Mantaray UX

Mantaray UX We are a User Experience consultancy, that works across 43 countries in Africa. We help our clients We've signed the United Nation's compact agreement.

We are a user experience (UX) and usability consultancy based in Johannesburg South Africa, Nairobi Kenya and Lagos Nigeria. We assist our clients in design for cultural diversity and inclusion, ensuring that their products and services meet the needs and expectations of their customers. Our teams are located in 23 African countries with experience and relationships across 43 countries in Africa.

With over 20 years of experience in UX, our dedicated team boasts a variety of skills and aptitudes which lend us the ability to view the customer's needs holistically and translate and translate that into actionable insights for new or existing product and service design opportunities. We pride ourselves in being able to help companies design services for the African market. We are involved with UX Strategy, User Research, User Experience and Service Design. We are firm believers in training and sharing our knowledge early and building local partners and teams to ensure we can gather real insights - something we like to call "the customer's truth" across the continent. Our company values are Transparency, Integrity, Authenticity, Curiosity, Empathy and Creativity. Agreeing to 17 Sustainable Development Goals providing a powerful aspiration for improving our world - applying to all nations and leaving no one behind.

10/09/2025

What does Reels creation really look like in Nigeria and what can we learn from it as UX practitioners?

In a recent cross-market UX research, we spoke to 12 young Nigerian creators who rely on data-light platforms to express themselves. Their stories uncovered something powerful:

- Reels aren’t discovered through onboarding, they’re learned socially.
- Audio isn't just background, it's how users feel.
- DIY creation dominates, and complexity kills motivation.

By combining in-depth interviews with prototype testing, we surfaced the nuances behind creative behaviour in emerging markets.

This isn’t just about features. It’s about designing for people, their context, their constraints and their culture.

Read the full case study: https://mantaray.africa/ux-work-africa/meta-facebook-lite-reels/

We are pleased to announce that our CEO, Helga Stegmann, has been invited to speak at the AI for Developing Countries Fo...
09/07/2025

We are pleased to announce that our CEO, Helga Stegmann, has been invited to speak at the AI for Developing Countries Forum (AIFOD) 2025, taking place next week at the United Nations in Vienna.

Helga will join a panel of global leaders to explore how public-private partnerships can unlock meaningful, inclusive AI impact across the Global South.

As founder of Mantaray Africa, Helga brings deep insight into designing AI that truly works for people, rooted in cultural context, linguistic diversity, and everyday lived realities across Africa.

We’re proud to be represented on a global stage, shaping the future of human-centred AI from the ground up.

01/07/2025

Why are young adults choosing one video platform over another?

It’s not just about streaming quality.

In our global study for Meta, we explored how young adults in India, Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico choose where to watch videos. From data-saving to emotional connection and cultural relevance, platform loyalty is shaped by more than just playback speed.

This work combined diary studies and in-depth interviews to surface insights that are shaping product thinking.

- Why trust is earned over time
- Why local content beats perfect resolution
- Why context matters, always

Read the full story here: https://mantaray.africa/ux-work-africa/meta-video-quality/

19/06/2025

What happens when you ask 400 people across Africa to describe the stereotypes they live with, in their own language?

Our latest UX research study for Google uncovered the emotional power of language and the deeply local nature of identity.

From South Africa to Nigeria, culture and context reshaped every response. Inclusive design begins with inclusive research. Let’s build better, together.

Read the story here: https: https://mantaray.africa/ux-work-africa/google-stereotypes/

Why Mantaray Africa?We provide customers truth across culturally diverse regions. At Mantaray Africa, we dig deep across...
18/06/2025

Why Mantaray Africa?

We provide customers truth across culturally diverse regions. At Mantaray Africa, we dig deep across cultures, countries, and sectors to give you insights that actually reflect the people you're trying to reach.

From local communities to global markets, our research helps you see the full picture.

Curious to learn more? Let’s chat: https://mantaray.africa/contact/

17/06/2025

What truly makes music streaming worth paying for in emerging markets?

In our latest research with Spotify and Beyo Global, we explored this question through the lived experiences of users in Nigeria and South Africa.

Read the full blog here → https://mantaray.africa/ux-work-africa/spotify-3/ and discover the insights driving more meaningful conversion.

It's always great receiving this type of feedback 😊 One of the benefits of working with Mantaray Africa is our agility a...
30/04/2025

It's always great receiving this type of feedback 😊
One of the benefits of working with Mantaray Africa is our agility and ability to co-ordinate our teams and partners across different countries to provide the best and most efficient outcomes for our clients.

Get in touch to see how we can assist you, mail us at [email protected]

Research team? This is for you! 😁 Would you like to:- Increase the productivity and happiness of your UX practitioners t...
29/04/2025

Research team? This is for you! 😁

Would you like to:
- Increase the productivity and happiness of your UX practitioners to carry out user research?
- Empower product owners to actively engage in UX activities in your company?
- Enable marketing teams to use UX insights as rich inputs?
- Enable organisations to make customer-centric decisions efficiently and quickly?

✅ Introducing ResearchOps!

Welcoming ResearchOps Training:
Customer centricity is the recipe for success in today's competitive marketplace by understanding customers' needs thoroughly through User Research.

Organisations these days expect research teams to provide actionable research insights, but researchers find it difficult to keep research and admin work balanced.

🌐 ResearchOps simplifies these issues so teams can prioritise what counts.

We are delighted to welcome our ResearchOps training program.
Guided by seasoned practitioners, this training is an interactive, hands-on space in to learn ResearchOps principles and create actionable plans for implementing research in your organisation.

💻 To learn more visit - https://mantaray.africa/training/research-ops/

📣 Attention Research Teams! This is for YOU!Struggling to balance research with operational tasks? Want to enhance effic...
25/04/2025

📣 Attention Research Teams! This is for YOU!
Struggling to balance research with operational tasks? Want to enhance efficiency, empower product owners, and drive customer-centric decisions?

Introducing ResearchOps Training – a hands-on, expert-led course designed to help you:
- Streamline research workflows
- Empower UX teams & product owners
- Build sustainable ResearchOps frameworks
- Boost UX Maturity in your organisation
- Transform insights into action and level up your research impact!

💻 Find out more here: https://mantaray.africa/training/research-ops/
Contact us: [email protected]

☺️ Such a great testimonial 👌 Human centred research that speaks to the customer's needs always delivers results. How su...
23/04/2025

☺️ Such a great testimonial 👌 Human centred research that speaks to the customer's needs always delivers results.

How sure are you that your product adequately services your client's needs? Get in touch with us to talk about your UX research - [email protected]

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Johannesburg

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday 09:00 - 17:00
Friday 09:00 - 17:00

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