What Citizen Surveys does

Citizen Surveys (Pty) Ltd is a Cape Town-based market and social research firm founded in 1996 that conducts large-scale quantitative and qualitative research across South Africa. The company operates primarily as a B2B professional services firm, delivering bespoke research projects to government departments, universities, international development agencies, and corporate clients such as MTN, South African Tourism, and the Sishen Iron Ore Company Community Development Trust (SIOC-cdt). Its core offering centres on field-based survey methodology: face-to-face interviews conducted in seven South African languages (English, Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Sotho, Sepedi, Setswana), computer-assisted data collection via tablets, and a proprietary CACI (computer-assisted cellphone interview) solution developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain data collection when face-to-face fieldwork was disrupted.

The firm's flagship product is the South African Citizens Survey (SACS), a monthly tracking study running since July 2015 with a nationally representative sample of 1,300 respondents per month (3,900 quarterly), weighted to the adult population and delivering a margin of error of ±1.5 percentage points at 95% confidence. Other proprietary assets include a Voter Readiness Model that segments voters into four behavioural categories (ready, likely, challenged, unmotivated) to predict turnout and party performance. Service lines span large-scale quantitative research, scientific multi-stage stratified sampling, tracking studies, market sizing, segmentation modelling, advanced data analysis, focus groups and in-depth interviews, B2B interviews, and customer satisfaction surveys. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services contracts with multi-year engagements typical; the firm reports that most work is sourced from repeat business and client referrals. The firm holds a Level-1 B-BBEE accreditation, the highest rating under South Africa's Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment framework. Leadership comprises Managing Director Washeelah Kapery and Strategic Research Director Reza Omar, the latter functioning as a public-facing analyst across eNCA, SAfm, PowerFM, Metro FM, and Radio 786.

Name

Citizen Surveys

Legal name

Citizen Surveys (Pty) Ltd

Website

https://citizensurveys.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Citizen Surveys is a Cape Town-based market and social research firm founded in 1996 that delivers bespoke quantitative and qualitative research projects to South African government departments, universities, development agencies, and corporate clients using face-to-face fieldwork, tablet-based data collection, and a flagship monthly tracking survey.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Quantitative Research & Survey Analytics (Survey Design, Sampling, Statistical Modeling) (MPAAALAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fieldwork & Data Collection (Online Panels, CATI/CAPI, Fieldwork) (MPAAALAD), Syndicated Market Research (Panels, Omnibus, Tracker Studies) (MPAAALAB), Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Quantitative research
• Qualitative research
• Public opinion polling
• Survey research

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

Revenue model

1. Research Services: Custom research projects including large-scale quantitative research, tracking studies, market size measurement, segmentation models, advanced data analysis, focus groups, B2B interviews, and customer satisfaction surveys. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services with government departments, development agencies, universities, and corporate clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Citizen Surveys designs and executes large-scale quantitative and qualitative market and social research studies for South African government, university, development agency, and corporate clients. The firm conducts face-to-face household interviews and cellphone-based surveys using scientific multi-stage probability sampling, delivering tracking studies, segmentation models, customer satisfaction surveys, focus groups, B2B interviews, and market size measurement with nationally representative samples.

Product overview

Citizen Surveys is a South African market research company offering a portfolio of research services as a single unified offering rather than a modular platform. The core portfolio includes large-scale quantitative and qualitative research studies, scientific sampling, tracking studies, market size measurement, segmentation models, advanced data analysis, focus groups, B2B interviews, and customer satisfaction surveys. The flagship product is the South African Citizens Survey (SACS), a monthly tracking study conducted since July 2015 with 1,300 monthly respondents (3,900 quarterly). The company also developed a proprietary CACI (Computer-Assisted Cellphone Interviews) solution for remote data collection during the pandemic. All services are delivered through fieldwork infrastructure with face-to-face interviews conducted in multiple languages (English, Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Sotho, Sepedi, and Setswana).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• South African Citizens Survey (SACS): Monthly tracking study on public opinion, political preferences, and social attitudes conducted since 2015 with nationally representative samples of 1,300 respondents per month
• SA Citizens Survey

