The Behaviour Change Agency

What The Behaviour Change Agency does

The Behaviour Change Agency (BCA) is a Cape Town-based behavioural science consultancy founded in 2016 that designs and delivers communication and intervention programmes for South African government departments, enterprises and non-profit organisations. The firm applies behavioural science, neuroscience and AI to translate complex policy or scientific information into culturally relevant, measurable campaigns across sectors including health, finance, education, environment, energy, government and political communications. Its service mix spans evidence-based research, behavioural gap analysis, strategy, behaviourally informed messaging, intervention design, digital platform development, content production and monitoring & evaluation, delivered through project-based consultancy engagements.

BCA's core proprietary assets are its methodologies rather than software products: the BEST framework (an African-context messaging framework), the Think-Nudge-Shove three-stage behaviour change model, neuroplasticity-based intervention design and a first-of-its-kind USSD booking system for public health services. These are supported by two branded digital surfaces — the Brain Matters brain-health literacy portal and the Behaviour Change Academy (UCT-accredited short courses) — and reinforced by academic alliances with the University of Cape Town's Centre for Behavioural Medicine and the University of the Free State.

The business model is professional services: BCA acquires clients through direct engagement, proposals, referrals and partnerships, with revenue generated per project. Named clients span The Presidency, ESKOM, SANRAL, PRASA, the National Department of Health, South African Breweries, Momentum, Old Mutual, Investec, Medscheme, Vantage Health Technologies, WWF, SmartStart and SANParks, among others. Headcount sits in the 11–50 band, the firm is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding, and operating geography centres on South Africa with activity referenced across the wider SADC region.

Name

The Behaviour Change Agency

Legal name

The Behaviour Change Agency

Website

https://behaviourchangeagency.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Behaviour Change Agency is a Cape Town-based behavioural science consultancy (founded 2016, 11–50 staff) that designs evidence-based communication and intervention programmes for South African government departments, enterprises and NGOs, supported by the proprietary BEST methodology, the Brain Matters portal and UCT-accredited training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Behavioural Science Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Organization Design & Change Management Consulting (BPAHACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Change Management & Transformation Consulting (BPAHAGAC), Community Health, Health Promotion & Behavior Change (SBCC) (BPADAIAL)

Keywords

• Behavioural science consulting
• Behaviour change communications
• Social change campaigns
• Health communication strategy
• Public sector communications

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Behaviour Change Consultancy Services: BCA provides behavioural science consulting services to government, private sector, and non-profit organisations. Services include evidence-based research, gap analysis, behavioural insights, strategy development, behaviourally informed messaging, intervention design, and M&E (monitoring and evaluation). Projects are delivered across various sectors including health, finance, education, environment, government, and energy.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Behaviour Change Agency is a behavioural science communications consultancy that designs and delivers evidence-based behaviour change interventions for government, private sector, and non-profit clients. Services span behavioural research, gap analysis, strategy development, behaviourally informed messaging, intervention design, digital platform development, content creation, and monitoring & evaluation across health, finance, education, environment, energy, and government sectors.

Product overview

The Behaviour Change Agency (BCA) is a South African behavioural science consultancy that operates primarily as a services firm rather than a software product company. Its core offerings centre on behavioural change campaigns, strategic communications, and research services grounded in behavioural science and neuroscience. The two primary branded offerings are the Brain Matters Portal (a digital brain health literacy platform at brainmatters.info) and the Behaviour Change Academy (UCT-accredited short courses in behavioural science). BCA also develops custom digital tools, USSD systems, publications, and multimedia campaigns for clients across health, government, finance, environment, and education sectors. Projects such as HIV awareness campaigns (Make The Cut, HIV by the Numbers), energy reduction initiatives (Operation Khanyisa, NECOM), SANRAL publications, and the Momentum Thrive app represent client engagements rather than BCA's own product lines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Brain Matters: Brain health literacy portal - an internal BCA project that aims to improve brain health literacy in South Africa by combining behavioural science with local insights to explain brain health in ways that make sense for South Africans.

