Somia Customer Experience
Somia Customer Experience is an Indonesia-based design research and consulting firm that helps enterprise, government, and development-sector clients uncover customer insights and translate them into product, service, and digital experience solutions using human-centered design methodologies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersJakarta, Indonesia
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Somia Customer Experience does
Somia Customer Experience is an Indonesia-based customer experience and design research consultancy founded in 2013 and headquartered in Jakarta, with additional offices in Bali and Singapore. The firm helps organizations uncover insights about their customers and translate them into solutions across products, services, and digital experiences, serving enterprise clients in financial services, telecommunications, technology, consumer products, healthcare, and government/development sectors.
The firm's core offering is human-centered design (HCD) consulting built on ethnographic research, systems thinking, and usability testing, supported by proprietary methodologies such as the Innovation Recipe Framework and the Most Significant Change Framework. Its portfolio of service lines includes Strategic Innovation & Transformation, Product & Service Design, and Usability Testing & Expert Evaluations, delivered through project-based engagements. Project outputs have included digital products (KaderKita health-worker app, Kohler Muslim sanitaryware, Pinang Ceria lending app, Sarinah retail app) and research initiatives (DiFi for All multi-country study, MSE onboarding report, Financial Futures of Gen Z 2035, Inclusion Without Literacy). Somia Academy is a parallel training vertical offering HCD workshops and UX-PM certification.
The business model is professional services revenue generated through direct enterprise engagement and referrals via international networks (UX Alliance, Reach Network). Clients are concentrated among large Indonesian banks (BCA, BRI, Mandiri, BTPN), telcos (Telkom, XL Axiata, Telkomsel), and global tech brands (Google, Grab, Meta, Adobe, Spotify), supplemented by Gates Foundation-funded development-sector work (PATH, DFS Lab, Women's World Banking). The firm is privately held with no external funding rounds disclosed.
Somia Customer Experience firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Somia Customer Experience
- Legal name
- Somia Customer Experience
- Website
- https://somiacx.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Somia Customer Experience is an Indonesia-based design research and consulting firm that helps enterprise, government, and development-sector clients uncover customer insights and translate them into product, service, and digital experience solutions using human-centered design methodologies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Somia Customer Experience industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Design Consulting Services
- NAICS
- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54), Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Other Specialized Design Services (541490)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Market Research, Analytics & Consumer Insights (BPAFAAAM)
Keywords
Where Somia Customer Experience is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Jakarta
- HQ country
- Indonesia
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices3 records
Markets served
Somia Customer Experience business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Research & Strategy Consulting: Project-based consulting engagements for user research, market research, strategic innovation, and CX strategy development. Engagements typically span weeks to months with close client collaboration.
- Design & Innovation Services: Product & service design, digital transformation, UI/UX design, and usability testing services delivered through collaborative project engagements.
- Somia Academy Training: Education and training services including workshops, certification programs (UX-PM Global Certification), public intensive classes, and in-house team building for organizations adopting human-centered design.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
Somia Customer Experience product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Somia Customer Experience is a design research and customer experience consultancy that helps companies uncover deep insights about their customers and transform them into impactful products, services, and organizational solutions. Its core offerings are project-based professional services spanning strategic innovation, product and service design, usability testing, and capability building through training, all anchored in Human-Centered Design, ethnographic research, and Systems Thinking methodologies.
Product overview
Somia Customer Experience is a design research and consulting firm offering human-centered design services, not a traditional software product company. Their portfolio consists of consulting service offerings organized into Strategic Innovation & Transformation (CX Vision, Digital Transformation, Speculative Futures), Product & Service Design (Service Design, Product Design, UI & UX), Usability Testing & Expert Evaluations, and Somia Academy training programs. Project outputs include research initiatives like DiFi for All, KaderKita digital tool, MSEs Onboarding Programs report, Financial Insights postcards, and Futures Thinking exploration for Gen Z. Educational resources include Service Design pocketbook and Design Thinking modules.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Somia Academy: Educational division offering human-centered design training, workshops, and certification programs including UX-PM Global Certification.
Products and services
- Strategic Innovation & Transformation Consulting service line covering CX Vision & Strategy, Digital Transformation, Value Proposition Design, and Speculative Futures to help companies transform their business into innovative strategy.
- Product & Service Design Comprehensive design services including Service Design, Product Strategy, Interaction Design, UI & UX, and Systems Mapping for digital and physical products.
- Usability Testing & Expert Evaluations Validation services including Usability Testing, Product Evaluation, Service Safari, Product & Service Prototyping, Heuristics Evaluation, and Low Conversion Rate improvement.
- Somia Academy Training and education programs including Human-Centered Design workshops, Building In-House Teams, UX-PM Global Certification, and Public Intensive Classes designed to spread human-centered design capabilities into organizations and society.
Quantifiable outcome
- 95% activation rate for digital health app (KaderKita) with 64% active usage by community health workers
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Somia Customer Experience
Customer profileNamed customers38 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Somia Customer Experience technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Somia Customer Experience partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Women's World BankingcoreCollaborative partner for young adults financial literacy research in Indonesia. Women's World Banking partnered with Somia CX to explore financial behaviors and challenges of urban Indonesian young adults aged 18-25.
