Due Diligence for New and Existing Loans and Grants

Independent Due Diligence for Smarter Financing Decisions

ACSD supports donors, investors, and governments with rigorous, Africa-focused due diligence services that reduce risk, strengthen compliance, and protect development impact across loans and grants.

From initial screening to portfolio oversight, we combine international standards with trusted local expertise to deliver clear, actionable insights.

ACSD delivers independent, high-quality due diligence services for international donors, development finance institutions, private investors, and government agencies operating in Africa. We help decision-makers manage risk, ensure compliance, and maximize development and financial impact across loan and grant portfolios.

Our donor- and investor-focused approach emphasizes transparency, accountability, and alignment with international standards, while leveraging deep local expertise to ensure practicality and accuracy on the ground.

Whom we support:

  1. Bilateral and multilateral donors;
  2. Development finance institutions (DFIs);
  3. Impact and private equity investors; and
  4. National and subnational governments.

Our Due Diligence Framework

ACSD backstops the identification, mobilization, and reporting of expert consultants who conduct comprehensive due diligence assessments across six core work streams:

  • Finance and Tax
  • Legal
  • Commercial
  • Technical
  • Environment and Sustainability (E&S)
  • Business Integrity

Each assessment is tailored to the sector, country context, and risk profile of the proposed or existing investment.

Sector Priorities

We deliver due diligence services across the following priority sectors:

1. Agribusiness and Manufacturing

Value chains, warehousing, processing, and light manufacturing for consumer goods (e.g., food production).

Agriculture Business
The Sinignassigui Women’s Cooperative in Bama, Burkina Faso. (Source: Issa Zerbo)
Traditional livestock production in the village of Ye, Sourou Region in Burkina Faso.” (Source: Issa Zerbo.)
Traditional livestock production in the village of Ye, Sourou Region in Burkina Faso. (Source: Issa Zerbo)

2. Renewable Energy

Solar and other renewable solutions for electricity generation and access.

A solar panel installation on a rooftop with several panels arranged in rows and two workers in the background.

Solar energy panels on an adminitrative building in Burkina. (Source: ACSD resource consultant)

Solar panel salesman in a village in Burkina Faso (Source : ACSD Consultant ressource ).

Solar panel salesman in a village in Burkina Faso. (Source: ACSD resource consultant)

Installation of a solar system on an administrative building (ACSD Consultant ressource ).

Installation of a solar system on an administrative building. (Source: ACSD resource consultant)

Installation of a solar system on a private home in Burkina Faso (Source : ACSD Resource Consultant).

Installation of a solar system on a private home in Burkina Faso. (Source: ACSD resource consultant)

Burkina Faso i sonly able to produce 60 percent of the electricity it consumes. The remaining 40 percent is imported from neighboring Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. The output of the Zagtouli Soa Power Station in a northwestern suburb of Ouagadogou was intended to reduce that energy deficit. The power station was dveloped, and is operated by Cegelec, an electricity engineering firm headquartered in Paris, France. At the time of its commissioning in November 2017, it was one of the largest grid-connected solar power stations in West Africa (Source [photo]: Ministry of Energy, Burkina Faso ; [text] : Wikipedia).

Burkina Faso is able to produce only 60 percent of the electricity it consumes. The remaining 40 percent is imported from neighboring Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The output of the Zagtouli Soa Power Station in a northwestern suburb of Ouagadougou was intended to reduce that energy deficit. The power station was developed, and is operated by, Cegelec, an electricity engineering firm headquartered in Paris, France. At the time of its commissioning in November 2017, it was one of the largest grid-connected solar power stations in West Africa. (Source [photo]: Ministry of Energy, Burkina Faso; [text]: Wikipedia)

3. Green Infrastructure and Water

Plastic and aluminum recycling, wastewater and sewage recycling, waste-to-energy solutions, and conversion of agricultural waste into power.

1. The GAFREH President and her assistants.

The GAFREH President and her assistants. GAFREH was created in 1995 with no outside donor support. Since then they have benefitted from a number of other grants (from the World Bank, USAID, and the European Union) that have facilitated scale-up of its operations. GAFREH currently (2026) employs more than 6,000 women artists and trash collectors. (Source: GAFREH photo archive)

Three GAFREH member sorting plastic waste (Source: GAFREH photo archive).

Three GAFREH member sorting plastic waste. (Source: GAFREH photo archive)

Weaving bags from the strings of treated plastic. (Source: GAFREH photo archive).

Weaving bags from the strings of treated plastic. (Source: GAFREH photo archive)

Finished products

Finished products. (Source: GAFREH photo archive)

(Source: GAFREH photo archive)

 

4. Inclusive Finance 

Banks, microfinance institutions, and other actors expanding access to financial services.

3. A typical meeting of the women associated with the GECA rotating credit group (tontine).
A typical meeting of the women associated with the GECA rotating credit group (tontine). (Source: Association Dean Kanu photo archive)
A typical GECA member’s notebook which the member uses to track her contribution to the GECA (i.e. rotating credit group or tontine)
A typical GECA member’s notebook that the member uses to track her contribution to the GECA (i.e. rotating credit group or tontine). (Source: Association Dean Kanu photo archive)

February 2026: Collection day for the tontine and distribution of the members’ credits. (Source: Association Dean Kanu photo archive)

5. Extractive Industries

Environmental and resettlement review of gold and rare mineral mining, petroleum, and related activities.

Gravel being pulled out of a traditional mining shaft with the aid of manual pulley at the site .

Gravel being pulled out of a traditional mining shaft with the aid of manual pulley at the site. (Source: ANEEMAS)

Stocking the gravel before crushing No.