Products and services

• Brain Matters Portal A digital brain health literacy portal that provides accessible, culturally relevant information about brain health for South Africans, combining behavioural science with local insights. Target audience is the general South African public seeking to improve brain health literacy.
• Behaviour Change Academy Practical behavioural science short courses accredited by the University of Cape Town (UCT), bringing behavioural science and neuroscience into practice for African professionals. Target audience is professionals seeking accredited training in behavioural science application.
• Behaviour Change Consultancy Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% increase in circumcisions (11,533 in 8 weeks) with 48,000 USSD sessions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Cape Town (UCT) - Centre for Behavioural MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBCA collaborates with the Centre for Behavioural Medicine at UCT's Neuroscience Institute to conduct research at the intersection of behaviour and health. Together they design short courses bringing behavioural science and neuroscience into practice, developing tools for professionals to understand how people make decisions and how behaviour can be influenced responsibly.
• Centre for Information Integrity in Africa (CINIA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with CINIA combines BCA's behavioural science expertise with CINIA's cutting-edge research on information integrity to create evidence-based interventions that strengthen media literacy, combat misinformation, and build resilient information ecosystems across Africa.
• iMPAC SymposiumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBCA presented at the iMPAC Symposium on transforming mental health care in the SADC region, exploring how integrating African expressive arts with behavioural technology could revolutionise health-seeking behaviours.
• University of the Free State (UFS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBCA partners with UFS to apply behavioural science insights that boost student engagement, digital literacy, and employability outcomes. Through gamification, personalised nudges, peer influence, and predictive analytics, BCA enhances UFS programmes to drive greater participation and long-term success.
• South African National Parks (SANParks)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBCA announced partnership with SANParks to bring behavioural insights into their stakeholder engagement approach. The partnership focuses on balancing ecological preservation with community wellbeing, applying behavioural science to protected area management.
• National Department of Health South AfricacoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBCA led the development of the TB Social and Behaviour Change Communication Training Manual for the Department of Health South Africa, including national needs assessment, manual development with practical tools, and pilot workshop testing.
• National Department of TransportminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBCA applies behavioural science insights to road safety challenges, presenting analysis on how behaviour change campaigns can reduce accidents. Working with government to develop approaches that make safe choices easier and more natural.
• G20 Anti-Corruption Working GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBCA participated in the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group where Managing Director Pat Govender shared perspectives on applying behavioural science to tackle corruption, emphasising making ethical choices the path of least resistance.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Peltz Projects: Peltz Projects is a South African behavioural economics consultancy working across Africa on similar behavioural change interventions. It is a regional peer operating in the same Cape Town-rooted ecosystem and competing for African behavioural science mandates.

Direct peers

• ideas42: ideas42 is a US-headquartered behavioural design non-profit that uses behavioural science to design interventions addressing health, finance, education, and environmental challenges. Its service mix and global-sector approach closely mirror BCA's behavioural change campaign work.
• BEworks: BEworks is a Canadian behavioural economics consultancy combining academic rigour with applied interventions for governments, NGOs, and corporates. It is a direct functional analogue of BCA's behaviour-change consultancy model.
• The Decision Lab: The Decision Lab is a behavioural science consultancy applying research insights to real-world challenges for organisations. Its focus on translating behavioural economics into measurable interventions aligns tightly with BCA's evidence-driven campaign approach.
• Common Cents Lab: Common Cents Lab is a behavioural research and design lab focused on financial wellbeing for low- and moderate-income Americans. It shares BCA's emphasis on evidence-based behavioural interventions in financial decision-making, like Momentum and Old Mutual work.
• Busara Center for Behavioral Economics: Busara is an African-rooted behavioural economics research and advisory firm operating across East Africa and beyond. It is the closest African peer to BCA, with a similar academic-behavioural consulting model and shared focus on development-sector challenges.

Emerging players

• Center for Advanced Hindsight (Duke University): Center for Advanced Hindsight is Duke University's behavioural economics lab turning academic insights into applied interventions. It overlaps with BCA on the research-to-practice bridge and academic partnership approach.

Others

• Deloitte Behavioural Insights Practice: Deloitte's behavioural insights practice offers applied behavioural science as part of a wider consulting portfolio to global enterprise and government clients. It competes with BCA for the same type of behavioural change mandates at much larger scale.
• Save the Children Behavioural Insights Unit: Save the Children operates a behavioural insights capability addressing health, education, and child-welfare outcomes globally. It overlaps with BCA's social-impact campaigns (e.g., SmartStart early childhood development) as an adjacent practitioner of behaviourally informed programme design.

Broad incumbents

• Behavioural Insights Team (BIT): BIT is the global pioneer of applied behavioural science, spun out of the UK Cabinet Office 'Nudge Unit'. It operates at far greater scale than BCA but shares the same core proposition of evidence-based behaviour change consulting for governments and enterprises, making it the closest broad incumbent reference.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-behaviour-change-agency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 The Behaviour Change Agency