What 60 Decibels does

60 Decibels is a tech-powered impact measurement company that uses phone-based surveys, its proprietary "Lean Data" methodology, and AI-driven analysis to capture customer insights from low- and middle-income populations worldwide. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in London, the firm maintains a distributed network of 1,300+ local researchers across 80+ countries fluent in 215+ languages, and has accumulated an impact-measurement data asset of 400,000+ customer voices. The company is privately held, employs 101–250 people, and has raised approximately $10.5M in disclosed funding across a 2019 seed round ($1.7M from Acumen and Ceniarth) and a January 2022 Series A ($8.8M led by FPE Capital).

The product portfolio combines three layers. First, project-based measurement services delivered through Core Insights assessments and Due Diligence work for investors and DFIs. Second, the 60dB Signal impact intelligence platform, launched in 2024, which exposes the proprietary dataset and benchmarking tools on a subscription basis. Third, recurring sector indices — including the MFI Index, Farmer Thriving, Quality Jobs, Energy Index, and Fintech Index — that serve as quasi-standard yardsticks across the impact-investing ecosystem. Underpinning these is the Beto AI voice agent, a proprietary telephony-based interview system with disclosed deployment in 10+ projects across Latin America and India and reported 75% reductions in project timelines.

The business serves three core customer segments: Corporations (notably Unilever, Primark, Mars, Bayer Crop Science, and Sucden for ESG, supply-chain, and consumer-insight work); Investors and Funders (including British International Investment, PIDG, Kiva, Flourish Ventures, Mercy Corps Ventures, VisionFund, and Carbon Trust for portfolio diligence and impact verification); and NGOs and social enterprises for program evaluation. Revenue is generated through a mix of project-based professional services, annual subscriptions to 60dB Signal and the indices, and licensing of toolkits (Gender, Climate Resilience, etc.). Notable partnerships include a 2025 collaboration with UNICEF USA on a child-lens impact assessment framework, and geographic expansion through a Bengaluru office to deepen coverage of South Asian markets.

Name

60 Decibels

Legal name

60 Decibels Inc.

Website

https://60decibels.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

60 Decibels is a tech-powered impact measurement company that runs phone-based surveys and applies AI-driven analysis to capture customer insights from low- and middle-income populations in 80+ countries, serving corporations, investors, and NGOs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Impact Measurement Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fieldwork & Data Collection (Online Panels, CATI/CAPI, Fieldwork) (MPAAALAD), Audio & Speech Analytics (call analytics, QA, insights) (HDAAAFAH)

Keywords

• Impact measurement
• Customer insights
• Social impact data
• Lean data surveys
• ESG measurement

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Impact Measurement Projects: Custom impact measurement studies conducted for corporations, investors, and social enterprises. Projects involve survey design, data collection through phone interviews, analysis, and delivery of impact reports with benchmarking.
2. 60dB Signal Platform: Subscription-based access to impact intelligence platform providing poverty reach estimates, impact benchmarks, and deal screening tools for investors.
3. Social Performance Indices: Annual sector-leading indexes in financial inclusion, off-grid energy, agriculture, and quality jobs. Organizations can participate to receive benchmarking and visibility.
4. Benchmarking & Consulting: Access to global impact database for benchmarking and comparison against industry peers, along with advisory services for impact strategy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

60 Decibels conducts standardized 15-minute phone-based surveys (Lean Data) through a global network of 1,300+ local researchers to collect customer and beneficiary voice data, then delivers impact measurement studies, benchmarking reports, and access to the 60dB Signal impact intelligence platform. The company primarily serves corporations (for ESG and supply chain assessment), investors and funders (for impact due diligence and portfolio monitoring), and NGOs and social enterprises (for program evaluation).

Product overview

60 Decibels is a tech-powered impact measurement company offering a suite of survey-based products and platforms. The core offering includes 60dB Signal (an impact intelligence platform for investors), the annual Microfinance Index (the world's largest financial inclusion study grounded in customer voice), and sector-specific indexes (Farmer Thriving Index, Quality Jobs Index, Energy Index). These are complemented by standardized survey products like 60dB Core Insights, Due Diligence assessments, Fintech Insights, and specialized toolkits (Gender Toolkit, Climate Resilience Assessment). The company also offers AI-powered data collection through its 'Beto' voice agent. Products serve three main client segments: Corporations (for ESG and supply chain management), Investors & Funders (for impact due diligence and portfolio monitoring), and NGOs & Social Enterprises (for impact measurement and program improvement). The company conducts phone-based surveys through a global network of 1,300+ local researchers in 80+ countries speaking 215+ languages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 60dB Signal: Impact intelligence platform that provides like-for-like benchmarks of risk and social performance for investors
• Lean Data
• Farmer Thriving Index
• Microfinance Index (MFI Index)
• Quality Jobs Index
• Energy Index
• Beto

