Insights from Elsewhere

Mpho Mpofu, founder of Masutane and author of The Qual African, has more than 20 years of experience in qualitative research across Africa.

In this episode, she explains why the idea of “the African market” is too simplistic. Africa spans 54 countries, thousands of languages and very different cultural and consumer contexts.

She also shares insights from interviews with 31 African researchers, discusses the pressure on qualitative research budgets and talent, and explains why AI still struggles with local languages and code-switching.

Episode Highlights:

• Africa is not one market. Local culture, language and consumer behavior vary widely across the continent.
• The Qual African is based on 31 researcher interviews. Their experiences shaped the book’s focus on expertise, authority and legacy.
• Researchers need a stronger voice. Mpofu argues that African market researchers should help interpret and communicate insights, not simply hand over findings.
• Budget cuts affect research quality and talent development. Travel, local protocols and trust-building all require time and investment.
• Global clients should start with fewer assumptions. Co-creating the brief with local researchers can lead to better insights.
• AI can speed up transcription, translation and analysis. But local language, context and code-switching remain major challenges.
• Researchers should help shape AI. Their cultural and linguistic expertise can improve how these tools work.

About the Guest

Mpho Mpofu is the founder of Masutane and author of The Qual African. Based in South Africa, she has more than 20 years of qualitative research experience across Africa.

She began her career at Millward Brown, now Kantar, and has since worked across research, training and entrepreneurship. She also supports junior researchers, works with universities and business incubators, and serves on the SAMRA board.

The Qual African, based on interviews with 31 rese

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 about Glaut. 

In this episode, Cynthia talks to Samantha Loggenberg, founder of Insights Edge in South Africa. She has spent more than 30 years doing qualitative research across Africa and more than 40 other countries. 

Episode Highlights:

• South Africa is not one market. Samantha explains why sampling and segmentation have to account for race, socioeconomic level, culture and language at the same time, and why treating the country (or the continent) as a single, uniform market is the biggest mistake researchers make. 
• When global campaigns get lost in translation. Two cautionary tales: a yogurt brand's "chilled" message in Mozambique that translated as "dead," and a streaming service in Ethiopia that mistook rising connectivity data for market readiness, missing entirely how people actually lived and used their phones. 
• "Yes" does not always mean yes. Samantha describes "passive resistance," where respondents give polite, positive answers out of respect while their body language says the opposite, and why rating scales behave differently in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Brazil. 
• The case for an insider-outsider approach. Why local partners who can read the room and provide cultural context are essential, even for a researcher with 30 years of experience across more than 40 countries. 
• AI's real strengths, and its real risks, in qualitative research. Samantha values AI for speed and synthesis but is wary of it on source and truth, arguing for "bothism" — judicious, project-by-project use — over an all-or-nothing stance. 
• A widening gap in insights talent. How AI is changing the way junior researchers are trained, and Samantha's concern that shortcuts around fieldwork could cost the next generation the ability to judge what is true rather than merely plausible.

About the Guest

Samantha Loggenberg, based in South Africa, is the founder of Insights Edge and has more than 30 years of experience in qualitative research across more than 40 countries. 

Her work spans South Africa and the wider African continent, with a focus on staying close to consumers through immersions, in-depth interviews and group discussions. 

She contributed to a book on qualitative research in Africa by Mpho Mpofu and is writing her own book on projective and enabling techniques used across the continent.

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 about Glaut. 

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 about Glaut. 

Egypt is more than pharaohs and pyramids. 

Market research and technology in the MENA region cannot be understood through a single regional playbook. 

In this episode, Cynthia Portugal speaks with Mohamed ElSherif, from Egypt. He is the founder of ASaaSI Middle East, and he speaks about the cultural, commercial and linguistic realities shaping insights work across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf and North Africa. 

Mohamed explains why trust, local relationships and guided service often matter more than product demonstrations, and why translating a platform into Arabic is not the same as localizing it. 

They also discuss the limits of current AI models across Arabic dialects, the need for researchers with direct cultural knowledge, and the skills required to produce useful insight from data. 

Listen to Mohamed’s view of the region’s shift from retrospective reporting toward predictive intelligence, along with practical advice for people entering the insights profession.

Episode Highlights:

• Why the MENA region requires country specific research, pricing, relationships and market entry strategies.
• How trust, local references and personal relationships influence technology adoption and business decisions.
• Why Arabic support must account for Modern Standard Arabic, national dialects and local expressions.
• The difference between translation and localization across content, case studies, support and customer experience.
• The skills gap between communication, technology and data, and how teams can build a shared foundation.
• How insights teams in the region may move from reporting past events toward prediction and crisis intelligence.

About the Guest

Mohamed Elsherif, from Egypt, is the founder of ASaaSI Middle East and a consultant with 15 years of experience in SaaS, AI, marketing intelligence and media intelligence. 

He studied the impact of social media on behavior at the University of York and later worked with Isentia Brandtology in Singapore on enterprise and government accounts. 

