About SAFE Labs

Research built in Africa. Read around the world.

SAFE Labs is an independent research and media organization. We don't pick a lane — we follow the question, wherever it leads.

Our Mission
SAFE Labs was founded on a single conviction: the world's most urgent problems don't sit inside a single discipline.

Our research spans artificial intelligence, healthcare systems, humanitarian policy, governance, climate, and economic justice — guided by a commitment to honest analysis, an African perspective, and outputs that go further than an academic database.

We publish original research. Then we make sure it lands — in policy rooms, newsrooms, and the hands of practitioners who can act on it.

The Model

Research that reaches people.

Two engines that feed each other: research creates credibility; media creates audience and impact.

Research Division

Original research papers, policy briefs, and working papers. Primary data collection and proprietary datasets. Commissioned analysis for governments, NGOs, and corporates across six domains — AI, health, governance, finance, climate, and geopolitics.

Media Division

Documentary-style explainers built on our own research. Investigative video journalism with data-backed narratives. Expert content adapted for YouTube, LinkedIn, and X — adapted so the findings reach beyond academic journals.

The flywheel: research → media → audience → credibility → more commissions → richer research.

Abdullah Hassan, Founder and Director of SAFE Labs
Founder & Director
Abdullah Hassan
The Mind Behind SAFE Labs

Quantitative Finance | AI Research | Emerging Markets | Institutional Risk

Abdullah Hassan is a quantitative researcher, AI strategist, and entrepreneur whose work spans financial systems, governance, and emerging technology. His research spans derivatives modelling, GAN-based volatility forecasting, institutional risk, and AI policy — with deep field experience across South Africa, the UAE, and across the continent.

An alumnus of Deloitte and EY — where he built XVA models, IFRS-aligned valuation frameworks, tokenisation architectures, and ESG risk models for regional financial institutions — SAFE Labs is built on the conviction that the most consequential questions deserve both technical precision and the widest possible audience.

AI
Ex-Deloitte — Digital Assets & AI Advisory (Dubai) IFRS-aligned valuations, climate derivative analytics, tokenisation frameworks for MENA financial institutions
MSc
MSc AI & Mathematical Statistics — University of the Witwatersrand GANs, NLP, advanced time-series modelling, GAN-based volatility forecasting
EY
Quantitative Analyst & AI Developer — Ernst & Young XVA models, SA-CCR, IFRS 2/9/13, derivative valuations, algorithmic risk frameworks
Personal Site LinkedIn
Differentiation

Why SAFE Labs is different

Primary data, not commentary

We conduct original research — surveys, modelling, field interviews, proprietary datasets. Every finding is grounded in evidence, not aggregated from existing sources.

African perspective, global relevance

Global topics told from a Southern lens, with data. Underreported, high-demand — African AI, finance, governance, and geopolitics on the world stage. Where we sit changes what we see.

Cross-disciplinary by design

Most think tanks pick a lane. We follow the question — whether it leads to a hospital, a parliament, a trading floor, or a conflict zone. The hardest problems don't respect disciplinary boundaries, and neither do we.

Research that reaches people

Every paper is built to become something — a video, a policy brief, a conversation, a headline. We don't publish into a void. Reach is not an afterthought; it's built into the research design from day one.

Work With Us

Commission research. Partner on content.

Governments, NGOs, corporates, and media — we work with those who need rigour and reach.

Get in touch