How to manage successful recruitment in Qualitative Research in Africa

Qualitative research in Africa must be approached with certain considerations in mind. Why? Because Africa is a diverse and fragmented market, with limited infrastructure. It also has low literacy rates, socio-economic challenges, a myriad of languages with a relevant part of the population living in remote areas. So how do qualitative researchers manage this context when recruiting respondents? What are successful recruitment strategies?

A blended strategy for successful research recruitment in Africa

With over a decade of qualitative market research experience across the continent, we, at Sagaci Research, are aware that relevant, useful and impactful research insights start with a good recruitment. With this in mind, we always devote considerable effort to what we consider to be a crucial phase. Through hundreds of projects conducted across dozens of countries, we have found that it requires a thoughtful blend of technology, strict quality control methods, cultural awareness and customised approaches to capture all target audience specificities.

Technology for a deep reach

Recruiting specific consumer profiles in hard to reach markets and regions, like remote rural areas can be a challenging task. Thankfully, the online panel SagaPoll, boasting thousands of members across the 54 African countries, represents a huge pool of over 300,000 respondents. 

Each comes with a detailed profile in terms of:

• demographics
• consumption habits
• usage and attitudes
• and much more!

This enormous database makes it possible to recruit consumers of all profiles for virtually any type of qualitative research project in Africa. 

Are you looking for regular users of a particular FMCG category (e. laundry detergent)? Users of a specific brand (eg. Omo)? People with a certain behaviour (eg. doing laundry every week)? Chances are we can find them easily on SagaPoll.

In addition to reaching consumers in challenging locations and tapping into a vast array of consumer profiles, SagaPoll eliminates the concern associated with engaging ‘professional respondents’. Panel members are filtered and invited based on their pre-filled profile upon subscription. Unlike with physical recruitment there is no risk of respondents being ‘coached’ in order to fit a targeted profile. 

After identifying a suitable respondent, the recruitment team validates the profile through callbacks and, in some instances, home visits.

Leveraging our network of local experts

Conducting qualitative research in Africa requires deep immersion in a rich mosaic of cultures. While online recruitment is of great help, face-to-face interaction still remains key. To this effect we have developed a network of qualitative research experts in over 20 African countries. This range from recruiters, moderators, transcribers, translators and analysts. With this multicultural team, we are able to incorporate local cultures and language diversity into our research approach starting with recruitment and across all qualitative research methods (focus groups, ethnographies, in-depth interviews, etc).

The right partner for Qualitative Research in Africa

To conclude, go ahead and schedule a chat with our team headed by Susana Costa, the Global Head of Qualitative Research at Sagaci Research. They can certainly help you explore the appropriate approach to listen to your target audience and achieve your research objectives successfully.

© Cover Photo by Sagaci Research – Focus Group Discussion in Burkina Faso