Busara Center for Behavioral Economics

What Busara Center for Behavioral Economics does

Busara Center for Behavioral Economics is a private behavioral science research organization headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, founded in 2012 and operating as an independent entity since 2015. It applies behavioral science methodology to problems of poverty alleviation and international development across 25+ countries in the Global South, including East and West Africa, India, Latin America, and the Pacific Islands. The organization employs 110+ staff distributed across its Nairobi headquarters and regional offices in East/West Africa and India, and positions itself as one of the first behavioral science research labs established in the Global South hemisphere.

Its core product is the Busara Lab, described as the world's largest behavioral science lab, which maintains a proprietary panel of more than 133,000 participants across sites in India, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. Busara generates revenue through custom research partnership contracts (professional services) with three primary customer segments: international development organizations and NGOs, governments and policymakers, and academic research institutions. The go-to-market is sales-led and consultative, with partners engaging directly through the "Collaborate" channel for bespoke behavioral science projects; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm has completed 500+ projects with 250+ partners since 2015.

Busara's underlying technology is centered on applied behavioral research methodology and the proprietary participant panel rather than a software product — no API, SDK, or AI/ML capability is disclosed in available material. Distribution is primarily direct, supported by content marketing across publications, blog, LinkedIn pulse articles, video, and social channels. The organization maintains an active presence in policy discourse, notably co-authoring a 2026 WHO institutional framework on mainstreaming behavioral sciences into public health institutions.

Name

Busara Center for Behavioral Economics

Legal name

Busara Center for Behavioral Economics

Website

https://busaracenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Busara Center for Behavioral Economics is a private Nairobi-headquartered behavioral science research organization that applies behavioral research to poverty alleviation and development across 25+ Global South countries, operating the world's largest behavioral science lab with a 133,000+ participant panel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Behavioral Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations (HLAJAKAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Economic Research, Statistics & Policy Advisory (BPADAMAJ)

Keywords

• Behavioral economics research
• Applied behavioral science
• Development research services
• Behavioral field experiments
• Poverty alleviation research

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research Partnership Contracts: Busara generates revenue through contracted research partnerships with organizations seeking behavioral science expertise. They work with 250+ partners on projects addressing development challenges, poverty alleviation, and social programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Busara Center for Behavioral Economics delivers applied behavioral science research services for development, poverty alleviation, public health, financial inclusion, and social programs in Global South contexts. Its flagship asset is the Busara Lab, the world's largest behavioral science lab with a proprietary panel of more than 133,000 participants across India, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda, used to run rigorous behavioral experiments, evaluate programs, and produce practical recommendations for decision-makers. Engagements are delivered as custom research partnerships with development organizations, governments, and research institutions.

Product overview

Busara Center for Behavioral Economics is a behavioral science research organization that offers research services, with the Busara Lab as its core offering — the largest behavioral science lab in the Global South. The organization provides applied behavioral research, publishes findings on behavior change frameworks, and conducts lab studies across 25+ countries. It operates as a research services provider rather than a software product company, with publications, blog content, and collaborative research projects forming its service portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Busara Lab: The world's largest behavioral science lab with a panel of more than 133,000 participants across sites in India, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda.

Products and services

• Busara Lab
• Applied Behavioral Research and Program Evaluation Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ projects completed with 250+ partners
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• 250+ Partner OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBusara has worked with over 250 partners across various sectors including development organizations, governments, and research institutions. Partners engage Busara for behavioral science research projects aimed at addressing development challenges in the Global South. The partnerships involve custom research projects, shared methodology development, and collaborative knowledge creation.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IDInsight: IDinsight is a data and evaluation advisory firm that partners with governments and funders to design, test, and scale social programs in the Global South. It is the closest direct peer to Busara, competing for the same development organization and government budgets on rigorous impact evaluation and behavioral research.
• Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA): IPA designs and evaluates innovative solutions to global development problems using randomized evaluations. It overlaps with Busara on experimental behavioral research, field experiments, and partnerships with NGOs and governments across low- and middle-income countries.
• J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab): J-PAL is a global research center at MIT that uses randomized evaluations to test poverty alleviation programs. It competes with Busara for development research mandates, academic partnerships, and donor funding on behavioral and policy experiments in the Global South.

Broad incumbents

• NORC at the University of Chicago: NORC is an independent research organization that conducts survey, behavioral, and program evaluation research for government and nonprofit clients. It competes with Busara for behavioral and program evaluation mandates, particularly with U.S. government and foundation funders.
• Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI): DAI is a large international development consulting firm that designs and implements development programs worldwide. It is a broader incumbent that occasionally commissions or competes with Busara on the evaluation and behavioral research components of donor-funded projects.
• Center for Global Development (CGD): CGD is a think tank producing evidence-based policy research on global development and economic policy. It shares Busara's evidence-to-policy mission and competes for the attention of donor organizations and governments in the Global South.
• The World Bank Development Research Group: The World Bank's research arm produces influential development economics research and policy evaluation. It overlaps with Busara on behavioral science applied to development but at a much larger, multilateral scale with significant in-house capacity.
• RAND Corporation: RAND is a large, established policy research institution that conducts behavioral and social science research for governments and foundations. It overlaps with Busara in behavioral economics methodology but operates at much larger scale and broader geographic mandate.

Regional players

• GiveDirectly: GiveDirectly is a nonprofit that runs and rigorously evaluates cash transfer programs across Africa. While not a research firm, it commissions and co-publishes behavioral research with partners like Busara, and serves as both a potential client and ecosystem reference point in the Global South.

Emerging players

• BREAD (Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development): BREAD is a network of development economists who design and field randomized evaluations in low-income countries. It intersects with Busara on academic-style behavioral and development economics research, but operates primarily as an academic consortium rather than a service firm.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/busaracenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/busaracenter
• LinkedInke.linkedin.com/company/busara-center-for-behavioral-economics
• Instagraminstagram.com/busara.center

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 Busara Center for Behavioral Economics