Robert Besseling founded specialist intelligence company EXX Africa in 2015, after pursuing a decade-long career in political risk forecasting at industry-leading firms in the UK and US. In late 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, EXX Africa was rebranded as Pangea-Risk to cover 68 African and Middle East countries. 

At Pangea-Risk, Robert leads a team of partners, researchers, and contributing analysts to produce commercially relevant and actionable analysis on political, security, and economic risk in Africa and the Middle East. Robert also retains the lead on many consulting projects for blue chip corporations in a wide variety of sectors. 

Robert is regularly invited to speak at major international conferences on topics such as metals and mining, trade and export finance, and global security matters. He frequently moderates ministerial panels and has interviewed multiple African heads of state and government during his career. Robert makes frequent appearances on televised media, as well as contributions to international print media. He has travelled extensively on the continent and calls Africa his ‘home’.