His career has also included supporting accelerators, incubators and startup founders, as well as building a startup that was sold in 2021. Through ASaaSI Middle East, he helps 

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 about Glaut. 

Urpi Torrado from Peru discusses research in Latin America, local nuance, AI adoption and the value of human insight.

In this episode of Insights from Elsewhere, Cynthia Portugal speaks with Urpi Torrado, CEO of Datum International in Peru, Latam Ambassador for ESOMAR and President of WAPOR Latam. 

Urpi shares how she entered market research through her family business during a difficult period in Peru, and how that experience shaped her view of the industry. 

The conversation explores what makes research in Peru and Latin America distinct, from the continued importance of in person methods to the risks of treating the region as one uniform market. 

Urpi also discusses AI, research technology, digital twins, client adoption, and the role of local researchers in bringing Latin American cases and perspectives into global industry forums.

Episode Highlights:

• Why Latin America should not be treated as a single market
• The continued role of in person research in Peru and across the region
• How clients are approaching AI, research technology and new methodologies
• What Latin American researchers can contribute to global forums
• Lessons from Urpi’s work on Peruvian families, digital twins and cultural context
• Why curiosity, empathy and critical thinking remain central to good research

About the Guest

Urpi Torrado is the CEO of Datum International in Peru, Latam Ambassador for ESOMAR and President of WAPOR Latam. She has more than 30 years of experience in market research, marketing and innovation, and has contributed to publications on human behavior in the region.

She is also coauthor of Familias Peruanas: Más Familias de lo Que Imaginas, a study of the changing structure and dynamics of Peruvian families.

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 about Glaut. 

Hyein Yoon from Korea shares how brands can approach Korea and Japan with stronger local insight and cultural context.

In this episode of Insights from Elsewhere, Cynthia Portugal speaks with Hyein Yoon, founder of HY Marketing in Seoul. 

Hyein works across Korean, Japanese and English speaking markets, helping global brands understand how to enter Korea and Japan with more relevant positioning, research and communication.

The conversation explores why Korea and Japan are often grouped together, but behave very differently in practice. 

Hyein discusses Korean speed, trend sensitivity and value expectations, compared with Japan’s emphasis on trust, loyalty and service. She also explains how platforms such as Naver, KakaoTalk, LINE and X shape local research, social listening and brand strategy. 

The episode also covers AI, local search behaviour, single person households and the importance of observing markets in person.

 We also talk about Nunchi (눈치), pronounced noon-chee, the Korean "mind reading"superpower that literally translates to "eye-measure". It refers to the subtle art of listening, "reading the room," and gauging others' moods, emotions, and unspoken social cues to build harmony and adapt your behavior. 

Episode Highlights:

• Why Korea and Japan require different research approaches despite being geographically close 
• How Korean consumers respond to speed, trends, value for money and fast changing cultural signals 
• Why Japanese market entry depends heavily on trust, loyalty, hospitality and long term relationship building 
• The role of Naver, KakaoTalk, LINE, Yahoo Japan, Google and X in local insight gathering 
• Why AI tools can help with market exploration, but should not replace local validation 
• How Hyein uses observation, local meetups, search data and social listening to understand consumer behaviour

About the Guest

Hyein Yoon is the founder of HY Marketing, a boutique consultancy and market agency based in Seoul. She specialises in Korea and Japan market entry for global brands, working across Korean, Japanese and English speaking markets. 

Her work focuses on local positioning, consumer behaviour, keyword strategy, content marketing and helping international companies understand the cultural context behind market decisions.

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 about Glaut. 

Rafael Cespedes from Chile discusses research culture, AI, data quality and the future of insights in Latin America.

In this episode of Insights from Elsewhere, Cynthia Portugal speaks with Rafael Cespedes, CEO for Provokers in Santiago, Chile.

They talk about the realities of market research across Latin America. and Rafa reflects on how culture, contradictions and local context shape consumer behavior and research practices in the region. 

The conversation explores common misunderstandings from global headquarters, the challenges of data quality and panel fraud, and the growing pressure on insights teams to deliver more with fewer resources. 

Rafael also shares his perspective on AI, the changing relationship between agencies and clients, the future of research talent, and why understanding the right business question matters more than ever.

Episode Highlights:

• Why Latin America cannot be treated as a single market and how cultural nuances affect research interpretation 
• Common mistakes global teams make when applying global frameworks to local markets 
• How AI is changing the role of researchers, agencies and client side insights teams 
• The growing importance of integrating research, business context and operational data 
• Challenges around fraud, professional respondents and maintaining data quality in online research 
• Why ethnography and conversational research remain essential for understanding real human behavior

About the Guest

Rafael Cespedes is a psychologist and market research leader with more than 30 years of experience in the insights industry across Latin America. 

He is the CEO of Provokers in Chile and an active representative within ESOMAR. He is known for his work connecting cultural understanding, qualitative research and innovation in insights, with a strong focus on how local context shapes consumer behavior and business decisions.

