Ricochet Research http://ricochetresearch.com uncovering reliable actionable information Thu, 30 Jun 2011 08:29:38 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 It’s time for Africa, also in market research land! http://ricochetresearch.com/its-time-for-africa-also-in-market-research-land/ http://ricochetresearch.com/its-time-for-africa-also-in-market-research-land/#comments Thu, 30 Jun 2011 08:29:38 +0000 Babette http://ricochetresearch.com/?p=205 I was reading a report published by Ernst & Young titled “It’s time for Africa”, summarizing the results of an attractiveness study they did on Africa. Reading through this document I became very excited and felt that Vandi and I took the right decision last year of starting our own market research company. Ricochet Research is one year old and we feel it’s been a great success so far and we’re convinced, it will continue to be in the future! It has brought us in contact with so many interesting people the past 12 months and has given us lots of opportunities to work an a scala of very diverse projects and topics across Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan and Nigeria. It feels great to run your own market research company in Africa, and can only agree with “It’s time for Africa”. I really like the following African proverb in this context: ‘The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now!’ – and so we did a year ago! Congratulations Ricochet Research on your first birthday :-)

]]> http://ricochetresearch.com/its-time-for-africa-also-in-market-research-land/feed/ 0 Running the Market Research Business with a view on the beach! http://ricochetresearch.com/running-the-market-research-business-with-a-view-on-the-beach/ http://ricochetresearch.com/running-the-market-research-business-with-a-view-on-the-beach/#comments Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:35:17 +0000 Babette http://ricochetresearch.com/?p=203 Once again it has been way too long that I have posted anything on my blog. The past few weeks have been busy at Ricochet Research (which is great) and I guess I was just lacking a bit of inspiration for any interesting blog posts. But now it’s holiday and I am currently sitting with my laptop on the balcony of our beach house in Houtbay – Cape Town enjoying the sound of the ocean and a warm breeze (it is 22h30  and still 26 degrees Celcius!), while trying to do some business at the same time. After all,  life of running you own market research business is actually not bad at all! :-) Next week I am back in Nairobi and January will be fun as Vandi and I are having some interesting research projects to manage. That’s all for now, I promise I will be back sooner than last time!

]]> http://ricochetresearch.com/running-the-market-research-business-with-a-view-on-the-beach/feed/ 0 Market research reveals significant changes in online behaviour of emerging markets http://ricochetresearch.com/market-research-reveals-significant-changes-in-online-behaviour-of-emerging-markets/ http://ricochetresearch.com/market-research-reveals-significant-changes-in-online-behaviour-of-emerging-markets/#comments Mon, 08 Nov 2010 18:29:52 +0000 Babette http://ricochetresearch.com/?p=201 Online consumers in rapid growth markets have overtaken mature markets in terms of engaging with digital activities. When looking at behaviour online, rapid growth markets such as Egypt (56%), China (54%) and Kenya (51%) have much higher levels of digital engagement than mature markets such as Japan (20%), Denmark (25%) or Finland (26%). This is despite mature markets usually having a more advanced internet infrastructure. Are you interested in the full article please click http://tinyurl.com/2ec2p7n

]]> http://ricochetresearch.com/market-research-reveals-significant-changes-in-online-behaviour-of-emerging-markets/feed/ 0 Market Research Industry in Kenya shows outstanding growth http://ricochetresearch.com/market-research-industry-in-kenya-shows-outstanding-growth/ http://ricochetresearch.com/market-research-industry-in-kenya-shows-outstanding-growth/#comments Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:57:56 +0000 Babette http://ricochetresearch.com/?p=198 Esomar reports for the second year in a row a global market research industry decline, however the situation in East Africa is different! Despite the global economical downturn and the decline in global market research spend reported by ESOMAR, the 2010 MSRA survey, conducted amongst Kenyan research agencies, once again recorded outstanding growth for the East African research industry with member revenues increasing by 26%, indicating that a significant number of investors as well as corporates continue to believe in the growth potential of East Africa and identify that a successful growth within this market is possible through a thorough understanding of consumers’ and clients’ needs, enabling them to develop or adjust products and services to adequately meet those needs. Are you interested in the full article please click on the following link  http://tinyurl.com/34cbq5c

