Strategic Consulting to Unlock Growth

About Us     What We Do     How We Work     Experience

Strategic Consulting to Unlock Growth
Bridging global capital and emerging market opportunity to deliver solid financial returns.


About Us
Our foundation, vision, and the people behind LKM.
Our Foundation
Strategic Vision
LKM Strategic Consulting operates at the intersection of global capital markets and high-growth emerging economies. Our strategic vision is built on precision: identifying transformative opportunities before the market does, and structuring the right partnerships to capture them.
Investment Facilitation
Bridging Global Capital and Emerging Market Opportunity
We connect institutional investors, family offices, and development finance institutions with rigorously vetted, high-potential Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in underserved markets — structuring pathways to solid financial returns and measurable impact.
About LKM
Who We Are
LKM Strategic Consulting is a boutique advisory firm led by seasoned operators and investment professionals with deep expertise across emerging markets. We don't just advise — we build, deploy, and scale solutions grounded in decades of on-the-ground experience.
Track Record
20 Years Growing Companies Through Partnerships
Our portfolio spans agriculture, water technology, clean energy, and financial services across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. We have cultivated long-standing relationships with governments, DFIs, multinational corporates, and grassroots entrepreneurs alike. Dr. Ku McMahan from the LKM team led 2 Grand Challenges for Development, helping more than 125 enterprises raise more than 200 million in funding in more than 50 countries. 
Founder Profile
We Know Scale Because We Have Built It
Ku McMahan — Co-Founder, Aquagenx
Ku designed the original Aquagenx product — a portable, low-cost water quality test kit enabling E. coli detection in remote settings without electricity or lab infrastructure. He shepherded manufacturing, led initial company setup, and gained hands-on insight into why ventures succeed or fail in constrained environments. 
When LKM advises an emerging market enterprise, Ku brings the perspective of someone who has sat on that side of the table.
This experience directly informed Ku's design of Innovative Challenge Fund and Business Advisory Service mechanisms. 

We identify growth before the market does — because we have already been inside the companies that create it.
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What We Do
Our approach, capabilities, and service architecture.
Our Approach
We Listen. We Find Efficiencies. We Create Solutions.
LKM's methodology begins with deep listening — understanding the specific constraints investors face and the structural barriers limiting SME growth. We then architect bespoke solutions that remove friction, unlock capital, and accelerate scale across every stage of the investment lifecycle.
Core Capabilities
Expertise
LKM delivers a tightly integrated suite of services across the full investment value chain — from origination to evaluation.
Investment Pipeline Development
We source, screen, and prepare high-potential emerging market SMEs for debt and equity investment, ensuring investor-ready deal flow at every stage.
Fund Monitoring & Real-Time Decision-Making
We provide rigorous oversight, continuous performance tracking, and adaptive management to protect capital and accelerate impact for fund managers and DFIs.
Innovative Finance Mechanism Design
We design and implement challenge funds, blended finance structures, and performance-linked instruments that mobilize private capital and deliver scalable, measurable outcomes.
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How We Work
Our engagement model and services for investors, DFIs, and affiliates.
Engagement Model
How We Work Together
LKM operates as a strategic partner — not a transactional advisor. We embed alongside your team, align our incentives with your outcomes, and deliver end-to-end support from deal origination through portfolio graduation and exit.
Investors, DFIs & Affiliates
Capital Advisory Services
We develop investment pipelines, conduct rigorous due diligence, and provide technical consultancies for patient capital investors — preparing SMEs for successful debt and equity transactions. Clients include family offices, foundations, and institutional funds.
Strategic Operations
We provide investment pipeline development and embedded technical assistance to emerging market SMEs. Our team delivers fund monitoring, rigorous oversight, and real-time adaptive decision-making to protect and grow investor capital.
Financial Architecture
We design and implement challenge funds and innovative finance mechanisms — including blended finance and performance-based instruments. We also deliver comprehensive fund and program evaluation to ensure scalable, lasting impact.
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Experience
LKM's work is proven in the field. The following case studies demonstrate our ability to design, manage, and scale complex investment facilitation programs — mobilizing hundreds of millions in capital and delivering transformational results for SMEs and the communities they serve.
Case Study 01
Water and Energy for Food (WE4F)
A flagship public-private partnership mobilizing climate-smart technology across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia — integrating SME technical assistance, capital mobilization, and sustainable food systems design at scale.
1
PPP Facilitation & Capital Mobilization
2
SME Technical Assistance & Scaling
3
Climate-Smart Technology Integration
4
Water Resource Stewardship
5
Impact Monitoring & Evaluation
→ Read more about WE4F
WE4F — By the Numbers
Water and Energy for Food: Results
Program Overview
Goals: Technical assistance and investment facilitation to SMEs in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia — deploying water and energy-efficient technology to expand food production.
Partnerships: A multi-donor collaboration between USAID, Sweden (Sida), Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and South Africa.
Focus Areas: Water reuse, energy reduction in agriculture, water storage enhancement, and reducing scarcity across the food value chain.
Impact at a Glance
$210 million in private sector investment mobilized
$247 million in SME gross sales
172 companies supported
6 million customers impacted
4.57 billion kWh of energy saved
15.6 million tons of food produced
1.78 million hectares of land supported
19.5 billion liters of water saved
Case Study 02
Securing Water for Food (SWFF)
A Grand Challenge for Development that accelerated technologies that make more water available or reduce water use in food production — delivering measurable results for smallholder farmers across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia
1
Efficient Water Technology
2
Alternative Water Sources
3
Agricultural Innovation
4
Water Management & Harvesting
5
Policy & Sustainability
→ Read more about SWFF
SWFF — By the Numbers
SWFF: Results
Program Overview
Goals: Funding and accelerating technologies that make more water available or enable less water usage in food production globally.
Partnerships: A multi-donor collaboration between USAID, Sweden (Sida), the Netherlands, and South Africa.
Focus Areas: Water reuse, enhanced water storage, and reducing water scarcity throughout the food value chain.
Impact at a Glance
$25 million in investment mobilized
$20 million in SME gross sales
40 companies received tech & business support
7 million smallholder farmers and customers impacted
6 million+ tons of food produced
Farmers' yields doubled
6 million+ hectares of land supported
19 billion liters of water saved
LKM's proven track record across WE4F and SWFF demonstrates our ability to mobilize capital, scale SMEs, and deliver quantifiable impact in the world's most complex operating environments.
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