Seven years ago, we started Brink with a simple conviction: that innovation only works when it's human. We wanted to prove that when you trust people and create the right conditions, extraordinary things happen. And they have.
Our work has delivered oxygen concentrators built for harsh, rural environments where none existed before. We've contributed to a movement for better implementation research, and tested frontier technologies like drones and 3D printers on humanity's toughest challenges. And we’ve helped bureaucracies to understand the future and move from ideas to action.
Our portfolio is full of work that many thought impossible and we couldn’t be more proud, but still the problems we care about aren't getting any simpler. Power is fragmenting beyond nation states. Truth and reality are being contested in ways that would have seemed absurd a decade ago. A digitally native generation is mobilising faster than institutions can respond, driven by principles of fairness and justice that demand more than incremental change.
These shifts need deep implementation work with communities, but they also require something more. The ability to shape policy decisions and shift narratives at the level where they're formed.
That's why we’re excited to announce that Brink has been acquired by Africa Practice. (You can read the official press release below.)
When we first met Marcus and the AP team, something clicked. They share our belief that people are the route to progress, and they have the policy expertise and geopolitical insight to shift systems at scale that pairs with our work with ventures and entrepreneurs.
Over the coming months, you'll see us building a new kind of company, one where experimentation sits alongside advocacy, strategy with the behavioural sciences, and product with policy. It’s a combination that neither of us could have built alone, and which feels genuinely powerful in a world ready for better, faster.
This feels like the right move at the right moment, and we're approaching it in the way we approach everything - with curiosity, rigour, and deep respect for what each side brings. We're still us. Same team, same approach, same obsession with making innovation work for real people. But now we have the chance to build faster, go further, and make the kind of progress that seemed out of reach just a few years ago.
Building Brink together has been the privilege of our lives. We could not have got to this point without the incredible team of Brinksters, and our partners and funders who trusted us, backed us and made it real - thank you! Now, with Africa Practice, we've opened up a bigger horizon that we're incredibly excited to explore with you.
Abi & Lea
Gaborone & London, 11 December 2025: Africa Practice Ltd (Africa Practice), a mission-led advocacy practice with a 20+ year track record and presence across the African continent, today announced it has acquired Brink Innovation Ltd (Brink), a global innovation practice that combines behavioural sciences with proven innovation methods to deliver real world change.
Old ways of working are inadequate for the complex mix of ecological, economic, and social crises we face today. Too often, young people bear the cost. Systems built for another era are struggling to keep pace with the demands of this one, and new approaches are urgently needed.
Together, Africa Practice and Brink are doubling down on our shared conviction that policies, business models and funding structures must be designed with the people closest to the challenge, not just for them. By integrating nuanced local insight and behavioural drivers with systems-level action, we are building a new kind of company and an agile engine for progress.
Africa Practice and Brink collectively bring together 100 experts, who bridge the gap between systems-level strategy and human-level motivation - fusing (geo)political insights and development economics with technology, venturing, behavioural science, storytelling, policy and advocacy - to supply the solutions needed to turn ambition into enduring change.
In the age of AI, data and insights are readily available. It’s the messy work of cultivating champions and orchestrating change that is in short supply. This is where the combined mastery of AP and Brink lies: a radical human-centred focus and the ability to navigate complexity and unblock systems to create the conditions for innovation to thrive. It’s what makes us essential partners for reformers in the public, private and philanthropic sectors.
Marcus Courage, Founder and CEO of Africa Practice, commented: “We've always put the human being at the heart of our work, but by fusing Brink’s profound human-centered design and innovation expertise with our decades of experience in policy and advocacy, we are strengthening our capacity to execute deep, transformative change with our partners. More than gaining great people and new skills, our acquisition of Brink ignites new velocity and equips us to go further and faster towards our vision of a prosperous and influential Africa.’’
Lea Simpson, Co-founder of Brink, noted: “Building Brink with Abi has been the privilege of my life (until now!). We started it to change how innovation is done and prove that with trust and the right conditions, people do extraordinary things. This team, and our partners, have done exactly that. Meeting Africa Practice opened up a bigger horizon. They share our belief that people are the route to progress, and bring the insight and policy know-how to shift systems and narratives. Paired with our experimentation and ability to make ideas happen, it’s a powerful combination for this moment. Together we’re creating a company with more reach and impact than either of us could achieve alone and I couldn’t be more excited."
Africa Practice and Brink are both BCorp certified and present in Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, the UK and USA as well as Europe and Asia.
Africa Practice has acquired 100% of the shares of Brink. The transaction was settled through a combination of cash, and shares in Africa Practice, underscoring the mutual commitment of both leadership teams to the long-term success and shared vision of the combined organisation. Brink will continue to operate under its current brand, ensuring continuity for clients while leveraging the broader resources and expertise of the combined organisation.