]]> http://ricochetresearch.com/market-research-industry-in-kenya-shows-outstanding-growth/feed/ 0 2 out of every 3 internet users in Kenya connect through their mobile phone! http://ricochetresearch.com/2-out-of-every-3-internet-users-in-kenya-connect-through-their-mobile-phone/ http://ricochetresearch.com/2-out-of-every-3-internet-users-in-kenya-connect-through-their-mobile-phone/#comments Sat, 11 Sep 2010 19:19:12 +0000 Babette http://ricochetresearch.com/?p=194 Alongside the article of the launch of the new $100 (Ksh 8,000!) IDEOS Android Phone a few interesting statistics on Internet and mobile phone usage in Kenya in the following article http://bit.ly/dzEVRL

]]> http://ricochetresearch.com/2-out-of-every-3-internet-users-in-kenya-connect-through-their-mobile-phone/feed/ 4 Largest slum or not? http://ricochetresearch.com/largest-slum-or-not/ http://ricochetresearch.com/largest-slum-or-not/#comments Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:48:59 +0000 Babette http://ricochetresearch.com/?p=191 Friend of mine is visiting the Water Week seminar in Stockholm and twittered the following statistic presented at the seminar: There are 270k people in Kibera slum – Nairobi at most. Meaning that Kibera is not the largest slum in Africa?!

It’s been far too long again that I posted something on the blog - in a way might be a good sign as it means that we’re really busy :-) . Follow up project in Eldoret on the Tanykina Dairy Farmers, and another interesting one in Tanzania on the awareness and perception of the East African integration project. And in between all this, Vandi is enjoying herself watching the migration of Wildebees in the Masai Mara!

]]> http://ricochetresearch.com/largest-slum-or-not/feed/ 0 Market Research on how women use the Net http://ricochetresearch.com/market-research-on-how-women-use-the-net/ http://ricochetresearch.com/market-research-on-how-women-use-the-net/#comments Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:55:19 +0000 Babette http://ricochetresearch.com/?p=173 After four lovely weeks of holiday in the Netherlands and the UK, I am back home again in Nairobi. Although most of the holiday time was spent on relaxing with the family (my sister got married after being together with her boyfriend for 24 years :-) , work was also going on (now and then), and I must say business is developing well!

On a different note if you are interested in an article about a study on how women use the Net, please click the following link http://tinyurl.com/2f45uc2

]]> http://ricochetresearch.com/market-research-on-how-women-use-the-net/feed/ 0 Why is Market Research so expensive in Africa? http://ricochetresearch.com/why-is-market-research-so-expensive-in-africa/ http://ricochetresearch.com/why-is-market-research-so-expensive-in-africa/#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:58:44 +0000 Babette http://ricochetresearch.com/?p=171 Every two years, ESOMAR conducts a global survey on research prices. Participating countries and/or agencies submit dummy quotes for a number of hypothetical research projects. You can read the African Highlights of the Esomar Global Pricing 2010 by clicking on the below link. Amongst other interesting facts, the article gives clear information on what is driving up the price of market research in Africa. Thanks to our industry colleagues Jane Delorie and Margit Cleveland for putting the article together. Link: http://tinyurl.com/2uyevh3

]]> http://ricochetresearch.com/why-is-market-research-so-expensive-in-africa/feed/ 1 Facts about African Internet Usage http://ricochetresearch.com/facts-about-african-internet-usage/ http://ricochetresearch.com/facts-about-african-internet-usage/#comments Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:49:07 +0000 Babette http://ricochetresearch.com/?p=166 Today I read some interesting facts about African Internet Usage on a blog of a Nigerian Market Research supplier. Have a look at the following link   http://infyinsy.blogspot.com/2010/06/facts-about-africa-internet.html

]]> http://ricochetresearch.com/facts-about-african-internet-usage/feed/ 2 Worldcup Fever in Market Research land http://ricochetresearch.com/worldcup-fever-in-market-research-land/ http://ricochetresearch.com/worldcup-fever-in-market-research-land/#comments Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:41:03 +0000 Babette http://ricochetresearch.com/?p=164 Just came back from a short holiday to South Africa where  I attended two World Cup matches (SA-France and Netherlands-Cameroon). Especially the latter match was an amazing experience. Thousands of Dutch supporters all dressed up in orange outfits, blowing their vuvuzela’s in the Cape Town streets and stadium was really something! But now back to market research work! Vandi presented the results of the interesting farmers study to the client last week Wednesday and all were happy. We’re ready for the next challenge and we’ll be doing some active acquisition over the next few days / weeks.

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