Insights from Elsewhere
Insights from Elsewhere
Podcast Description
“Insights from Elsewhere,” is a podcast by Insight Platforms.Hosted by Cynthia Portugal, it digs into the world of research and insights beyond the big markets of North America and Western Europe.There’s a world of innovation in LatAm, Africa, Asia and elsewhere. This podcast brings it the attention it deserves.Tune in to learn about creative ways research and insights professionals are doing research; smart approaches to technology and AI; and clever ways to influence the people back at global HQ.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores themes such as innovative market research techniques, the integration of technology and AI in insights, and the unique challenges of understanding consumer behavior in emerging markets, with episodes featuring discussions on tools for multilingual research and the use of AI to analyze consumer data.
“Insights from Elsewhere,” is a podcast by Insight Platforms.
Hosted by Cynthia Portugal, it digs into the world of research and insights beyond the big markets of North America and Western Europe.
There’s a world of innovation in LatAm, Africa, Asia and elsewhere. This podcast brings it the attention it deserves.
Tune in to learn about creative ways research and insights professionals are doing research; smart approaches to technology and AI; and clever ways to influence the people back at global HQ.
Africa cannot be understood as a single market research region.
In this episode of Insights from Elsewhere, Cynthia Portugal speaks with Dharmendra Jain, from Kenya, founder and CEO of Actnable AI, about the cultural, linguistic, operational and commercial differences shaping market research across African countries.
They discuss face-to-face fieldwork, data quality, infrastructure, language diversity and mobile-first consumer behaviours such as WhatsApp communities and social commerce.
Dharmendra also talks about how AI is being used for translation, transcription and qualitative analysis, why human review remains essential, and what research technology companies must do to localise their tools for African workflows and business conditions.
Episode Highlights:
- Why Africa requires country-specific market research strategies rather than a single continental approach.
- How infrastructure, transport, language and face-to-face fieldwork affect research costs, timelines and data quality.
- How operational challenges in Nigeria inspired a platform for fieldwork management, interviewer monitoring and quality control.
- The role of WhatsApp communities, social commerce and mobile-first consumer behaviour in developing new research methodologies.
- Why AI translation, transcription and qualitative analysis still require native speakers and human review.
- How research technology companies can localise their platforms for African workflows, currencies, suppliers and business practices.
About the Guest
Dharmendra Jain is CEO and founder of Actnable AI, based in Kenya. He began his career in market research in India, working across NFO, TNS and Kantar, where he led the Indian Readership Survey. A move into research operations in Nigeria exposed him to fieldwork and data quality challenges, which led him to build custom tools, including a field management system now used by agencies more broadly.
He later shifted from technology user to technology founder, building AI-native research solutions designed around African market workflows rather than adapted from global templates.
Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. They pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.
The Insights from Elsewhere podcast is supported by:
Glaut is the only AI-native software designed specifically for Market Research Agencies. We pioneered “AIMI” (AI-moderated interviews), a new research method. With Glaut, you can design the study, collect data, and analyze everything using the Analysis Suite.
Find out more aboutGlaut.
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