Products and services

• 60dB Signal Impact intelligence platform providing like-for-like benchmarks of risk and social performance for impact investors, enabling deal diligence and portfolio monitoring through access to 400,000+ customer interviews across emerging and frontier markets.
• Microfinance Index (MFI Index) Annual landmark financial inclusion study providing high-quality, comparable impact data for the microfinance industry, driven entirely by client voices. The 2025 edition covers 85 financial service providers, 39 countries, and 24,450+ microfinance clients representing approximately 25 million global borrowers.
• Farmer Thriving Index

Quantifiable outcome

• AI-powered data collection reduces project timelines by 75%
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers27 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• UNICEF USAflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership to develop and test a child-focused impact assessment for financial inclusion, integrating it into a subset of 3,500 clients within the 2025 Microfinance Index covering 24,450 microfinance clients across 85 financial service providers in 39 countries.
• VisionFundflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner in child lens impact assessment initiative with UNICEF USA and Global Partnerships, exploring how financial products impact children and household resilience.
• Global PartnershipsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner in child lens impact assessment initiative with UNICEF USA and VisionFund, developing methodology to measure impact on children through financial inclusion.
• British International Investment (BII)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK development finance institution using 60dB Signal for impact due diligence, portfolio monitoring, and strategy. BII uses Signal as 'Bloomberg Terminal for impact' to assess deals and shape 5-year strategy.
• Digital GreencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to assess FarmerChat AI chatbot impact with 450 Kenyan farmers. 60 Decibels cross-referenced backend data from Digital Green containing farmers' queries and AI recommendations.
• Aceli AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to assess whether appropriate capital and support can unlock lending to agricultural SMEs and enable business growth and better outcomes for farmers. 60 Decibels interviewed 656 SME leaders, 6,154 farmers, and 229 employees.
• Roots of ImpactcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint launch of 'Hidden Potential Fund' using SAFI (Simple Agreement for Future Impact) structure to uncover and reward companies with hidden potential to deliver outsized impact.
• MarscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on supply chain labor practices measurement using List Experiment methodology to assess sensitive topics like child labor with improved accuracy.
• SucdencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on innovative List Experiment methods for collecting data on sensitive topics like child labor and adult labor practices in cocoa supply chains.
• DiagnostikareminorStrategic or Co-development Partner60 Decibels validated Diagnostikare's Primary Care 2.0 model showing high patient satisfaction, health improvements, and increased trust in workplace healthcare.
• BaldeCashminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeruvian social enterprise pilot for AI-powered impact study with AI interviewer 'Beto' to test voice AI for full-length surveys.
• ENRgIAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to study how access to clean energy opportunities shapes women entrepreneurs' businesses, households, and communities across Asia and Africa with 1,166 women entrepreneurs.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Kantar: Global market research and consumer insights firm with sustainability and purpose-led research practices. Comparable because it runs large-scale consumer surveys and benchmarking for multinational brands — overlapping 60 Decibels' corporate customer base and methodology, but across all sectors, not impact-specialized.
• Ipsos: One of the world's largest research firms with established sustainability, ESG and public-affairs practices. Directly comparable because it executes global survey-based consumer and citizen research with standardized indicators for enterprise and institutional clients.
• NielsenIQ: Global measurement and consumer intelligence giant serving CPG and retail multinationals. Comparable because it runs standardized, repeatable consumer surveys at massive scale — overlapping enterprise customers like Unilever — and is increasingly extending into ESG-linked consumer metrics.
• Forrester Research: Global research and advisory firm producing syndicated research, benchmarks and surveys for enterprise decision-makers. Comparable through its subscription-based research model and customer-experience benchmarking, which parallels 60dB Signal's benchmarking value proposition for investors.

Direct peers

• GlobeScan: Specialist research and advisory firm focused on sustainability, purpose and social-impact insights, with global survey capabilities. Closely comparable to 60 Decibels given its emphasis on benchmarking stakeholder views across ESG and development topics for corporations, investors and NGOs.
• ID Insight: Data-focused impact advisory organization that conducts surveys and rigorous evaluations for social-sector organizations and funders. Comparable because it delivers phone and in-person survey-based impact evidence to investors and NGOs across emerging markets, often competing for the same DFI and social-enterprise budgets.
• Impact Genome Project: Standardized impact measurement registry producing comparable social-outcome data across nonprofits and social programs. Comparable because it competes for the same 'standardized indicators' thesis and seeks to be a sector-utility for impact benchmarking, much like 60 Decibels' indices.

Emerging players

• CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor): Global partnership housed at the World Bank that researches and benchmarks financial inclusion for poor customers. Comparable because it produces standardized indicators and surveys on client experience that overlap directly with 60 Decibels' MFI Index and financial-inclusion methodology.
• Qualtrics: Experience management platform enabling organizations to deploy, distribute and analyze surveys at scale. Comparable because it underpins much of the survey infrastructure used in CX and stakeholder research, and increasingly markets ESG and stakeholder-experience solutions adjacent to 60 Decibels' offerings.

Others

• Social Value International: Global network promoting the Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology and impact standards. Comparable as an adjacent player shaping how social impact is measured and reported — both institutions compete for authority in defining credible impact measurement practice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/60_decibels
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/60-decibels

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 60 Decibels