Ask Africa

Ask Africa Africa's most trusted market research partner, bringing you data with a conscience. Afrika is unique. Ask Afrika is unique.

We are a company that assists our clients to unlock the opportunities in Afrika. This enables our clients to make confident decisions and leverage their resources to their advantage. We know marketers and organisations need factual information on consumers to base decisions upon. Too much is assumed in Afrika, this undermines opportunities and leads to brands being positioned in the wrong way. Alt

hough Afrika shares aspects of other emerging markets it is unique in others. To ask representatively, report accurately and interpret results to drive decisions, are at the heart of Ask Afrika.

ASK AFRICA was proud to participate in DataFest Joburg 2026 last week, where data leaders, AI specialists, analytics pro...
15/06/2026

ASK AFRICA was proud to participate in DataFest Joburg 2026 last week, where data leaders, AI specialists, analytics professionals and business decision-makers came together to explore the future of data, intelligence and decision-making.

The highlighted topic of AI has emphasised that we’ve moved beyond experimentation. It is becoming part of how organisations operate, compete and make decisions. Yet the organisations that will benefit most are the ones with strong data foundations, clear governance guardrails, trusted systems and people who know how to turn information into value.

Across the sessions, the strongest themes were deeply aligned with the work we do at ASK AFRICA: data needs to be clean, connected and governed; insight needs to be human-led and decision-focused; and AI should be used as a challenger that strengthens thinking, rather than a replacement for it.

For us, the opportunity is that the future belongs to organisations that combine rigorous data, commercial relevance, human understanding and speed of insight. That is where real value is created.

Thank you to the DataFest Joburg team for creating a strong platform for important conversations about the future of business intelligence.

Happy World Environment Day.Across Africa, environmental issues are lived realities. They influence how communities acce...
08/06/2026

Happy World Environment Day.

Across Africa, environmental issues are lived realities. They influence how communities access water, grow food, earn a living, stay healthy and plan for the future. This means environmental work cannot be separated from social impact.

For organisations working in philanthropy and development, evidence matters. Good intentions can start a programme, but insight helps make it relevant, measurable and sustainable.

The more we understand the communities we aim to serve, the better we can support change that lasts.

World Environment Day is everyone's business.

https://askafrica.co.za/philanthropy-insights-africa

05/06/2026

Most Funders track how their programme ran. Far fewer track what the programme actually changed, and for whom.

Meaningful impact measurement begins long before implementation. Having actionable datapoints at the onset, provides a clear picture of the current reality of communities, the barriers people face and the outcomes that matter most. It creates a baseline against what impact would look like and gives organisations the evidence they need to design programmes that respond to lived experience, rather than assumptions.

The work must continue throughout implementation. Ongoing research helps organisations understand what is working, where challenges are emerging and when the programme needs to adapt. It creates space to pivot while there is still time to improve the outcome.

Once the programme is complete, research provides an honest assessment of its impact: what changed, who benefited and where further work is needed.
In Africa, where markets are inherently diverse, knowing which channels to tap and where communities prioritise activities, is where the sweet spot of true impact lies.

Explore ASK AFRICA’s solutions for Development & Social Impact: https://askafrica.co.za/philanthropy-insights-africa

The Africa Debate in London brought together leaders, investors, policymakers and businesses to explore defining questio...
04/06/2026

The Africa Debate in London brought together leaders, investors, policymakers and businesses to explore defining questions for the continent: Who gets access, and on what terms? Is Africa participating, or actively setting the tone to action?

Representing ASK AFRICA, Andrea Rademeyer, Ezethu Nsiki and Anoushka Rademeyer joined conversations that reflected a growing confidence in Africa’s ability to shape its own future. Across the sessions, one message came through consistently is that the next chapter of African growth will be built through partnerships grounded in results, reach and respect.

Results that focus on measurable outcomes and supporting solutions that are rooted in local realities. Reach means building beyond isolated successes and investing in platforms, institutions and infrastructure that can deliver impact at scale. Respect is critical to approaching African markets with a long-term mindset, a clear understanding of the people they serve and a genuine commitment to mutual prosperity.

