Sometime in 2014, a group of young and vibrant West Africans began graduate studies in International Relations at various universities. They quickly realized a gap in terms of the lack of unbiased, empirical research capacity and analysis on international relations and global studies; as regards Sub-Saharan Africa, especially West Africa. They further identified that aside from the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, there were very few other prominent international relations think tanks in Sub-Saharan Africa.