Consumer Insights and Research Portal in Africa

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Feb 20
1 min

COVID-19 and The Beauty Sector- Impact and Key Consumer Trends in China and Africa.

August 2020 / 18.00 PM -- In this paper, we focused on tracking the COVID-19 impact on the Beauty industry and key consumer trends both in China and Africa, including differences and similarities of the trends. Then we explore the potential opportunities during the crisis in Africa’s retail industry. Key Takeaways Due to smart gadgets and disruptive technologies, Chinese beauty brands are adapting fast to shifting dynamics. Due to anti-China feeling spreading worldwide, Chi

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Africa needs to leap forward in funding vaccine technology, research

Team Insights

Feb 9
6 min

Africa needs to leap forward in funding vaccine technology, research

February 9, 2021 / 15.30 PM -- Between 70%-90% of pharmaceuticals used in Africa are still imported Less than 1% of vaccines used across Africa manufactured within the continent The COVID-19 pandemic exposed Africa’s inadequate capabilities and capacity to manufacture, supply essential drugs and personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to curb the disease. The crisis has exposed longstanding fragilities in Africa’s health systems, including gaps in healthcare personnel, i

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Africa COVID-19 cases top 3.3 million, first wave peak surpassed, SADC epicentre

Fidelis Zvomuya

Jan 20
4 min

Africa COVID-19 cases top 3.3 million, first wave peak surpassed, SADC epicentre

January 20, 2021 / 15.00 PM -- As COVID-19 cumulative cases in Africa went beyond 3,3 million, the new variants have seen the prospects of a recovery tunnel getting darker. The true extent of the pandemic in many countries is not known as testing rates are low. Africa makes up about 3.3% of the global total of confirmed virus cases, but this is believed to be just a fraction of the actual cases on the continent of 1.3 billion people. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and

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Team Insights

Feb 4, 2020
8 min

One thousand questions and counting

"The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well, the product or service sells itself." - Peter Drucker Last September, I met an old friend Andrew, the founder of Apps Africa. We hadn’t met in 3 years and it was great to see him. He was pleasantly surprised to hear KASI is still around kicking! Andrew and I met back in 2016 when I went to Bloomberg HQ in London to pitch what used to be called SOKO Insight, a new kind of data company for a continent known f

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Team Insights

Apr 15, 2019
1 min

Ghana's cedi slump felt by consumers

KASI CCI drops by 6 points Consumer confidence in current economic conditions 3 points lower than last month A dimmed outlook on the economy substantially lowers consumer confidence Negative movements of individual index scores were recorded for six of seven countries (Ivory Coast being the exception) leading to a major 6 point drop in the global consumer confidence index metric. Ghana has by far recorded the largest decline in CCI with a drop of 16 points and has reached a h

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KASI economist attends South Africa budget speech

Team Insights

Feb 28, 2019
5 min

KASI economist attends South Africa budget speech

The annual Nedbank and Old Mutual Competition The Nedbank and Old Mutual Budget Speech competition is a yearly event that was initiated in 1972 and has since challenged students across South Africa to engage with socio-economic topic and recommend ways in which these can be addressed. At the dawn of my post-graduate career (February 2018), I decided to take up the challenge and write the 2018 postgraduate essay whose topic was: “It is 2018 and a new ANC government is in place

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Consumer confidence declines ahead of elections in Nigeria

Team Insights

Feb 13, 2019
2 min

Consumer confidence declines ahead of elections in Nigeria

KASI CCI dropped slightly by 1 percent Short term outlook dampened by challenges with jobs and spending Long term outlook remains positive despite month over month decline In contrast to recent months, there were no drastic movements of individual index scores for all seven countries leading to a mild 1 percent drop to the global consumer confidence index metric. Kenya is the bright spot with an increase from +10 to +15, while the other 6 countries’ confidence figures decline

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Team Insights

Jan 18, 2019
2 min

Consumer confidence dropped in 2018

KASI CCI unchanged in December Current economic conditions improved, though still negative Future economic expectations down due to worsening personal finances The unchanged consumer confidence index level from November may be regarded encouraging in light of persistently falling index values from subsequent months. 2 out of the 7 countries recorded a rise in consumer confidence index, 3 out of 7 countries recorded an unchanged confidence while Ghana’s index significantly d

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Decline in consumer confidence persists in November

Team Insights

Dec 17, 2018
2 min

Decline in consumer confidence persists in November

KEY FINDINGS KASI CCI declined by 1 point in November Spending and job security prospects remotely change Continued anticipation of deteriorating personal finances drives down expectations It appears that the year will end at a low note given the continued fall in consumer confidence index experienced in this final quarter. The month of November saw another 1 point drop in the consumer confidence index with Ghana and Kenya recording the highest drops of -17 and -9 respective

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Post-election jitters & inflation continue to dampen confidence in October