Products and services

• South African Citizens Survey (SACS) Monthly tracking survey of public opinion, political preferences, and social attitudes conducted across South Africa since July 2015, with nationally representative samples and results weighted to the adult population.
• Large-scale Quantitative Research National quantitative research underpinned by rigorous scientific methods, including face-to-face interviews and cellphone-based surveys, with multi-stage probability sampling.
• Tracking Studies Continuous longitudinal tracking surveys covering political, economic, and social indicators with nationally representative samples, exemplified by the South African Citizens Survey (SACS).
• Segmentation Models Proprietary voter-readiness and consumer segmentation modeling that categorizes populations into actionable segments for targeting, including the four-segment Voter Readiness Model (ready voters, likely voters, challenged voters, unmotivated potential voters).
• Market Size & Measurement Market analysis services that measure and quantify market dimensions and economic indicators for corporate and institutional clients.
• Focus Groups & In-depth Interviews Qualitative research methodologies including focus group discussions and individual in-depth interviews for exploratory insights into attitudes and behaviors.
• Business-to-Business (B2B) Interviews Professional and executive-level survey research targeting business decision-makers and B2B stakeholders.
• Customer Satisfaction Surveys Survey instruments measuring customer satisfaction, service quality perceptions, and experience metrics for government schemes, municipalities, and corporate clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Margin of error of ±1.5 percentage points at 95% confidence level
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SIOC-cdt (Sishen Iron Ore Company - Community Development Trust)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2018In November 2018, SIOC-cdt contracted Citizen Surveys to conduct a needs analysis within five local municipalities in Northern Cape and Limpopo where they operate. The research will inform the Trust's updated Community Development Strategy for the next five years, ensuring community development projects address real social and economic needs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• GeoPoll: Mobile-based research platform operating across Africa, providing audience measurement and survey research via mobile phones. Directly comparable on quantitative survey methodology and African public-opinion research, though anchored on mobile rather than face-to-face fieldwork.
• Ask Afrika: South African market and social research company offering large-scale quantitative and qualitative studies, syndicated trackers, and segmentation models. Closely comparable on service portfolio (tracking studies, segmentation, B2B interviews) and on serving SA government and corporate clients.
• Afrobarometer: Pan-African, non-partisan research network conducting regular public attitude surveys across more than 30 African countries. Directly comparable on nationally representative surveys, public opinion tracking, and partnerships with African universities and international researchers.

Emerging players

• Pew Research Center: Nonpartisan research organization conducting public opinion polling and social science research. Comparable on rigorous survey methodology, academic partnerships, and longitudinal public opinion tracking, though operating as a US-based nonprofit rather than a commercial firm.
• Geo Strategy Partners: Niche political and public opinion research firms in Africa that offer voter segmentation, election polling, and political risk research. Comparable on voter readiness modeling and political research methodology, though typically focused on advisory rather than mass fieldwork.

Broad incumbents

• Kantar: Global market research and consumer insights firm with established South African operations. Comparable on consumer research, brand tracking, and segmentation modeling, but as a broad incumbent with global rather than local specialization.
• Ipsos: Global market research and public opinion polling firm with significant operations in South Africa. Directly comparable on quantitative research, public opinion polling, and tracking studies, but at vastly larger scale and with a global rather than South-Africa-centric portfolio.
• NielsenIQ: Global consumer measurement and analytics firm with operations across Africa. Comparable on market sizing, consumer research, and syndicated tracking products, but at much larger scale and with measurement rather than fieldwork as the core.
• Gallup: Global analytics and advisory firm specializing in public opinion polling and workplace research. Directly comparable on public opinion methodology, voter readiness segmentation, and media-facing research leadership, though operating at global scale.

Regional players

• New Johannesburg Market Research firms (e.g., BM Research, Quest Research): South African market research firms offering quantitative and qualitative research, customer satisfaction surveys, and political polling. Directly comparable on service mix and target client base within the South African market, though typically smaller in fieldwork scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/citizen_surveys
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/citizen-surveys

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Citizen Surveys