GeoPoll’s Top Five of 2015

GeoPoll has had an extremely busy year: we partnered with TNS and Kantar Media, continued to run daily media measurement surveys, worked on multiple projects to assess the impacts of Ebola in West Africa, and sent over 90 million surveys to our users in countries throughout Africa and Asia.   

GeoPoll collects data for everyone from global brands and media companies to governments and NGOs, and below we’ve highlighted some of our favorite projects of 2015. We’re excited to expand our country coverage, launch new product features, and work on more projects next year.  If you’re interested in learning more about GeoPoll’s data products or custom surveys, contact us today.

GeoPoll Top Five of 2015:

1. Kenya’s Analogue to Digital TV Migration: In 2015 Kenya underwent a transition from analogue to digital TV signal, meaning that all TV sets needed to acquire a set-top-box to access TV signal, when previously they were able to access stations through free-to-air analogue signals. The switch to digital gives Kenyans access to additional TV stations and better sound and picture quality, but there were also concerns over the cost of set-top-boxes being a barrier to access for many. GeoPoll covered this topic extensively: in January we reported on awareness of the switch and the percentage who had already switched to digital. We continued to run regular surveys on the topic and in March released our second report, finding that set-top-box penetration was still only 38% at a national level. Our final report demonstrated how set-top-box penetration has increased month-to-month through July 2015.
2. Assessing the Long-Term Impacts of Ebola: We began to conduct surveys surrounding the Ebola outbreak, its impact on food security, and perceptions of the response in 2014. Remote mobile surveys offer a unique solution for reaching those in areas which are difficult for on-the-ground researchers to access, and in 2015 we continued to send regular surveys to Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea with partners including the World Food Programme, Keystone Accountability, and USAID. With USAID, we used weekly and bi-weekly surveys to track the economic impacts of the outbreak in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and we’ve made the full dataset and interactive dashboard available here.  You can also view data collected with Keystone Accountability on perceptions of the disease here, and our case study with FEWS NET on the ongoing impact of Ebola on market operability.
3. The African Entrepreneurship Survey: In July, President Obama traveled to Kenya for the Global entrepreneurship Summit. GeoPoll partnered with the organizers of the summit, the Global Entrepreneurship Network and the US State Department, to survey African entrepreneurs themselves on the challenges and opportunities faced by those looking to start a business in Africa. We found that in addition to financial resources, entrepreneurs were looking for better facilities and services, and more training programs to help them grow their businesses. You can view the full report here.
4. Access to Finance for Electricity in Kenya: With USAID’s Development Credit Authority, GeoPoll used mobile surveys to explore the ability of Kenyans to finance the costs associated with connecting to the electric grid. Findings show that the majority of Kenyans do not have electricity in their homes, with cost being the largest barrier: of the 80% of respondents who cited cost as reason for not obtaining electricity, 91% cited up-front installation costs, specifically, as a barrier to access. With this information USAID DCA can better understand and address the gap in financing for electricity in Kenya. Read the case study here.
5. Perceptions of South Africa’s State of the Nation: The 2015 State of the Nation address by President Zuma was much anticipated: during the speech Zuma was heckled by members of the EFF party, and later on all members of another opposition party walked out of the speech.  In collaboration with TNS, GeoPoll send a national survey the very next morning to assess viewership and perceptions of the speech. We found that a high percentage, 85%, reported watching or listening to the speech, with respondents split on their attitudes towards Zuma: only about half (52%) said they were satisfied with the speech, and 47% said they had confidence in the government to accomplish what Zuma promised. Read the case study here.

BONUS: Regular reports on TV and radio consumption: Kantar-GeoPoll Media Measurement is the largest provider of overnight TV and radio ratings in Africa, and in 2015 we released regular reports on TV and radio ratings in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda. You can find GeoPoll’s blogs on audience measurement here.

GeoPoll works with everyone from Fortune 500 companies to governments and nonprofits.  If you’re looking for a fast, reliable, and cost-effective data solution for your project in 2016 please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Happy New Year from the GeoPoll Team!