Partnership combines academic research with real-world experience to develop practical tool to improve infrastructure resilience across emerging markets.
14 October 2026, Dubai, UAE / Cape Town, South Africa: Imbono, an operational platform focused on infrastructure and critical logistics across emerging markets, the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Abu Dhabi University (ADU), have signed a three-year academic partnership to develop a framework for assessing and improving the resilience of infrastructure across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Infrastructure development is essential to long-term economic growth in Africa with an estimated US$181bn to US$221bn required annually just to meet current demand. Existing infrastructure requires operational expenditure and local capacity to ensure it remains fully operational, as reports state that only about 27% of African roads are paved, and more that 600 million people lack access to electricity.
This partnership aims to tackle the US$10.2 to US$11.4 billion needed annually to recover infrastructure losses in Africa, working over three years to advance understanding of infrastructure resilience and support more informed, long-term investment decisions across sub-Saharan Africa.
By bringing together UCT and ADU’s academic expertise with Imbono’s experience in delivering and operating infrastructure across emerging markets, the work will focus on developing a Unified Resilience Index and decision-support platform. These tools will help assess performance, identify risks and opportunities, and evaluate potential interventions.
The research will cover infrastructure across energy, water, food and social sectors, with the methodology designed to reflect the different economic, environmental and operating conditions found across Sub-Saharan Africa. It will provide a consistent, data-driven approach to assessing factors that influence the long-term performance and resilience of infrastructure projects.
Imbono CEO Marcus Weyll said, “This research partnership will be at the cutting edge of infrastructure monitoring and design and will advance the conversation to ensure projects are future ready. Durability is fundamental to long-term performance, particularly in markets where operating conditions can vary significantly. It brings together UCT’s academic expertise and Imbono’s experience on the ground to develop a practical, evidence-based approach to measuring and improving resilience.”
The partnership will also support knowledge development and capacity building in Africa, including the sponsorship of two PhD students whose research will contribute to the broader objectives of the initiative.
UCT research director Kathy Michell noted, “Infrastructure development and reliability have been a chronic challenge across Africa. This joint research project will allow for the development of a tool that can highlight key infrastructure challenges, potentially resulting in the formulation of long-term solutions”.
By combining academic research with real-world infrastructure experience, the partnership aims to contribute to a more data-driven approach to decision-making and long-term value creation across the region.
Data Sources: African Development Bank Group, 2024; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2025
