When Dharmendra Jain talks about spending day and night processing data for India’s massive Indian Leadership Survey — reaching 240,000 people — he’s not just telling an origin story. He’s explaining why Africa needs its own AI research revolution right now. In the latest Pure Digital Passion podcast, Dharmendra (Founder & CEO of Actnable AI) and Josiah Kimanzi (Client Service Director) unpack how they’re building tools that turn raw African market data into decisions brands can actually trust and act on.

I’ve spent 25+ years in digital marketing and content in Kenya and across Africa, and one truth never changes: good research is the foundation of good marketing. But traditional methods — fieldwork delays, manual analysis, endless Excel sheets — are too slow for Africa’s fast-moving markets. Actnable AI, from their Nairobi HQ, is changing that with Neuro AI for emotional response analysis, Qual AI for qualitative automation, and DIA platform insights that work across Kenya, Nigeria, India and beyond.

This isn’t hype. It’s practitioners who’ve run operations for Kantar and TNS across challenging markets like Nigeria, now leveraging AI to solve problems they’ve lived through. Here’s what their story reveals about where African research is headed — and what brands need to do next.

From Anthropology to Nigeria’s “Beautiful Chaos”: Two Careers Built for AI Research

Josiah Kimanzi’s entry into research reads like a classic African career pivot. Trained as an anthropologist at University of Nairobi, he stumbled into Research International for what was meant to be a one-month gig. Three months later, he was hooked — working paper diaries with Roger Steadman, then jumping to Steadman Group managing audience measurement across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi and more. Nigeria called in 2008, where he led client service for global brands like Heineken, MultiChoice, Coca-Cola and MTN at what became Kantar Nigeria.

Dharmendra’s path was more technical. From data processing at IMRB in India to managing TNS Nigeria’s operations, he cut his teeth on massive scale — the Indian Leadership Survey was his “falling in love with research” moment. Nigeria became home for nearly a decade, where he and Josiah first crossed paths. “Beautiful chaos,” Josiah calls it — a market that forces you to “carry the whole box and take it elsewhere.”

Their Nigeria years weren’t just survival stories. They built diverse teams blending expats and locals, solved infrastructure nightmares, and delivered for demanding global clients. Critically, they saw the gaps: research too slow for real-time decisions, analysis too manual for complex African consumers, insights too generic for city-to-city differences. That shared frustration birthed Actnable AI.

The Field Management System That Became Actnable AI

Dharmendra didn’t wake up wanting to be an AI founder. He wanted to fix data collection. In Nigeria, he built a Field Management System that streamlined operations — something agencies begged to license. But as AI matured, he saw bigger possibilities: what if AI could handle not just fieldwork, but emotional analysis, qualitative synthesis, and instant dashboards?

Enter Actnable AI: locally-built AI research tools for African realities. Not off-the-shelf global platforms, but solutions understanding Nigeria’s power cuts, Kenya’s mobile-first consumers, and city-specific emotional triggers.

Key offerings:

• Neuro AI: Facial expression analysis measuring real emotional responses to ads. No more “self-reported” bias — see what consumers actually feel.
• Qual AI: Automates qualitative research — turns transcripts into themes, sentiments, and action points via “chat with data.”
• DIA Platform: Unifies structured and unstructured data for holistic consumer views.

Josiah, as Client Service Director, bridges technology and business. “AI reduces risk and time,” he says — critical when multinationals run pan-African campaigns needing fast, local proof.

The Case Study That Proves AI’s African Edge

Nothing illustrates Actnable’s value like their telecom campaign analysis across three cities. Identical ads, radically different emotions. Neuro AI revealed:

• Lagos responded rationally but needed business-focused localization.
• Kinshasa required major creative adaptation.
• Another city showed strongest emotional engagement.

This wasn’t guesswork. AI measured attention, valence, responsiveness — turning subjective “vibes” into objective timelines and personas. The client adjusted strategy accordingly, proving what Dharmendra calls “cultural truths traditional methods miss.”

Another win: a massive data project delivered under impossible deadlines. Where manual teams would crumble, Actnable’s AI crunched it fast, giving the client decisions when time was the enemy.

Why African Brands Can’t Ignore AI Research Anymore

Africa’s research market sits at a pivot. High awareness of AI’s potential (speed, efficiency) meets real barriers: skills gaps, infrastructure, data quality. Actnable’s positioning is smart — they’re not replacing researchers, they’re amplifying them.

For Kenyan, Nigerian, and other African marketers, this means:

• Speed without losing depth: Neuro AI gives emotional insights in hours, not weeks.
• Affordability for SMEs: Tools priced for African businesses, not Silicon Valley enterprises.
• Local context: Platforms understanding Sheng, Pidgin, and city-specific behaviours global tools ignore.

Dharmendra pushes a bigger vision: data-driven decision-making as standard African practice. Move online, build local capacity, reduce external dependency. Josiah adds the client truth: context matters. AI must be tuned for “African opportunities and challenges.”

What This Means for African Marketers and Founders (Next 3–5 Years)

1. Test emotionally, not just rationally. Self-reported surveys miss subconscious reactions. Neuro AI surfaces what consumers won’t admit.
2. Unify your data. DIA-style platforms turn siloed transcripts, social, and surveys into single dashboards.
3. Start small, scale fast. Actnable proves SMEs can access enterprise-grade insights without enterprise budgets.
4. Upskill now. Researchers who master AI-human hybrids will own the next decade.

Actnable AI isn’t a technology gimmick. It’s what happens when two Nigeria veterans take their scars and build tools for Africa’s real research wars. 

Watch on YouTube:

Listen on Spotify: