The international range of market research offered by the GfK aims at providers of consumer products, services, industrial goods and communication and public facilities. It covers a wide range of qualitative and quantitative market research methods. GfK’s clients use information and consulting activities for their strategic marketing and investment decisions.
Market research is virtually unknown in Africa. The bad information situation is, despite of great growth perspectives, one of the main barriers for companies regarding investment decisions. Market research has great difficulties establishing itself due to the obscurity of the subject, a lack of know-how and skilled labor. Even though there is great potential for the creation of both direct and indirect jobs. The situation is aggravated by the poor status of demographic data offered by statistical offices of the African countries. It is important to close this information gap, as this will benefit both international and local companies as well as institutions of development cooperation. The better the information about their target groups, the easier to customize promotions and marketing.
The aim of the PPP-Project is to establish research capacity at universities and national statistical offices in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria and to create the necessary conditions for increased employment in an innovative sector of services. To achieve this, training of professionals is at the heart of the project. These professionals will acquire extensive knowledge in the areas of conception, statistics, quality control and consultancy. This is done via a collaboration with local universities, statistical offices and by means of market research academies. In these academies, interviewers are trained appropiately to execute market research projects on their own.
WiN=WiN effects
The training offers young people access to new income opportunities. At the same time, local market research benefits of additional know-how and a better qualification of professionals. This means that the information basis can be improved. This also facilitates investment decisions for companies which plan to operate in Africa.
The PPP-Project guarantees a long-term availability of qualified local professionals. These professionals build the basis for market research companies, such as the GfK, to establish themselves successfully in African markets.