What Nendo does

Nendo Ltd. is a Nairobi-based boutique digital research and marketing consultancy founded in 2013 by Mark Kaigwa, structured around three service pillars: Advisory (social listening, data analytics, user research, and strategic communications), Agency (branding, marketing, and communications campaigns for behavior change), and Academy (training courses and learning events). The firm applies AI-based social media analytics — primarily through third-party platforms Brandwatch and Crimson Hexagon — to large multilingual corpora across English, Swahili, Sheng, Pidgin, and Lusophone/Francophone African languages, producing proprietary frameworks such as the Five S's (Search, Sport, Social, Sex, Stories) and a recurring research library spanning the Digital Trend Reports (2014–2021), State of Mobile Data, COVID-19 Impact, CS Week Analysis, Kenya Gen Z, and the USAID-backed Dada Disinfo report on technology-facilitated gender-based violence.

The company serves enterprise and public-sector clients across banking, telecommunications, healthcare, retail/real estate, government, and NGOs in Kenya and more than 20 African countries, with multi-year anchor relationships including Safaricom PLC, NCBA Bank, Jambojet, HELB, Equity Group, and British Council, and a cumulative base of more than 300 clients. Its go-to-market is sales-led — RFPs, pitches, and inbound leads generated through free report downloads, the Letter N newsletter (1,700+ subscribers), webinars, and speaking engagements — combined with a managed-service offering (React) for social media fraud detection and reputation monitoring in regulated verticals.

Revenue is generated primarily through project-based consulting engagements and retainer agreements for the Advisory and Agency arms, software licensing and support (including provisioning of social listening platforms to clients), corporate and cohort-based training priced at Ksh 25,000 per person in the Academy arm, and premium presentations layered on free research-report downloads. The company operates remotely-first from Westlands, Nairobi, with access to up to three co-working spaces, and is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding.

Name

Nendo

Legal name

Nendo Ltd.

Website

https://nendo.co.ke

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nendo is a Nairobi-based boutique consultancy that delivers social listening, data analytics, digital marketing campaigns, and training to enterprises and public-sector clients across Kenya and 20+ African countries in banking, telecoms, healthcare, and government.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Marketing Consulting

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Social & Digital Insights (Social Listening, Online Community Research) (MPAAALAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Workshops, Webinars & Live Masterclasses (MPACALAD)

Keywords

• Social media analytics
• Digital research consultancy
• Social listening services
• Brand reputation management
• Digital marketing training

Headquarters

HQ city

Westlands

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advisory Services: Nendo's Advisory arm provides social listening, data analytics, user research, and strategic communications planning. Clients include Safaricom, Jambojet, NCBA Bank, and over 300 satisfied clients. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting engagements and retainer agreements.
2. Agency Services: Nendo's Agency arm develops and implements branding, marketing, and communications campaigns using insights from Advisory. Includes creative services, media buying, strategic planning, community management, and reputation monitoring.
3. Academy / Training: Nendo's Academy arm offers courses, seminars, and learning events. Training is priced at Ksh. 25,000 per person (excluding VAT), with 25 spots per session. Also includes custom corporate training and workshops.
4. Research Reports & Publications: Nendo publishes annual trend reports and specialized research (COVID-19 impact, State of Mobile Data, Gen Z, Dada Disinfo). Reports are offered as free downloads with premium presentations and briefings available for purchase.
5. Software Sales & Support: Nendo provides software sales, support, and services including reporting and reputation monitoring for brands. Includes provisioning of social listening software licenses (e.g., Crimson Hexagon, Brandwatch) to clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels13 records

Core offering

Nendo is a Nairobi-based digital research and marketing consultancy delivering social listening, data analytics, user research, and strategic communications planning through its Advisory arm; branding, marketing, and communications campaign execution through its Agency arm; and training courses, seminars, and learning events through its Academy arm. It supplements these services with proprietary AI-based social media analytics, software license provisioning (Brandwatch, Crimson Hexagon), and an ongoing series of original research publications on African digital behaviour for enterprise clients across banking, telecoms, fintech, government, and consumer verticals.