Data has an essential role to play in this process. Better evidence allows businesses, governments and investors to understand the realities on the ground, identify the opportunities that deserve attention and make decisions with greater confidence. It also gives Africa the tools to tell its own story with greater precision and authority.

Africa is building, executing and preparing for a prosperous future. The opportunity now is to create partnerships that recognise that momentum and help turn ambition into sustainable progress.

Thank you to Invest Africa, in partnership with the UK Government for creating a valuable platform for these conversations.

ASK AFRICA is proud to have co-created the dialogue at the 6th Annual Africa ESG, Impact Investing, Climate Action & Sus...
27/05/2026

ASK AFRICA is proud to have co-created the dialogue at the 6th Annual Africa ESG, Impact Investing, Climate Action & Sustainable Finance Summit in Johannesburg, where Ezethu Nsiki joined two critical panel discussions on scaling impact investment in Africa and advancing impact measurement across the sustainable investment landscape.

The conversations made it very clear that Africa’s sustainability agenda needs to be grounded in African realities, with the people it is meant to serve, not around them.

Social Impact begins with understanding the people, systems and barriers that shape whether an initiative will succeed in the real world, or stay buried in board reports.

Bringing in credible insight partners early, when programmes are still being designed, rather than as an after thought to confirm decisions already made. It means asking better questions from the start: who is being served, what do they actually need, where could delivery break down, and how will accountability be tracked over time?

A strong theme across the summit was the need to close the gap between knowing and doing. Sustainable finance, ESG and impact investing have to move beyond intention and into structure, consistency and implementation. That means humanising sustainability, listening to the communities being served, accepting conflicting feedback to build projects that are able to scale with both speed and responsibility.

Thank you to the organisers, fellow panellists and everyone who contributed to such a meaningful set of discussions.

Child Protection Week is more than a reminder that child development matters. It’s a reminder that functional societies ...
26/05/2026

Child Protection Week is more than a reminder that child development matters. It’s a reminder that functional societies are built on the premiss of fostering & caring to positive early stage development. Which starts with truly understanding their environment.

In South Africa, there are many elements affecting a child’s safety.
With a strong need for homes, schools, systems and communities that treat their wellbeing as a responsibility shared by all of us.

For groups involved in child protection, education, healthcare, social investment, public policy, or community development, it is crucial to understand the nuances that a child perceives daily. Understanding where children are most at risk, which support systems are effective, where trust is lacking, and how families and communities experience the help they receive. Child Protection Week’s theme is “Working together in ending violence against children,” led by the South African Department of Social Development alongside government- and civil society partners. It’s a reminder that children are shaped by the conditions we create around them. When those conditions collectively improve, futures change.

There is a version of Africa that lives in other people's data. And then there is the actual place.The actual place is 5...
25/05/2026

There is a version of Africa that lives in other people's data. And then there is the actual place.

The actual place is 54 countries, over 3000 languages, and a diversity of lived experience that resists every attempt at clean summarisation. It is a continent where a shift in mobile pe*******on in Lagos and a change in rainfall patterns in Malawi and a new middle class emerging in Kigali are all happening simultaneously, each with its own logic, its own pace, its own set of implications for the people navigating it in real time.

The temptation, for anyone trying to understand Africa from the outside, is to find the single story. The one trend, the one consumer, the one insight that makes the complexity manageable. That temptation is worth resisting. Because the single story, however convenient, has never been true here.

What is true is that this continent holds more young people, more linguistic richness, more economic potential, and more genuine human ingenuity per square kilometre than any framework designed elsewhere has yet found adequate language to describe.

ASK AFRICA was built on this premise over three decades ago. That understanding this continent requires being of it. That the most useful insight comes from proximity, from patience, from a genuine willingness to let Africa be as complex as it actually is.

Today of all days, that feels worth saying clearly.

The data collection for South Africa's longest running, independently audited, most credible CX benchmark, the ASK AFRIC...
18/05/2026

The data collection for South Africa's longest running, independently audited, most credible CX benchmark, the ASK AFRICA Orange Index, has begun. And with it, so has the listening.

