Funding and transparency.

Why this page exists

A think tank is only as credible as its independence, and independence is only believable when the money is visible. This page sets out who Meridian17 is legally, how it is financed, what rules protect the research from its funders, and what we will publish every year so you can check.

Legal form

Meridian17 is organised as two not-for-profit entities that work as one organisation: Stichting Meridian17, a foundation under Dutch law (KvK 96954582), and Meridian17 NPC, a non-profit company under South African law (K2026087654). Neither entity has shareholders, and neither distributes profit. Any surplus is used for the research programme.

How we are funded

Meridian17 was started in 2025 with the time and resources of its founders. Our aim is a mix of income in which no single source dominates: contributions from individuals and companies that share our aim, grants from foundations and public programmes for specific research projects, and commissioned research and analysis for organisations that want to understand the Africa–Europe business relationship better. We do not sell advertising, and we do not charge for access to our tools, reports or podcast.

Every funder, whatever the size of the contribution, accepts the same condition: the funding is for a topic, never for a conclusion.

Rules that protect the research

• Funders do not see findings before publication. A funder may comment on a draft for factual accuracy; the decision about what is published, and when, rests with Meridian17 alone.
• Commissioned work is labelled. Where a publication was paid for by a third party, the publication says so on its first page and on its page on this site.
• Data tools use public sources only. The Global Gateway Tracker, Trade Pulse, FDI Tracker and the policy monitors are built from official, publicly available data, and the source is named on each tool. No funder supplies data to them.
• Experts speak for themselves. Members of the expert network are independent professionals and academics. Commentary carries the author's name and reflects the author's view.
• We decline funding that comes with conditions on findings, and funding from sources whose interests would make an honest judgement on a topic impossible.

What we publish about our money

Each year we publish a short financial overview on this page: total income, income by category (contributions, grants, commissioned work), the names of all funders who contributed more than a threshold we state, and total expenditure by main heading. The first overview, covering the 2025 and 2026 financial years, follows the closing of the 2026 accounts.

Support the work

If you believe that business belongs at the centre of the Africa–Europe conversation, you can help us keep researching it. Write to info@meridian17.org to discuss a contribution, a project grant or a commissioned study. We will tell you plainly what we can and cannot do for the money.

Questions about this page can be sent to the same address. See also the imprint and the privacy policy.