Product overview

Nendo is a Nairobi-based research and marketing consultancy operating Africa-wide, structured around three core service divisions: Advisory (social listening, data analytics, user research, and strategic communications), Agency (branding, marketing, and communications campaigns for behaviour change), and Academy (training courses and professional development). The company also produces proprietary research reports (including the State of Mobile Data, Digital Trend Reports, COVID-19 Impact, CS Week Analysis, Kenya's Gen Z, and Dada Disinfo reports), offers the React social media fraud protection product, and publishes The Letter N newsletter. Training programs include Digital Excellence courses for customer service and digital engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advisory Nendo's Advisory arm delivers social listening, data analytics, user research, and strategic communications planning, providing actionable insights for leaders, brands, and organisations seeking to grow. Clients include Safaricom, Jambojet, and NCBA Bank.
• Agency Nendo's Agency arm uses insights from Advisory to help clients develop and implement branding, marketing, and communications campaigns designed to shift perceptions, purchase habits, and behaviour. Includes creative services, media buying, strategic planning, community management, and reputation monitoring.
• Academy Nendo's Academy arm develops and delivers courses, seminars, and learning events that help teams build digital and customer engagement skills, drawing on case studies, frameworks, and insights from Nendo's Advisory and Agency work.
• React (Social Media Fraud Protection) A reputation management and social media fraud protection service that uses AI-based social listening, alerts, and expert analysis to provide early-warning threat detection and response for brands in banking, telecoms, fintech, home internet, and utilities. Identifies fraudsters impersonating the brand, intercepting customers, or conducting social engineering, SIM swap, and identity theft before customer harm and reputational damage occur.
• Digital Excellence: Mastering Social Media and Customer Engagement A comprehensive training and change management consulting program covering personalised interactions, customer-centric language, escalation management, team efficiency, emotional resilience, and authentic positive feedback. Sessions are limited to 25 participants per cohort and priced at Ksh 25,000 per person (excluding VAT), with customised corporate packages available.
• State of Mobile Data Report Nendo's largest and most in-depth research publication examining the mobile landscape in Kenya and Africa, covering topics from accessibility, pricing, privacy, lending, sports betting, adult websites, and the future of internet and mobile connectivity. Used as a paid briefing and as a thought-leadership asset.
• Africa Digital Trend Report Annual research report series (2020, 2021 editions) defining digital trends across Africa with contributions from Nendo's advisory team and industry experts, covering topics such as influencer marketing, TikTok, social media and mental health, chatbot marketing, and digital agency budgets.
• COVID-19 Impact Report Report examining the impact of COVID-19 on consumers and corporates across 10 sectors of Kenya's economy, including mobility, retail, financial services, connectivity, education, entertainment, food, communication, healthcare, and income generation.
• CS Week Analysis Report Comprehensive analysis of Customer Service Week, examining how 57 brands interacted with customers, who led conversations, and providing industry-specific insights for banking, telecommunications, insurance, technology, public sector, manufacturing, ISP, and Pay TV sectors.
• Kenya's Gen Z Report Research tracking over 500 million social media data points and 25 million mentions on X, revealing Gen Z's activism and social media influence in Kenya, including analysis of the #RejectFinanceBill2024 protests and related TikTok activity that generated over 1.3 billion views.
• Dada Disinfo Report Report on Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) in Kenya, authored by Nendo with contributions from Pollicy and supported by USAID. Analyzed over 50,000 social media posts and tracked 143 content creators to inform a playbook for combating online gender-based violence.

Quantifiable outcome

• HELB won the OLX Social Media Award and ICX Kenya Customer Service Week award after Nendo's training and strategy implementation
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BrandwatchcoreTechnology or IntegrationNendo uses Brandwatch's social listening and analytics platform as a core technology tool for analyzing millions of social media posts across Africa. Brandwatch provides the AI-based social media analytics infrastructure that underpins Nendo's advisory and research services.
• Crimson HexagoncoreTechnology or IntegrationNendo uses Crimson Hexagon (now part of Brandwatch) for social media analytics and research. Nendo also sourced and secured a Crimson Hexagon social listening license for Safaricom PLC as part of its client services. Crimson Hexagon provides the analytical platform for Nendo's social listening operations.
• PollicycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNendo collaborated with Pollicy to co-author the Dada Disinfo report on Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in Kenya, supported by USAID. Both organizations contributed expertise in social media analytics, research methodology, and digital policy to produce comprehensive insights.
• Safaricom PLCcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerIn 2018-2019, Nendo served as Safaricom's Digital Tracking Agency, providing social listening, research, and strategic advisory services. Nendo also sourced and secured a social listening software license for Safaricom, enabling the telecom company to monitor its digital presence independently.
• Knight FrankminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerKnight Frank, as property manager for Garden City Mall, engaged Nendo to execute digital marketing campaigns including EGGstra and Bargain Basement Sale. Nendo acted as the digital agency for campaigns managed by Knight Frank.
• 4UP DigitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNendo partnered with 4UP Digital to produce video content for the 'Digital Africa with Mark Kaigwa' YouTube series, including videos on social media trends and digital marketing in Kenya.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Meltwater: Meltwater is a global media intelligence and social listening platform; increasingly a substitute for the Brandwatch/Crimson Hexagon stack Nendo resells and operates on for enterprise clients.
• Ogilvy Africa: Ogilvy Africa is a pan-African creative and marketing communications network with deep insights/research capability; competes with Nendo's Agency arm for branding, campaign and digital marketing mandates on the continent.
• Ipsos (Africa): Ipsos is a global research and insights firm with established operations across Africa; competes with Nendo on enterprise research, brand tracking and social intelligence mandates.
• Kantar (Africa): Kantar is a global market research and consumer insights powerhouse with a significant African footprint; Nendo competes against Kantar's Africa practice for the same enterprise brand and consumer insight RFPs.

Direct peers

• GeoPoll: GeoPoll runs mobile-based market research and consumer insights across Africa and emerging markets, including social-media research — directly comparable to Nendo's Advisory/social-listening practice in scope and customer base.
• Africa Practice: Africa Practice is a pan-African strategic communications and research consultancy serving multinational clients across the continent — a close comparable to Nendo's Advisory and Agency arms in client profile and service mix.
• Kasi Intelligence: Kasi Intelligence provides consumer insights and audience measurement in Africa using mobile and social data, mirroring Nendo's digital consumer research and reporting offerings for African brands.

Others

• Brandwatch (Cision): Brandwatch is Nendo's underlying social-listening technology partner; it is also a potential competitor as it expands Africa-specific analyst services and direct enterprise relationships.

Emerging players

• Stears (Stears Business): Stears is an Africa-focused data, research and insights company — overlapping with Nendo's data-driven African consumer and market intelligence work, though with a heavier financial/ macroeconomic lens.

Regional players

• Banking & Fintech-focused African Research firms (e.g., Norwood Consulting Africa): Regional research and strategy firms targeting African banking and fintech clients overlap with Nendo's fraud-monitoring and brand-reputation work for financial-sector clients in similar geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/nendo254
• YouTubeyoutube.com/nendo254
• Facebookfacebook.com/nendo254
• LinkedInke.linkedin.com/company/nendo
• Instagraminstagram.com/nendo254
• TikToktiktok.com/@nendo254

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 Nendo