Our Company

GAIN Group (Pty) Ltd is a specialist consultancy based in Stellenbosch, South Africa, providing contract macrologistics research and consultative services. The company is recognised for its expertise in freight demand and flow modelling, long-term strategic planning, and data-driven decision-making. Through its work, GAIN Group translates complex logistics challenges into practical, actionable insights that support policy development, infrastructure planning, strategic decision-making, and operational improvement.

Our team comprises experienced consultative researchers and data analysts with strong academic backgrounds, ongoing involvement at Stellenbosch University, and close ties with other universities, research institutions, and industry forums. These relationships help ensure that GAIN Group remains at the forefront of developments in freight, logistics, transport planning, and applied research.

GAIN Group is led by directors Anneke de Bod, Prof Jan Havenga, and Prof Zane Simpson, whose combined experience spans decades of academic research and consulting. They are supported by analysts Dr Sandra Gertenbach, Stefaan Swarts, Henk Neethling, and Werner van Greuning, as well as a broader network of specialist consultants and partners.

We pride ourselves on a culture of professionalism, continuous development, rigorous thinking, and exceeding client expectations. Whether addressing a focused research question or providing long-term strategic support, the company aims to deliver meaningful and lasting impact through insightful, evidence-based consulting.

Over the years, our team has played an important role in shaping freight and logistics strategy in South Africa, including contributions to the Freight Logistics Roadmap and the National Rail Master Plan.

Since 2016, members of our team have also contributed to multiple completed and ongoing World Bank projects involving the development of freight demand models for countries including Botswana, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, and India, as well as larger regions such as the Horn of Africa and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The team is also developing the continental Africa Freight Demand Model (Africa FDM™).

In South Africa, the World Bank, through Operation Vulindlela, has made extensive use of GAIN Group’s Freight Demand Model (FDM™), further demonstrating the practical value of the company’s modelling capabilities in supporting major transport and economic reform initiatives.