Stocking the gravel before crushing. (Source: ANEEMAS)

gold4

Mineral washing and semi-automatic sorting of the minerals using locally-manufactured sorting machine. (Source: ANEEMAS)

Pond where all the waste water is collected for extra treament with cyanide to extract the remaining particles of gold

Pond where all the waste water is collected for extra treament with cyanide to extract the remaining particles of gold. (Source: ANEEMAS)

gold7

Industrial crushing process. (Source: Ministère des mines)

Industrial Mine

Industrial gold mine. (Source: Ministère des mines)

Community support sensitive ecological area awareness & clean up

Building community support for awareness and clean-up of sensitive ecological areas. (Source: Francois Djissou Happi)

Critical ecological field team

Field team responsible for E&S activities. (Source: Francois Djissou Happi)

Drilliing3

E&S specialist responsible for drilling operations supervision. (Source: Francois Djissou Happi)

A person stands on a logged landscape, surrounded by trees and mountain ranges in the background under a cloudy sky.

Pipeline installation occurs by sections. These sections will eventually be tied in to one another. Because of this, the tie-in process needs to inspected and audited to ensure that the whole length of the pipeline complies with the environmental and social guidelines before the pipeline gets approved for operations. (Source: Francois Djissou Happi)

6. Infrastructure Development and Rehabilitation

Agricultural, transportation, and civil infrastructure such as irrigated perimeters, urban markets, administrative buildings, railroads, and roads.

Women participating in the collection and transportation of rock to the dam site in return for food for work
Women participating in the collection and transportation of rock to the dam site in return for food for work. (Source: Radjab Mahamat Saleh)
Rehabilitation of a dam in Abeche, Chad that was finance by the the USAID-funded project that was executed by the NGO Africare using Food for Work.
Rehabilitation of a dam in Abeche, Chad, that was financed by a USAID-funded project that was executed by the NGO Africare using Food for Work. (Source: Radjab Mahamat Saleh)
Initial meetings with a committee of local leaders to discuss the checklist of social and environmental issues that the due diligence team was being asked to assess at one of the 17 sites, Bama. (Source : Issa Zerbo).
Initial meeting with a committee of local leaders to discuss the checklist of social and environment issues that the MCC/MCA due diligence team was being asked to assess at one of the 17 commune building sites supported by the USG-funded Rural Land Governance Project. (Source: Issa Zerbo)
The final due diligence report that was submitted to and approved by MCC/MCA after revision
The final due diligence report that was submitted to and approved by MCC/MCA after revision.

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Sample Due Diligence Work Streams

Finance and Tax Due Diligence

Our finance and tax reviews assess the financial health, integrity, and sustainability of applicants and beneficiaries. This work may involve ACSD’s Co-Director, Issa Zerbo (Accountant), in collaboration with resource consultants specializing in statistics and professional auditing.

Key focus areas include:

  1. Accuracy and reliability of historical financial data;
  2. Financial forecasting and growth projections;
  3. Tax compliance and outstanding liabilities (e.g., taxes, social security, pensions);
  4. Medium-term financial strategy (4-5 years); and
  5. Identification of financial risks and mitigation measures.

Where local access to data is constrained, ACSD leverages its professional network to identify qualified in-country consultants to support the assessment.

Legal Due Diligence

Legal due diligence ensures compliance with national, regional, and international regulations relevant to the applicant’s sector. ACSD co-identifies and vets qualified local legal experts to assess:

  • Compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
  • Licensing, permits, and contractual obligations;
  • Exposure to legal risks or disputes; and
  • Internal systems for maintaining ongoing compliance, including audits and controls.

Commercial Due Diligence

Commercial assessments focus on market viability and growth potential. Working with vetted local experts, we analyze:

  • Market size and structure;
  • Sales channels (direct and indirect);
  • Competitive landscape and market share;
  • Realism and sustainability of growth projections; and
  • Human resource capacity and staffing strategies to support expansion.

Technical Due Diligence

Technical due diligence evaluates sector-specific operational and regulatory requirements. Depending on the sector, ACSD engages subject-matter experts (e.g., medical doctors for health-sector investments) to review:

  • Technical feasibility and operational capacity;
  • Compliance with sector regulations; and
  • Risks associated with current and planned operations.

Environment and Sustainability (E&S) Due Diligence

Our E&S assessments determine whether projects are operating responsibly and in line with both national and international sustainability standards.

This includes environmental reviews, of each applicant including:

  • Current waste, wastewater, emission, noise, plastics, and energy management practices;
  • Any environmental risks associated with project expansion;
  • The proposed mitigation measures, funding mechanisms, and implementation capacity;
  • The historical environmental performance and compliance; and
  • Alignment with local and international environmental standards.

This includes environmental reviews, of each applicant including:

Our team is also qualified to conduct resettlement reviews that assess any project’s:

  • Potential for voluntary or involuntary resettlement;
  • Plans for managing physical or economic displacement; and
  • Compliance with national laws and international best practices.

Della McMillan Resettlement

Business Integrity

Business integrity due diligence is the key to successful investment and it is often overlooked.
ACSD asks:

  • Whether the company has the structures it needs to maintain the integrity and ethics of its leaders;
  • How long have these structures been in place;
  • Are these structures currently functional; and, if so,
  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of these good governance structures?

Partner With Us

Whether you are designing a new financing facility, evaluating investment opportunities, or strengthening oversight of an existing portfolio, ACSD provides the due diligence expertise you need to make confident, well-informed decisions.

Donors & Development Finance Institutions: Strengthen fiduciary oversight and safeguard development impact.

Private Investors: Reduce risk and validate commercial and Environment Social Governance (ESG) assumptions.

Governments: Enhance project screening, compliance, and implementation readiness.

Contact ACSD to request due diligence support or discuss your financing needs.