The Esomar Global Market Research Report has just landed on our desks. As a proud contributor to the report, we are thrilled to share the insights we’ve added to help markets understand Africa.
Since the establishment of MarkData in 1981, the oldest full-service research house in South Africa, the world has and continues to change dramatically. The Esomar Global Market Research Report highlights an 8% global growth rate for the industry in 2024, accentuating the strong development of the digital research space.
The African continent hosts 53 countries, more than 3000 languages and countless cultures, customs and traditions. The digital research space offers an interesting overlay. As the continent that leapfrogged the tech development steps to be one of the most mobile-tech markets in the world, unique developments emerged. Considering the remittance and mobile money industries, these are well developed industries that developed out of a specific need.
The needs of many Africans remain out of sync with global solutions. Yet, common trends such as infrastructure development, technology adoption, and retail remain key drivers of demand for market research. Alongside these, government and social research continue to play a critical role in addressing structural inequalities and improving livelihoods. It is the juxtaposition of a modern and integrated economic structure operating within a very diverse and multi-dimensional social structure that offers the rare opportunity for the research industry to help clients navigate behaviour in context.
As Jan Wegelin, Managing Director of MarkData and past Esomar representative for South Africa, explains: “You have a very diverse range of socio-economic classifications—from herding cattle as the main day-to-day activity to people in large corporate, multi-country operations, who are incredibly well-connected and resourced to be able to do their daily tasks. It’s about understanding the needs of these diverse contexts. Both of those, and all of those, the entire range, could exist within one country.”
The demand for accurate, contextually grounded data in Africa has never been stronger. Understanding human behaviour will become increasingly important as we navigate from the 4th into the 5th industrial revolution. The contextual references to account for in making sense of these developing trends on the African continent will be a critical part of the insights industry.
Africa’s diversity, demographic, cultural, and economic complexities present both challenges and opportunities. The businesses best positioned for success will be those that invest in genuine understanding: not just of markets and numbers, but of people and their lived realities.
MarkData is a proud contributor to the Esomar Global Market Research Report. For the full report and more information about Esomar, please visit their website: https://esomar.org/
and then
Understanding Africa’s Complex and Expanding Market Landscape
“Action without vision is merely passing time. But vision with action can change the world.”
Nelson Mandela
The Esomar Global Market Research Report has just landed on our desks. As a proud contributor to the report, we are thrilled to share the insights we’ve added to help markets understand Africa.
Since the establishment of MarkData in 1981, the oldest full-service research house in South Africa, the world has and continues to change dramatically. The Esomar Global Market Research Report highlights an 8% global growth rate for the industry in 2024, accentuating the strong development of the digital research space.
The African continent hosts 53 countries, more than 3000 languages and countless cultures, customs and traditions. The digital research space offers an interesting overlay. As the continent that leapfrogged the tech development steps to be one of the most mobile-tech markets in the world, unique developments emerged. Considering the remittance and mobile money industries, these are well developed industries that developed out of a specific need.
The needs of many Africans remain out of sync with global solutions. Yet, common trends such as infrastructure development, technology adoption, and retail remain key drivers of demand for market research. Alongside these, government and social research continue to play a critical role in addressing structural inequalities and improving livelihoods. It is the juxtaposition of a modern and integrated economic structure operating within a very diverse and multi-dimensional social structure that offers the rare opportunity for the research industry to help clients navigate behaviour in context.
As Jan Wegelin, Managing Director of MarkData and past Esomar representative for South Africa, explains: “You have a very diverse range of socio-economic classifications—from herding cattle as the main day-to-day activity to people in large corporate, multi-country operations, who are incredibly well-connected and resourced to be able to do their daily tasks. It’s about understanding the needs of these diverse contexts. Both of those, and all of those, the entire range, could exist within one country.”
The demand for accurate, contextually grounded data in Africa has never been stronger. Understanding human behaviour will become increasingly important as we navigate from the 4th into the 5th industrial revolution. The contextual references to account for in making sense of these developing trends on the African continent will be a critical part of the insights industry.
Africa’s diversity, demographic, cultural, and economic complexities present both challenges and opportunities. The businesses best positioned for success will be those that invest in genuine understanding: not just of markets and numbers, but of people and their lived realities.
MarkData is a proud contributor to the Esomar Global Market Research Report. For the full report and more information about Esomar, please visit their website: https://esomar.org/