Selected Work

Case Studies.

Foresight doesn't predict the future. It reveals what's preventing organizations from achieving their vision.

At The Uplift, we work with foundations, impact investors, and mission-driven organizations to surface the hidden assumptions that keep impact capital from going further. These case studies show what that looks like in practice.

01
Case Study

Is resistance to sustainable finance an education problem — or something deeper?

Beneficiaries
IIED
Green Economy Coalition
The Challenge
How do you engage young people in sustainable finance when classical awareness campaigns aren't working? More education wasn't the answer — but the real barrier remained unclear.
The Approach
Using Causal Layered Analysis — through workshops and the creation of a concrete prototype artifact — we examined the problem beyond the surface.
The Outcome
The real blocker wasn't a knowledge gap. It was a worldview gap. Young people don't distrust sustainable finance. They distrust the institutions behind it. This reframed the entire program question — and produced a banking prototype redesigned around youth values: transparent, participatory, community-driven. The findings shifted internal discussions from financial literacy initiatives toward rebuilding institutional trust as leverage point.
This might resonate if your organization
  • Wants to move faster toward systemic change
  • Wants to understand why capital isn't reaching the communities it's designed to serve
  • Needs analysis that goes beyond symptoms — to protect resources and accelerate real impact

"For foundations, funds, and mission-driven organizations: identifying the right lever early translates directly into saved resources — and faster, deeper systems change."

EU
Funded
2
Organisations
CLA
Methodology

The findings shifted internal discussions from financial literacy initiatives toward rebuilding institutional trust as the primary leverage point for sustainable finance adoption.

02
Case Study

Investors don't fund ideas. They fund stories.

Beneficiary
Catalyst Now
The Challenge
23 African francophone entrepreneurs were struggling to raise capital despite strong metrics. The problem wasn't their business models — it was their narrative. Data alone wasn't opening doors.
The Approach
Using Causal Layered Analysis applied to storytelling, participants moved beyond the classic pitch toward the story only they can tell — using a three-act framework: Beginning, Disruptor, Horizon.
The Outcome
Participants discovered how to translate their impact into compelling narrative that resonates with investors. One fellowship application was submitted because of this workshop, and participants are now integrating the framework into ongoing funding conversations. Satisfaction was high (4.8/5) and 100% would recommend the workshop.
This might resonate if your organization
  • Wants to move faster toward systemic change in how entrepreneurs access capital
  • Supports entrepreneurs who struggle to raise funds despite solid impact
  • Wants to train teams in storytelling that actually converts

"I want to thank you once again for the excellent session you led for us. The feedback from participants has been extremely positive and the engagement observed during the session is clear proof of that."

Ingrid Yitamben, Regional Coordinator for Francophone Africa, Ecosystem Development — Catalyst Now
23
Entrepreneurs
4.8
Satisfaction
100%
Would recommend

When entrepreneurs learn to tell the story only they can tell, the right doors open faster.

03
Case Study

When absent communities become a capital misallocation question.

Beneficiaries
Climate Week Zurich
HOPE87
The Challenge
How do you make foresight relevant in a room of diverse practitioners with different entry points — economic development, state integration, education? The conversation kept defaulting to values and ethics rather than strategy.
The Approach
Applied foresight as a risk lens — reframing community absence from partnership design not as a values issue but as a capital misallocation question. Using scenario thinking and current signals (political, climate, social) to stress-test partnership assumptions.
The Outcome
The "invisible qualitative risk" framing landed with practitioners and opened conversations about how equitable partnership design is actually a financial question, not just an ethics one. The session reframed how participants thought about community integration — from a "nice to have" to a measurable risk variable.
This might resonate if your organization
  • Designs or funds partnerships in emerging or frontier markets
  • Wants to de-risk capital allocation through better stakeholder integration
  • Is asking why partnerships underdeliver despite strong intent
Climate Week Zurich roundtable

"If the communities benefiting from the partnership are absent during the design phase, the equity is compromised — and funding gets misallocated."

Clémence Betesuku — Climate Week Zurich 2026
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