New air routes, investors and business events for African destinations
Helm Growth Advisors is an advisory firm in Cape Town. We work for aviation authorities, airports, investment agencies and tourism bodies across Africa and the Middle East, and advise companies on public affairs.
Helm is a boutique advisory firm working with governments, airports, investment agencies and companies on sustainable economic growth. We measure our success by real-world outcomes: routes secured, investors engaged, initiatives delivered.
We advise governments, airports and investment agencies on growth, and companies on public affairs
For governments and public institutions
- 01 Air service development New routes secured and route opportunities turned into flights.
- 02 Investment promotion Investment opportunities clarified, stakeholders aligned and investor commitments secured.
- 03 MICE and tourism promotion Positioning, stakeholders and bids that bring conferences and events to a destination.
- 04 Strategy development Economic development strategies, written in more than five countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
- 05 Sector development The industry sectors that matter most to a regional or national economy, developed and promoted.
For companies
What our work has delivered so far
20+
New air routes secured
Air service development strategies that directly supported airline engagements and route announcements.
2,000+
Target investors shortlisted for FDI attraction
Evidence-based investor pipelines that help investment promotion agencies prioritise and engage high-potential investors.
5+
Countries in sub-Saharan Africa
Public and private sector strategy development in more than five countries.
2
African air route development initiatives launched
National and regional programmes, developed and run with our clients, that strengthen air connectivity and airline partnerships.
5+
African MICE strategies developed
Strategies that build long-term pipelines of business conferences for destinations.
10+
Investment and aviation events supported
Large forums and small roundtables that our clients ran with our support.
Six engagements: what the client asked for, what we did and what it delivered
-
Namibia Airports CompanyAir service development
Air Connect Namibia
8new regional routes
-
Civil Aviation Authority of BotswanaAir service development
Botswana Air Access
20+carriers in route discussions
- A sub-Saharan African countryInvestment promotion Building an investment pipeline 2,800+potential target companies long-listed worldwide
- An investment promotion agencyInvestment promotion Developing an investment playbook 1playbook with best practices, operating procedures and KPIs
- A globally recognised aviation carrierPublic affairs Government relations for a global airline 3 monthsto engage more than half of the target stakeholders
- A JSE-listed mixed-use developerPublic affairs Regulatory navigation for a developer 33key stakeholders mapped across national, provincial and local government
Public and private sector organisations we have worked with
- Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana
- Namibia Airports Company
Department of Tourism, South Africa
Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board
Government of Malawi
Delta Air Lines
Edelman
V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
AviaDev
The Brenthurst Foundation
Tourism Investment SummitExamples of the clients and partners we have worked with.
Work with us
Decades of experience in public and private sector economic development
The Radar and The Deep Dive: our two series on aviation in Africa
FlySafair's sale is cleared, SAA needs another R1bn and Nigeria adds a quarter more seats
What moved in aviation in sub-Saharan Africa in the week to 5 November, in short sourced items.
Read the editionJet fuel has doubled in price, so every African route case built in 2025 needs to be run again
What US$194 a barrel does to a route, how airlines are responding, and what airports and governments can do.
Read the analysis