Team Insights

Nov 15, 2018
2 min

Post-election jitters & inflation continue to dampen confidence in October

KEY FINDINGS KASI CCI declined by 2 points in October Inflation and shrinking purchasing power cloud short-term outlook Post-elections jitters in Cameroon & recent events in Tanzania drive down expectations Though a continuation in the upward trend of the global consumer confidence index score was more favorable, the month of October was generally characterized by a fall in consumer confidence index for the individual countries. Thus the global index recorded a 2 point declin

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Team Insights

Oct 26, 2018
3 min

How to find KASI CCI on Bloomberg

If you are an economist at the Africa development bank in Abidjan, an equity trader at UBA Capital markets in Lagos or an investment manager at Cytonn Investments in Nairobi, you are probably using a Bloomberg terminal. Bloomberg users pay at least $20,000 per year to access the terminal and associated data. The Bloomberg terminal is one of the industry's most widely used sources for real-time financial information from all over the world. The ability to access real-time mark

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Elections in Cameroon & inflationary policies in Kenya dampen confidence

Team Insights

Oct 21, 2018
2 min

Elections in Cameroon & inflationary policies in Kenya dampen confidence

KEY FINDINGS KASI CCI growth slows in September Spending and job security continues to dampen short-term outlook Elections in Cameroon & inflationary policies in Kenya drive down expectations Across the 7 countries, a +1 point increase was recorded for the month of September, leading to a score of +10. Out of the 5 countries that experienced positive growth in consumer confidence, Tanzania had the most significant growth of +12 points to a new level of +10, closely followed b

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Team Insights

Oct 15, 2018
4 min

Battle of the African bank websites

In digital Africa, where users are increasingly glued to connected devices, banks target consumers through multiple online channels, including websites and mobile apps. It’s no longer enough for African banks to roll out sites with designs and functionality that resemble each other. A unique bank website design has more chance to attract visitors and convert them, as Africans have lacked custom experiences and diversity. With the increased focus on digitization as a driver fo

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Team Insights

Oct 9, 2018
3 min

Consumer confidence rose in August

KEY FINDINGS KASI CCI rose 2 percent in August Spending and job security dampen outlook Low inflation drives positive expectations The month of August saw a +2 point increase in the consumer confidence index score from its July value of +7. Across the 7 countries that participated in the survey, 6 of these showed positive growth in consumer sentiment, with Tanzanian having the highest recording. This may not be surprising in light of the recent cuts in the discount rate made

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Team Insights

Aug 22, 2018
2 min

Consumer confidence dropped in July

Nairobi, Kenya - Africa's first monthly consumer confidence index (KIC Score) declined but remained positive at +7 in July, a 4 percentage decrease from June. At this level, it means that the number of consumers who are optimistic is slightly higher than those who are pessimistic (a score of zero implies equal numbers in both camps). With a maximum of 100 and a minimum of -100, the current KIC level indicates that economic confidence continues to be positive in the countries

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Team Insights

Jul 13, 2018
2 min

Q1 GDP in South Africa disappoints

Nairobi, Kenya - Africa's first monthly consumer confidence index (KIC Score) stood at +11 in June, a 3 percentage decrease from May. At this level, it means that the number of consumers who are optimistic is slightly higher that those who are pessimistic (a score of zero implies equal numbers in both camps). With a maximum of 100 and a minimum of -100, the current KIC level indicates that economic confidence continues to be positive in the countries' urban centers polled. C

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Consumer confidence drives GDP growth in Kenya

Team Insights

Jul 12, 2018
2 min

Consumer confidence drives GDP growth in Kenya

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L’Indépendance financière des consommateurs Africain est-elle possible?

Team Insights

Jun 25, 2018
3 min

L’Indépendance financière des consommateurs Africain est-elle possible?

Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire - En ce qui concerne l’atteinte de l’indépendance financière en Afrique, une nouvelle étude de KASI a révélé que malgré les défis, les Africains visent à atteindre l’indépendance financière. Le rapport sur l'état de l’indépendance financière de KASI a conclu qu'investir, démarrer une entreprise et épargner sont trois étapes essentielles qui les rapprocheront de l’indépendance financière. L'enquête a exploré la volonté des citadins à parvenir à l’indépen

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3 things that will bring the African consumer closer to financial freedom

Team Insights

Jun 22, 2018
3 min

3 things that will bring the African consumer closer to financial freedom

Accra, Ghana - When it comes to achieving financial freedom in Africa, new research by KASI has found that despite challenges, Africans are aiming to achieve financial freedom. The state of financial freedom report by KASI found that investing, starting a business and savings are 3 things that will get them closer towards financial freedom. The survey explored urban dwellers willingness to achieve financial freedom and whether they are taking the steps to turn it a reality. T

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Consumer confidence reaches all-time high in May

Team Insights

Jun 6, 2018
2 min

Consumer confidence reaches all-time high in May

Nairobi, Kenya - Africa's first monthly consumer confidence index (KIC Score) reached an all-time high at +14 in May, a 4 percentage increase from April. At this level, it means that the number of consumers who are optimistic is slightly higher that those who are pessimistic (a score of zero implies equal numbers in both camps). With a maximum of 100 and a minimum of -100, the current KIC level indicates that economic confidence continues to be positive in the countries' urb

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