What Dalberg Design does

Dalberg Design is the dedicated design and innovation practice within the Dalberg Group, founded in 2014 and headquartered in New York. The firm practices Human-Centered Design (HCD) to help foundations, NGOs, governments, and multilateral organizations design products, services, programs, policies, and strategies targeted at positive social impact. It has executed over 300 projects in more than 60 countries through six design studios located in Dakar, London, Mumbai, Nairobi, Mexico City, and New York, with 80% of engagements integrated with Dalberg Group capabilities spanning strategy, market research, data analytics, and measurement & evaluation. Core service offerings include Design Labs (facilitated stakeholder convenings), Product and Business Prototyping (rapid agile-based concept testing), Service and Program Design (end-to-end user-journey design), and Innovation Strategy and Capacity Building (training and toolkits). The firm has also produced proprietary toolkits and digital platforms including DigiFarm (mobile services for Kenyan smallholder farmers, 1M+ users), The Human Account (a behavioral segmentation dataset covering 1.98 billion people across 35 segments), the Customer Experience Toolkit for CGAP, State of Aadhaar (a 167,000-respondent study of India's digital ID system), and Remote HCD primers for research, facilitation, and behavioral-science integration.

Dalberg Design monetizes through project-based professional services engagements, with revenue sourced primarily from foundation and donor grants (Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, USAID, UNICEF) and from foundations and NGOs funding social impact programs. Pricing is engagement-specific and not publicly disclosed. The firm was previously known as Design Impact Group (DIG) and is led by co-founders Ravi Chhatpar (London) and Robert Fabricant (New York), alongside partners in Nairobi, Mumbai, and additional global studios. It does not operate as an independent venture-backed entity; ownership and financial structure remain embedded within the Dalberg Group. Recent awards include Fast Company World-Changing Ideas recognitions in 2018 and 2019, a Golden Loerie, and the 2024 Core77 Social Impact Design Award.

The practice's customer base is concentrated among major international development foundations and multilateral organizations, with specific named clients including Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, USAID, UNICEF, CGAP, Mercy Corps, Omidyar Network, World Bank, Google, IPM, and Health Enabled, and engagements spanning global health, financial inclusion, agriculture, gender empowerment, sustainable fisheries, and youth employment sectors.

Name

Dalberg Design

Legal name

Dalberg Design

Website

https://dalbergdesign.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Design and Innovation Consulting

NAICS

Other Specialized Design Services (54149), Other Specialized Design Services (541490)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)

Keywords

• Human-centered design
• Social impact consulting
• Design research services
• Service design
• Innovation strategy

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Design Consulting Services: Project-based design and innovation consulting engagements with foundations, NGOs, governments, and multilateral organizations across multiple sectors
2. Foundation and Donor Grants: Funded engagements from major development foundations including Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and USAID for social impact projects

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Dalberg Design is a professional services design studio that delivers Human-Centered Design (HCD) consulting engagements for foundations, NGOs, governments, and multilateral organizations. Its core offerings span design research, creative facilitation, prototyping, service and program design, and innovation capacity building. Deliverables also include proprietary toolkits (Customer Experience Toolkit, HCD primers), digital platforms (DigiFarm, Fisher Knowledge-Sharing Platform, Caleta Exchange), and research datasets (The Human Account, State of Aadhaar).

Product overview

Dalberg Design operates as a global design studio and the design/innovation practice within the Dalberg Group, practicing Human-Centered Design (HCD) as its core methodology. The company offers an integrated suite of services that combines design thinking with social impact expertise. Core offerings include HCD Services, which encompass Design Labs, Product & Business Prototypes, Service & Program Design, and Innovation Strategy & Capacity Building. The company has developed specific digital platforms including DigiFarm (serving 1M+ smallholder farmers), the Fisher Knowledge-Sharing Platform, and the Caleta Exchange Platform. Additionally, the company produces research datasets such as The Human Account (covering 1.98 billion people across 35 segments) and multiple toolkits including the Customer Experience Toolkit, Driving Demand for Chlorhexidine Toolkit, and primers for Remote HCD Research, Remote Creative Facilitation, and HCD-Behavioral Science Integration. The company also publishes sector-specific research reports including State of Aadhaar, Tech Bets for an Urban World, and Design for Health. 80% of work is integrated with other Dalberg capabilities spanning strategy, market research, data analytics, and measurement & evaluation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Human-Centered Design (HCD) Consulting Services Core interdisciplinary research, design, and creative facilitation methodology that engages stakeholders across ecosystems to design products, services, programs, policies, and strategies for positive social impact. Sold as project-based consulting engagements to foundations, NGOs, governments, and multilateral organizations.
• Design Labs

