The Science Granting Councils Initiative in Sub Saharan Africa (SGCI) was established in 2015 with the aim of strengthening the research coordination and promotion capacities of Science Granting Councils (SGCs) in Eastern, Southern, Central and West Africa in order to support research and evidence-based policies that contributes to economic and social development. Each year, the SGCI convenes a Masterclass that brings together the Initiative’s participating Councils and other key stakeholders around the world to deliberate and develop interventions in strategic areas of interest to the Councils and the wider science, technology and innovation (STI) community to facilitate sharing of lessons and good practices, the SGCI commissions a state -of-the-art paper on a topic of interest for Africa’s development to inform the Masterclass.