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 about Glaut. 

This episode features Jessica Dua, Senior Qualitative Manager at Cultural Traits in New Delhi, India. 

She shares her journey into market research and her experience leadingInsights for Impact Award – Qualitative Research 2025 award winning project focused on children in underserved communities in New Delhi. 

The conversation explores how qualitative methods such as co-creation and ethnography can uncover real behavioral insights, even in complex environments. Jessica also shares the realities of conducting research across India, including regional diversity, digital access gaps, and cultural nuance. 

The episode highlights how researchers adapt methodologies, balance technology with traditional approaches, and ensure meaningful outcomes for both participants and clients.

Episode Highlights:

• Designing a co-creation study with children to develop practical solutions for learning environments
• Managing research challenges in low literacy and low trust contexts
• Adapting methodologies to digital constraints such as device access and connectivity
• Understanding India as a set of diverse markets with linguistic, cultural, and climate differences
• Evaluating the role of AI in research, including its strengths in efficiency and limits in cultural interpretation
• Balancing technology adoption with traditional qualitative methods across urban and rural contexts

About the Guest

Jessica Dua is a Senior Qualitative Manager at Cultural Traits based in New Delhi, India. She specializes in qualitative research methods including in-depth interviews, ethnography, and online communities. Her work focuses on understanding human behavior and cultural context in the Indian market. She was recognized with the Insights for Impact Award 2026 for a project using research to support social outcomes through co-creation with children.

*The Insights for Impact Award is a initiative sponsored by Insight Platforms and Recollective where winner pitches receive resources to conduct an online qualitative research project for a charity, good cause or non-profit organisation.

**More details about the project execution are available in the on-demand webinar From Insight to Impact: Co-Creation with Young Minds from New Delhi.

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 about Glaut. 

In this episode of Insights from Elsewhere, Cynthia Portugal speaks with Mitali Chowhan, Director General of the Market Research Society of India (MRSI), to explore the realities of market research in India and what global professionals can learn from it.

They discuss how India combines rigorous methodological foundations with rapid adoption of new technologies, including AI and mobile-first research. The conversation highlights the importance of demonstrating business impact, navigating client pressures, and maintaining research quality in a fast-changing environment.

Mitali also shares practical perspectives on working across cultures, managing complexity in diverse markets, and developing the next generation of researchers—balancing foundational knowledge with modern tools.

An experience-driven conversation on where the industry is heading and what must not be lost along the way.

Episode Highlights:

• Why Indian market research emphasizes strong fundamentals like sampling, heterogeneity, and statistical rigor.
• The challenge of proving business impact and how “impact awards” help shift the narrative.
• AI in research: where it delivers real efficiency vs. where risks and limitations remain.
• Cultural and operational nuances of conducting research in India, including language diversity and scale.
• The tension between shrinking budgets, automation, and maintaining research quality.
• Talent development: how to attract, train, and retain the next generation of insights professionals.

About the Guest

Mitali Chowhan is the Director General of the Market Research Society of India, based in Mumbai. 

With nearly four decades of experience across both agency and client-side roles—including leadership positions at TNS and major telecom companies such as Vodafone—she brings a deep understanding of global and local research ecosystems.

Her work focuses on elevating the visibility, credibility, and impact of market research, while fostering high standards, responsible innovation, and talent development within the industry.

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 about Glaut. 

What does it really mean to be a “global citizen” in insights? 

In this episode of Insights from Elsewhere, Cynthia Portugal talks with Pratik Sharma, co-founder of Opsonomy. He was born in India and has spent the last 20 years living in Germany while working across Europe, the US, and APAC. 

Pratik shares what he learned moving between cultures: how language, punctuality, communication styles, and business norms change from market to market, and why assumptions that “what works in the US will work anywhere” often fail. 

They also explore how localization impacts research quality (from survey translation to cultural context), and where AI helps, or misleads, when it’s trained on predominantly Western examples.

Episode Highlights:

• Why Pratik calls himself a “global citizen” and what moving from India to Germany taught him about culture and work
• How small cultural cues (punctuality, directness, formality, “do’s and don’ts”) shape client relationships and project delivery
• The myth of “copy-paste research”: why methods, language, and expectations don’t transfer cleanly across markets
• Localization in practice: translation vs “tropicalization,” cultural references, and avoiding questions that can derail a study
• AI and bias: why large language models can feel “off” outside Western contexts and how that may change as inputs diversify
• Advice for newcomers: be bold, experiment, learn globally, and challenge established assumptions

About the Guest

Pratik Sharma is the co-founder of Opsonomy, a consultancy focused on unlocking growth opportunities and improving efficiency across company ecosystems. 

Born in India and based in Germany for the past two decades, Pratik has worked with global research and business teams across Europe, the United States, and APAC. 

His experience spans cross-cultural project delivery, client management across markets, and practical guidance on adapting research approaches to local realities.

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 about Glaut.