Methodology

Every AfriLens report, brief and news item is cross-verified, with every claim cited. Credibility comes from showing our work: you can trace each statement to its source and each number to the table it came from.

1. Sourcing

We draw only on a curated library of primary and authoritative sources: government gazettes and regulators, statistics agencies, port and rail authority releases, company filings and results, industry body data, multilateral reports and reputable press. Each source carries a reliability tier, and primary documents are preferred over secondary reporting.

2. Cross-verification

1. Every claim needs a source. A claim we cannot source is deleted, not softened.
2. Independent corroboration. Material claims are checked against a second, independent source. Where sources disagree, we re-research; any remaining disagreement is published as uncertainty, not hidden.
3. Number checks. Figures are re-extracted from source tables; totals, growth rates and shares are recomputed; units, currencies and FX dates are checked; any number that does not reconcile is flagged and resolved before publication.
4. Confidence labels. Each key finding is tagged High, Medium or Low, based on source tier and how well independent sources agree.
5. Editorial review. The AfriLens research desk reviews the executive summary, all headline numbers and a random sample of claims. A report that fails review goes back for rework.

3. Citation

Every claim carries an inline citation to a named document, dataset or page, with its retrieval date. Each report includes a “How this report was made” note and a verification appendix listing sources, check results and known limitations, so you can audit our work.

4. How we produce our research

We use specialised research software, including AI tools, to gather and organise public and licensed sources; every claim is checked against a cited source before publication. Claims we cannot source are removed. Sources carry reliability tiers, and primary documents are preferred.

Corrections

We keep a public corrections log. If you report a factual error that we confirm, you get a free report credit. Report an error with the corrections form.

What our research is not

AfriLens sells verified desk research, not expert opinion. Reports are for information only and are not investment, legal or engineering advice. We do not produce valuations or independent expert reports.

Data handling

We use public, licensed or client-supplied sources only, and summarise and cite rather than reproduce paywalled content. Documents supplied with a Rapid Scan order are kept confidential, used only for that order and never shared with third parties for their own purposes.