Why Us
Rigorous in-house methods
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Independent expertise
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Unique value
We are not constrained to using in-house staff, we create a best-matching team for each client requirement.
Our on-demand business model cuts out the typical real estate, management, sales, marketing and PR overheads of walled-in consultancies.
Our clients enjoy the best of both worlds: the unrivalled expertise of independent specialists, combined with our own methodology and experience in delivering actionable and compliant insights.
Specialist
Navigating a complex world requires a huge range of highly-specialist skills. Such knowledge is spread out across many individuals and geographies, impossible to find in any one organization. A network approach is the answer: it allows organizations to reach for niche expertise more quickly and cost-effectively. Flexible, customized analytical teams are much more likely to deliver unique insights.
Unique local insights
Many of our affiliated analysts are based in, or come from, the region they cover. They speak the local language, live and breath the local culture, and have developed invaluable further contacts.
“What does it mean for me?”
Our mission is to extrapolate the implications of events for individual clients, their industry and the wider business environment. We place the news in perspective, helping clients assign the right weight and importance to events.
Proactive horizon scanning
We don't just react to the news. We actively highlight and discuss emerging trends that have not yet come into focus for the wider public or the news media. Our services help clients anticipate slow-burning, underlying trends in political and social change, as well as imminent and fast-moving developments.
Case Studies
Strategic Intelligence on the Fertilizer Industry in Eastern Europe
Our client wanted to better understand key business trends, challenges and opportunities, affecting the fertilizer industry in Eastern Europe. We conducted discreet, on-the-ground expert interviews in several countries and were able to identify clear patterns affecting the industry: new export markets; operational pressures points and perceived new opportunities; M&A trends; the effects of a changing policy and regulatory environment; opaque competitive practices in the industry, etc.
Forecasting Regulatory Changes Affecting Oil Majors in Kazakhstan
A London-based institutional investment management firm, with tens of billions of USD in assets, engaged us to estimate the likelihood of key regulatory decisions by the Kazakhstan government, which would likely impact the standing of international oil and gas majors operating in the country. We spoke discretely to a range of carefully selected and highly relevant local industry sources and experts, to gather unique commentary on the political-institutional, macro-economic, industry and geopolitical factors likely to have a bearing on the issue. We also examined the potential role of international oil and gas companies, such as China’s CNPC.
Risk Monitoring of Arab Gulf and Latin America for Oil and Gas Multinational
A leading oil and gas P&E company hired us to provide on-going analysis of political, economic and social developments in their countries of operation in the Arab Gulf and Latin America. The Client wanted the service to go beyond media accounts to provide timely, nuanced and contextualized insights on evolving risk trends. They had tried several established providers of similar services, but had found that their analysts lacked direct local expertise or that their services were too expensive. Enquirisk offered a bespoke yet cost-effective risk monitoring solution.
Western Balkans food manufacturing
A leading food and beverages producing group embarked on a significant foreign expansion drive. They required due diligence investigations on senior managers and owners of a potential acquisition target company in the Western Balkans. We leveraged well-placed, trusted and discreet local sources to uncover the subjects’ reputation for integrity and professionalism; business history and track record; modus operandi – including allegations of confrontational tactics in dealing with JV partners; any sensitive or controversial associations, current or past, including with political players or organized criminal groups. The client also asked us to assess political risks in four regional countries: their foreign trade and diplomatic relations, political instability risks, food/agriculture policy trends, socio-economic instability risks, and operational and security risks.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Support
In order to support its Anti-Money Laundering and Bank Secrecy Act (AML/BSA) compliance program, a Los Angeles bank asked us to perform enhanced due diligence on several high-net-worth potential foreign customers. We leveraged open-source research in the relevant languages, as well as confidential enquiries with well-placed sources on the ground in several countries. We looked into the structure of the targets’ business interests, the sources of their original wealth accumulation and current sources of income/funds; their partners and close associates, including any hidden beneficiaries of their businesses; any credible allegation of criminal associations and of money laundering specifically; any convictions or court cases pending anywhere in the world; and the general reputation for business ethics and probity. Subsequently, we implemented continuous, on-going monitoring of those customers, in order to update the client very promptly of any positive or negative changes in their AML/BSA risk profile.
US-focused background investigations
In support of a well-established private investigations firm, we have been performing background investigations on the reputation, track record, associations, litigation history, criminal record and media profile of a large number of US business players. Targets span a wide range of industries and locations within the US. This is mostly in support of loan or investment decisions by US financial institutions.