ENHANCING BRAZIL’S REFUGEE INTEGRATION: CAPCO’S PARTNERSHIP WITH ADUS

Lucas Pereira, Principal Consultant and Ana Santos, Senior Consultant  | Published: 04 December 2023

Capco’s impact consulting team had the unique opportunity to work on a pro bono initiative with Adus, a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on the integration of refugees in Brazil. The initiative’s goal was to identify and tackle numerous challenges, including a lack of a strategic view and funding, to support Adus in creating a simplified strategic roadmap for their expansion into new geographic areas and communities within the state of São Paulo, while also increasing the number of refugees the NGO supports.


Project Goals


Adus faced several challenges, similar to those experienced by our clients in the financial and energy industries and was seeking a partner to resolve them. We identified specific challenges relating to three key aspects of projects and programs governance, strategic planning, and initiative prioritization. We looked to address the following needs:

  • Implementation of a repeatable process for gathering collaborator and leadership insights on refugees’ pain points and needs
  • Development of a prioritization framework to organize the projects and initiatives already mapped out by the NGO
  • Creation of an operating model to ensure Adus’ strategic plan remains relevant and aligned to its goals.

How Capco Supported Adus


Capco conducted an extensive review of Adus’ activities to inform our go forward recommendations. The final output reflects a rigorous approach that encompassed reviewing existing projects, analyzing strategic objectives, and leveraging opportunities highlighted by the NGO’s board members, leaders, and other collaborators, with the goal of helping the organization define clear priorities and guardrails to achieve its ambitions around growth and social impact.

To kick off the project, Capco led over 20 meetings that analyzed Adus’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). This initial step proved instrumental, providing the foundation to build a systematic framework to evaluate and classify projects by taking into consideration aspects most aligned with Adus's overall organizational goals. 

Another key objective was to generate data-based recommendations to empower the organization to make well-founded decisions, direct resources effectively, and consistently achieve its strategic objectives.
  
Ultimately, Capco's role in the project was critical in providing Adus with an updated strategic overview, prioritization framework for initiatives, and a robust set of data-driven recommendations to advance its strategic goals effectively and sustainably. Our work was well received by Adus and its impact acknowledged by the NGO’s CEO Marcelo Haydu, Operations Director Cleita Fernandes, and Financial and HR Director Odette Rahal.

Capco Team
The team who worked on this initiative comprised Luiz Abdo, Rafael Camargo, Mathias Mattos, Igor Nunes, Lucas Pereira, and Ana Santos, with the support of Capco Brazil’s leaders, Camille Ocampo and Luciano Sobral.


About Adus
The Adus Institute is an NGO that has been promoting the integration of refugees into Brazilian society since October 2010. For more information, please visit their website.