Exploring the Journey to Connectivity in Africa


In an exciting new research project, D3 teamed with Facebook IQ to survey more than 6,000 respondents across Sub-Saharan Africa to better understand their journeys to connectivity.

Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the youngest and fastest-growing populations coming online. The primary research objectives were to gain profound insights into the barriers preventing people from coming online, their motivations for overcoming those barriers, the perceived benefits of being online, the costs of getting and maintaining an internet connection and the ways people engage with content and explore new paths to purchase once they are connected.

In order to collect sufficient data that addressed the full spectrum of connectivity, D3 designed robust survey instruments for both connected and unconnected nationals, aged 18+, in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. To further explore the nuances that cannot be collected through quantitative data alone, D3 also conducted in-depth interviews and ethnographies with connected and unconnected respondents in both urban and rural locations across the three markets. Lastly, D3 traveled to Sub-Saharan Africa with the Facebook IQ team to further interview and film videos of respondents. These videos ultimately transformed the data into compelling human stories that brought to life key insights and emerging trends from the research.

Check out the full report of findings from this study and watch one of the videos released on the Facebook IQ site.

Facebook materials used by permission.