Case Study
USAID-FinGAP Investment Opportunity Map
Utilizing Nautilytics' Investment Opportunity Map to Underwrite Agricultural Sector Investment
Infrastructure Heatmap
Marker Statistics
Forecast Markers
Overview
The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition — a G8 initiative — mobilized over $7 billion in commitments from the private sector to invest in African agriculture. However, identifying where that investment would have the most impact required synthesizing complex infrastructure, production, and logistics data from multiple sources.
The Problem
Infrastructure constraints — inadequate roads, storage facilities, and processing capacity — were the primary barrier limiting private sector investment in African agricultural value chains. Investors needed a clear, data-driven view of where infrastructure gaps existed and where new investment would generate the highest returns. Traditional consulting reports were expensive, slow to update, and difficult to share.
The Solution
Nautilytics built the Investment Opportunity Map — a suite of three interactive geospatial tools that allowed USAID and private sector partners to explore, analyze, and act on agricultural infrastructure data across Ghana.
Infrastructure Heatmap
Ranks the importance of infrastructure locations based on proximity to production areas, roads, and markets. Users can filter by commodity and region to identify priority investment zones.
Forecast Module
Projects agricultural production growth over a 10-year horizon and calculates the required infrastructure capacity to support that growth — at the district level.
Forecasted Infrastructure Markers
Draggable map markers that allow users to place proposed infrastructure and calculate point-to-point distances, catchment areas, and coverage estimates in real time.
Outcomes
- Eliminated the need for expensive, slow-to-update consulting reports
- Enabled USAID staff to conduct self-service analysis and share findings instantly
- Data stays current through live integration with government and NGO sources
- Portable and accessible — works on laptops in the field without specialized software
Data Sources
- CERSGIS — University of Ghana
- USAID ADVANCE Project
- Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana
- IFDC Ghana
- MiDA Ghana
Client
United States Agency for International Development