Every year, close to 60,000 South Africans sit down and do something quietly powerful. They reflect on their actual experiences with the brands in their lives. How a call was handled. Whether, and when a problem got resolved. Whether they felt valued or simply processed.

That reflection is the foundation of the ASK AFRICA Orange Index®.

Today, we are pleased to announce that the 2026/2027 fieldwork phase is officially underway.

Since 2001, the benchmark has evolved to connect with almost 60.000 interviewees, across over 26 industries, capturing the lived reality of how South Africans experience the brands that show up in their everyday lives.

What we consistently find, is that the data always brings us back to people. Behind every score is a feeling. Behind every metric is a moment.

For brands, this is a meaningful moment to pause and ask: Do our outputs manage to reflect a positive experience in the minds and hearts of the people we serve?

The insights emerging from this cycle will shape strategic decisions across industries, challenge assumptions, and give leaders a clearer picture of where authentic connection is being built and where the opportunity still lies.

Watch this space. The voice of the South African consumer is about to speak, and it always has something worth hearing.

At ASK AFRICA we have a saying how every data point starts with a person.We are delighted to introduce Jezile Dhlamini a...
12/05/2026

At ASK AFRICA we have a saying how every data point starts with a person.

We are delighted to introduce Jezile Dhlamini as ASK AFRICA's new Chief Client Partner.

With over 20 years of experience working at the intersection of insight, strategy, and ex*****on across industries & African markets, Jezile's appointment to join the Senior Leadership team is a testament to Africa's role on the global stage.

From consumer insight programmes at Pernod Ricard to shopper behaviour work at Diageo. From customer experience frameworks at Real People Group to research shaping regulatory policy at the Financial Sector Conduct Authority. She has led complex stakeholder relationships, run multi-market programs, and consulted independently across some of the continent's most demanding environments.

“Africa and its’ associated markets are brimming with opportunity. Success depends on having culturally relevant, data-backed insights and foresights that enable agile, strategic decision making. This agility comes from forging deep, trust-based relationships with strategic research and insights partners, like ASK AFRICA, who enable client growth by having their finger on the pulse of consumers, identifying growth opportunities and functioning as a lens into our clients’ futures," said Dhlamini.

“This appointment underscores ASK AFRICA’s commitment to further elevating our clients’ success, amid the rising challenges they face. Under Jezile’s leadership, ASK AFRICA aims to enhance its client partner ecosystem, integrating AI/ advanced analytics, cross-cultural insights, and growth enablement insights that deliver value to our clients futures. Further positioning ASK AFRICA as a strategic insights advisory partner” said Andrea Rademeyer, CEO and Founder of ASK AFRICA.

We are proud to announce that ASK AFRICA will be participating in the 6th Annual Africa ESG, Impact Investing & Sustaina...
11/05/2026

We are proud to announce that ASK AFRICA will be participating in the 6th Annual Africa ESG, Impact Investing & Sustainable Finance Summit & Expo 2026, taking place on 21 to 22 May in Johannesburg.

Our Executive: Development & Social Impact, Ezethu Nsiki, will be joining the conversation as a speaker at this year's South African Forum. Shaping the conversation on scaling impact investments in Africa: Unlocking Capital for Financial Returns and Social Impact.

There is a shift happening across African markets, and it is worth paying attention to. ESG commitments are steadily moving from a reporting obligation to a genuine strategic lens through which businesses are making decisions about investment, community, and long-term relevance. The question is becoming less about whether to engage with it and more about how deeply you understand the people and communities your business is shaping.

That is where we feel most at home. For nearly three decades, ASK AFRICA has been in the business of understanding people. Not as data points, but as individuals whose behaviours, values, and lived realities tell the fuller story of what sustainable impact actually looks like on the ground.

Conversations like those at this summit matter because they bring the numbers and the human experience into the same room. We are looking forward to contributing to that dialogue and connecting with the leaders and thinkers who are shaping Africa's sustainable future.

If you are attending or following the summit, we would love to hear your perspective.

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