Humanitarian & Development

In 2024, MASAE was entrusted by UNESCO Yemen, under the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), to design and implement a modern Education Management Information System (EMIS) for the country’s Ministry of Education. This initiative aimed to transform the way educational data is collected, managed, and visualised, supporting better decision-making for schools across Yemen.

In 2023, MASAE Analytics and its sister company Altai Consulting were commissioned by GIZ to undertake a large-scale study on financial inclusion in Iraq as part of the project “Financial inclusion for a new economic start and integration in Iraq.” The study sought to provide a comprehensive understanding of the barriers and opportunities for financial access across the country, informing policy and sector strategies to promote economic recovery and integration.

UNICEF Mozambique commissioned MASAE in 2022 to conduct a Child Centred Risk Assessment (CCRA) alongside a Climate Change Vulnerability Analysis (CCVA). The project aimed to map the risks and vulnerabilities faced by children, including those linked to climate change, and to provide actionable recommendations for minimising impact and mitigating risks.

In 2018, MASAE Analytics supported the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Somalia by mapping the trajectories of demobilised fighters as part of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme. The project aimed to better understand the movements and reintegration prospects of former Al Shabaab soldiers.

In 2017, MASAE Analytics, in partnership with Altai, was contracted by UNDP to operationalise the Fragility Index Maturation Model in Jubaland, Somalia. The goal was to model how macro-economic parameters influence socio-economic outcomes and to quantify the impact of interventions in fragile contexts.

MASAE Analytics was engaged to develop a geographic sampling frame for a large-scale community survey in Ethiopia, focusing on rural and host communities around 10 refugee camps across four regions. The project utilised remote sensing and data science to remotely sample 900 dwellings, ensuring representative and efficient data collection.

MASAE, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), pioneered the use of mobile operator Call Data Record (CDR) data to detect and map rural markets in Uganda, Madagascar, and Tanzania. The objective was to support vaccination and development programmes by providing accurate, up-to-date information on rural population gatherings.

MASAE provided granular geomarketing insights for mobile network operators (MNOs) and mobile money providers in East Africa. The project aimed to help operators better understand where they could acquire customers, optimise staffing, and boost usage, despite often having only regional-level statistics on their users.

MASAE Analytics conducted a pioneering study to detect and estimate the presence of Syrian refugees in Lebanon using satellite imagery and artificial intelligence. The project addressed the challenge of monitoring informal settlements in a context where many refugees live outside official camps.

MASAE supported the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in monitoring its four-year migration programme in Ethiopia. The initiative aimed to address the challenges of irregular migration by providing stakeholders with a unified platform for tracking activities and outcomes.

MASAE collaborated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and partners to develop web platforms targeting cash-in/cash-out (CICO) agents in underserved regions. The project focused on identifying and addressing “white spots”—areas with no CICO agents—in countries including Congo, Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Pakistan, and Malawi.

MASAE partnered with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to empower their staff with geospatial skills critical for addressing urban development and infrastructure challenges. This online training programme equipped non-technical teams with the tools to harness geospatial data, enabling smarter decision-making in projects worldwide.