- Re.SearchminorCollaborative partner for Design Thinking module development. Somia CX partnered with Re.Search to create Design Thinking approach modules for product and service development.
- PATHcoreClient and implementing partner for KaderKita digital health tool project. PATH, funded by the Gates Foundation, engaged Somia CX to design and implement a digital decision support tool for community health workers in Indonesia.
- Quicksand (India)coreLead partner in DiFi for All multi-country research project exploring digital financial services onboarding for unbanked and underbanked populations across 4 countries. Quicksand led the global coordination while Somia CX conducted Indonesia-specific research.
- BIGD (BRAC Institute of Governance and Development) - BangladeshcoreResearch partner in DiFi for All project, conducting parallel research in Bangladesh on digital financial inclusion for unbanked and underbanked populations.
- TSI (Three Stones International) - UgandacoreResearch partner in DiFi for All project, conducting parallel research in Uganda on digital financial services onboarding.
- KohlercoreClient partner for Muslim sanitaryware product innovation. Somia CX conducted 3-year research and design engagement to develop Wudu All in One Station and Istinja Urinal for Muslim users. Products were launched to market in 2022.
- UX AllianceminorInternational affiliate network of user experience research firms. Somia CX is part of the Southeast Asia network, enabling collaboration on cross-border research projects and knowledge sharing.
- Reach NetworkminorInternational design research network. Somia CX collaborated with Reach Network on podcast streaming platform research spanning 6 countries (US, UK, Japan, India, Brazil, Indonesia).
- UXID (Service Design Indonesia)minorService design industry association in Indonesia. Somia CX is a founding member, with founder Ketut Sulistyawati serving as founder of Service Design Indonesia (SDID).
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Somia Customer Experience competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Quicksand: India-based human-centered design and innovation consultancy. Direct peer on DiFi for All multi-country research and shares HCD, design research, and social impact focus with Somia CX.
- Stby: Design research firm in London and Amsterdam specialising in ethnographic and participatory research. Direct peer cited by Somia CX as a long-standing research partner with comparable methodology and global client base.
- Livework: International service design consultancy with offices in Europe, Brazil, and Singapore. Direct peer to Somia CX in service design, customer journey, and CX strategy engagements for financial services and public sector.
Broad incumbents
- IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy and the originator of human-centered design as a commercial practice. Competes with Somia CX for premium multi-country CX mandates from large enterprise clients.
- Frog (Capgemini Invent): Global design and engineering consultancy owned by Capgemini Invent, offering strategy, design, and CX transformation. Competes with Somia CX in design research and product/service design for enterprise clients.
- Fjord (Accenture Song): Global design and innovation consultancy within Accenture Song. Comparable to Somia CX in design research and service design, but with vastly larger scale and enterprise delivery capability.
- Method: Global design and technology consultancy focused on experience-driven product and service innovation. Overlaps with Somia CX's digital product and CX strategy offerings for enterprise clients.
- Huge: Global experience design and digital transformation agency. Comparable to Somia CX in CX strategy, product/service design, and digital experience work for large enterprises.
- Designit (Wipro): Global strategic design firm now part of Wipro, offering HCD, service design, and innovation strategy. Comparable offering to Somia CX but with global delivery scale and IT integration capabilities.
Regional players
- Elephant (Thailand): Thailand-based design and innovation consultancy offering HCD research, branding, and product design. Regional peer operating in Southeast Asia with similar boutique HCD positioning, though focused on Thailand rather than Indonesia.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Somia Customer Experience social profiles
Digital presenceSomia Customer Experience financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Somia Customer Experience leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Somia Customer Experience funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Somia Customer Experience M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Somia Customer Experience
What does Somia Customer Experience do?
Somia Customer Experience is a design research and customer experience consultancy that helps companies uncover deep insights about their customers and transform them into impactful products, services, and organizational solutions. Its core offerings are project-based professional services spanning strategic innovation, product and service design, usability testing, and capability building through training, all anchored in Human-Centered Design, ethnographic research, and Systems Thinking methodologies.
Is Somia Customer Experience a public or private company?
Somia Customer Experience is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Somia Customer Experience founded?
Somia Customer Experience was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Somia Customer Experience based?
Somia Customer Experience is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, in the Asia region.
How does Somia Customer Experience make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Research & Strategy Consulting is the primary driver. The others are design & Innovation Services and somia Academy Training.
Who are Somia Customer Experience's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Quicksand, Stby and Livework. Broad incumbents are IDEO, Frog (Capgemini Invent), Fjord (Accenture Song), Method, Huge and Designit (Wipro). Elephant (Thailand) is listed as a regional player.
Does Somia Customer Experience have an API?
No public API is recorded for Somia Customer Experience.
What industry is Somia Customer Experience in?
Somia Customer Experience's product category is Design Consulting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAAAM, Market Research, Analytics & Consumer Insights. Its NAICS code is 54 and its SIC code is 8742.