Africa Strategia

The brief

Africa Strategia contacted me in September 2026 to design the association’s website. Afstrat brings together a community of researchers around Africa’s strategic issues, and speaks to governments and public institutions, international organisations, companies and investors, universities, NGOs and the media. The site had to present a young association with the seriousness of a research centre, in French and in English, and let people in Europe and in Africa join it and fund it in the currency they actually use.

What I built

• The design and build of a bilingual website, French and English, with a language switch on every page
• A home page with the motto, the five research areas, the four services and the upcoming events
• About, Research, Projects, Publications, News, Events and Partners pages
• A membership page with eight categories (individual, Africa, institutional and benefactor), each with its annual fee
• A donation page with suggested amounts in euros or in CFA francs
• Online payment, a member area with resources, and a sign-up form for the monthly “Briefing” newsletter
• The legal notice, the privacy and cookies policy, and the membership and donation terms

The design choices

The palette comes straight from the logo: a deep burgundy for the top bar, buttons and key sections, and a mint green for labels and page headers. Photos of the association’s own seminars and study days carry the pages, so visitors see the people and the rooms behind the research. The home page opens on the motto “Réfléchir — Anticiper — Soutenir” over a lecture hall, beside three tiles for research, the next event and training.

Every inner page starts the same way, with a mint-green header, a breadcrumb, a short introduction and a photo, so readers always know where they are. “Join” and “Donate” stay in the top bar on every page, next to the member area and the language switch.

How it works for visitors

On the membership page, the visitor picks a category from four tabs, sees the annual fee in euros with its CFA franc equivalent, creates an account and pays online: by card, PayPal or Revolut in euros, or by Orange Money and MTN MoMo in CFA francs for the CEMAC and UEMOA zones. Member access opens as soon as the payment goes through. The donation form works the same way: choose the currency, pick an amount or type your own, then continue to payment. The events page lists each study day, summer school and colloquium with its dates, place and a button to apply or ask for details.

The site is live at afstrat.org, in French and in English.

Need a website for your association or institution? See my web design service; I work remotely with clients in France.