​
  • Insights will be hosted on a centralized platform, including a market intelligence portal developed by Euromonitor International. ​
  • Frequent networking meetings between Consortium members will generate qualitative insights across regions and value chains. ​
  • Finally, local market analysts will ground-truth the results, ensuring transparency and confidence in the methods developed.​

Project outputs

Our project outputs will inform one or more decisions that affect an enterprise’s ability to grow and prosper by meeting societal demand for more affordable and nutritious, inclusive and resilient food supplies.

Example actions include innovations in:

  • product sourcing, connecting farmers to customers;
  • farm inputs, service provision and value chain financing;
  • farmer associations and inclusive business practices;
  • quality assurance and standards for nutrition, food safety and other attributes;
  • transportation and storage to lower costs, raise quality, improve stability and post-harvest loss; and
  • enabling environments for new investment and improved operations.

Project outcomes & impacts

Our project outcomes begin when consortium members

  1. gain access to actionable insights for more inclusive food markets in Africa, developed in dialogue among enterprises with different functional roles and operational scales, which then leads to
  2. new analytical methods and software tools that address the needs of decision-makers using newly available data and techniques, and
  3. use of insights and guidance to guide market activity based on accurate information validated by local analysts.

All three components are needed for private enterprises to grow in ways that meet societal needs for more resilient, healthy and inclusive food systems, and will be tracked through an embedded monitoring and evaluation framework using operational records from consortium meeting.