Quantifiable outcome

• DigiFarm platform serving over 1 million farmers in Kenya
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gates Foundation (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor foundation partner supporting multiple initiatives including global health, financial inclusion, and population health programs. Key supporter of The Human Account initiative and various design projects.
• Rockefeller FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation partner for financial inclusion and impact initiatives. Co-funder of The Human Account and Innovation Guide for Funders program.
• Mercy CorpscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementing partner for AgriFin Accelerate program and DigiFarm platform development. Joint work on agricultural finance and women farmer engagement.
• SafaricomcoreTechnology or IntegrationTelecommunications partner for DigiFarm mobile platform deployment in Kenya. Provides mobile technology infrastructure for digital financial services.
• CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on financial inclusion design including Customer Experience Toolkit, Customer-Centric Guide, merchant payments innovation, and multiple smallholder finance projects.
• USAIDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for global health design initiatives including Driving Demand for Chlorhexidine toolkit and HIV prevention programs with IPM.
• UNICEFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Tech Bets for an Urban World initiative to drive technology sector innovation in emerging markets for children's health and livelihoods.
• Praekelt FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for satellite-delivered health content exploration for maternal health clinics in Nigeria.
• IDEO.orgminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-partner with CGAP in designing digital financial services for smallholder families across multiple countries.
• World BankminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner with RPA for national ID system design project in Indonesia, understanding people's journeys with identification systems.
• Health EnabledminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Digital Health Index platform design and data visualization to provide comprehensive picture of digital health globally.
• GSMAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for research report on empowering women to use mobile internet, based on user research in Kenya, India, and Indonesia.
• GoogleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Smart Maps for Smart Cities India report, communicating potential impact of smart maps on India's urban future.
• Omidyar NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for research on consumer behaviors and attitudes toward digital financial services in India.
• Nairobi Design InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead partner in NDI, an impact design academy aimed at building design capacity in Africa through the power of design.
• Dalberg GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization; Dalberg Design is the design and innovation practice at Dalberg. 80% of work is integrated with other Dalberg capabilities including strategy, market research, data analytics, and measurement and evaluation.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Forum for the Future: UK-based sustainability and systems-change nonprofit working with global brands and public-sector actors; an adjacent player rather than direct HCD competitor, with overlapping funder relationships and methodologies.
• Nairobi Design Institute: Pan-African impact design academy in which Dalberg Design is a lead partner; adjacent as a capacity-building and design-ecosystem player rather than a direct competitor on consulting engagements.

Emerging players

• Bopinc: Inclusive business and design consultancy based in the Netherlands working with corporates and NGOs to design products, services, and business models for low-income consumers in Africa and Asia.

Direct peers

• Livework: Service-design consultancy with strong public-sector and international-development engagements across Europe, Africa, and Latin America; overlaps directly with Dalberg Design's service- and program-design offerings.
• IDEO.org: The non-profit design and innovation arm of IDEO explicitly focused on poverty, health, and economic opportunity in low-income communities; the closest direct competitor in social-impact human-centered design and an existing co-partner with Dalberg Design on CGAP work.
• Shift Strategy + Design: Canadian social-impact design and innovation firm focused on financial inclusion, gender equity, and public health; overlaps directly with Dalberg Design's foundation-driven portfolio in global health and financial services.
• ThinkPlace: Human-centered design consultancy operating across Asia-Pacific with government, philanthropy, and development-sector clients; competes for similar human-centered design mandates in emerging markets.

Regional players

• Dalberg Catalyst: Africa-focused advisory and early-stage incubation arm of the Dalberg Group; not a direct competitor on design engagements but operates inside the same parent ecosystem and shares clients and partners.

Broad incumbents

• Dalberg Advisors: The parent advisory firm within which Dalberg Design operates, with overlapping development-sector clients across strategy, research, and analytics; closely tied operationally and commercially, and the most natural internal peer.
• frog (Capgemini Invent): Global design and innovation consultancy now part of Capgemini Invent, with active social-impact and public-sector practices; competes on multi-year design-led transformation mandates where Dalberg Design also plays.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Dalberg Design