Busara
Busara is a Nairobi-based non-profit applied behavioral science research organization that runs the Busara Lab, a 133,000-participant panel across the Global South, working with governments, NGOs, and multilaterals to design and evaluate behavioral interventions in development.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Busara does
Busara is a non-profit applied behavioral science research organization headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with offices across East and West Africa and India. Founded in 2015 (one source cites 2012) and operating with 110+ staff per the company's own website, Busara conducts field experiments and co-designs behavioral interventions with governments, NGOs, multilaterals, and academic institutions to improve development outcomes in health, financial inclusion, governance, social cohesion, and agriculture. Its core product is the Busara Lab, described as the largest behavioral science lab in the world, operating a panel of more than 133,000 participants across India, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda.
The organization's technology stack is methodological rather than software-based: it adapts established behavioral science frameworks (COM-B, the Behavior Change Wheel, APEASE prioritization, customer journey mapping, behavioral prototyping) and layers its own proprietary frameworks such as the AUDAS model. Codified outputs include the Behavioral Diagnostics Toolkit for Inclusive Insurance (co-developed with the Microinsurance Network) and recurring publication series (Groundwork and Aha! Moment). Busara runs 500+ projects with 250+ partners across 25+ Global South countries including Latin America and the Pacific Islands.
Busara's revenue model is grant-funded and project-based: it does not publicly disclose pricing, and engagements are commissioned or co-funded by development partners. Its go-to-market is partner-driven and consultancy-style, with distribution occurring through direct research partnerships, publications, conferences (e.g., the 2026 AMR Summit), and thought leadership content rather than commercial sales channels. Customer concentration is in the international development sector, and the organization is currently exposed to the 2025-2026 contraction in foreign aid funding, which it has publicly addressed through its TWIND ("The Work Is Not Done") X Space series and May 2026 thought leadership on shifting development funding.
Busara firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Busara
- Legal name
- Busara
- Website
- https://busara.global
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Busara is a Nairobi-based non-profit applied behavioral science research organization that runs the Busara Lab, a 133,000-participant panel across the Global South, working with governments, NGOs, and multilaterals to design and evaluate behavioral interventions in development.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Busara industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Behavioral Science Research Services
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL) (BPADAEAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE), Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)
Keywords
Where Busara is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nairobi
- HQ country
- Kenya
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices4 records
Markets served
Busara business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Research Grants and Project Funding: Busara is a non-profit organization funded primarily through grants and project funding from development partners, governments, NGOs, and multilateral organizations who commission or co-fund behavioral science research projects.
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels9 records
Busara product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Busara advances, applies, and anchors behavioral science research in development across Global Majority contexts through its Busara Lab — the world's largest behavioral science lab with 133,000+ active participants. It delivers bespoke applied behavioral research projects, develops behavioral diagnostics toolkits, and produces publication series for governments, NGOs, funders, and academics operating in low- and middle-income countries.
Product overview
Busara is a non-profit behavioral science research organization that advances, applies, and anchors behavioral research in development across Global Majority contexts. Its core offering is the Busara Lab—the world's largest behavioral science lab with a panel of over 133,000 participants—supplemented by research publication series (Groundwork and Aha! Moment), specialized toolkits (Behavioral Diagnostics Toolkit for Inclusive Insurance), and proprietary research methodologies including the AUDAS model. Since 2015, Busara has worked with partners to run more than 500 projects using behavioral science frameworks such as COM-B and the Behavior Change Wheel to improve programs, policies, and outcomes in areas including inclusive finance, health, social cohesion, and governance.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Busara Lab The Busara Lab is the company's core research infrastructure — a large-scale behavioral science lab maintaining a panel of 133,000+ active participants used to conduct applied behavioral research in Global Majority contexts. It is offered as the operational platform for client-sponsored research projects.
- Applied Behavioral Research Partnerships Bespoke applied behavioral science research engagements delivered to governments, NGOs, funders, multilaterals, and academic partners to design, test, and evaluate behavioral interventions in development contexts.
- Behavioral Diagnostics Toolkit for Inclusive Insurance A behavioral diagnostics toolkit designed for financial institutions — insurers, banks, and fintechs — to identify and address behavioral barriers to uptake and usage of inclusive insurance products among under-served populations.
- AUDAS Model Busara's proprietary AUDAS Model is a behavioral research methodology framework used in conducting and structuring applied behavioral science studies for development outcomes.
- Groundwork Series The Groundwork Series is a publication offering from Busara that documents and disseminates applied behavioral research findings for development practitioners and partners.
- Aha! Moment Series The Aha! Moment Series is a publication offering from Busara that captures and shares applied behavioral research insights with development practitioners, partners, and the broader research community.
Quantifiable outcome
- 92% reduction in FGM practice in Kembatta zone over a decade through community-led approaches similar to Busara's methodology
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Busara
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Busara technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Busara partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Fleming InitiativeminorThe Fleming Initiative co-organized the 2026 AMR Summit in Sydney, Australia, where Busara presented on the behavioral and social dimensions of antimicrobial resistance.
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)minorCSIRO co-organized the 2026 AMR Summit in Sydney alongside the Fleming Initiative, bringing together life sciences, social sciences, and policymakers to address antimicrobial resistance.
- UNICEFcoreBusara and UNICEF conducted joint fieldwork across Amhara, Afar, Somali, Gambella, Oromia, South West, Sidama, and SNNPR regions in Ethiopia in 2023-2024 to understand behavioral factors underlying FGM and early marriage, and to reshape community narratives through behavioral interventions.
- Spark MicrograntscoreBusara collaborated with Spark Microgrants in 2023 to study community participation in Spark's Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP) in Uganda and Rwanda, applying behavioral science to understand barriers and levers for collective participation and co-designing interventions to increase engagement.
- PesaCheckminorPesaCheck, Africa's largest indigenous fact-checking organization, validated a sample of claims associated with flagging activity from Busara's HIP plug-in experiment to assess user accuracy in identifying misinformation.
- UNDP Accelerator Lab KenyacoreUNDP Accelerator Lab Kenya partnered with Busara in 2021 on a behavioral science experiment to crowdsource harmful content online using the Healthy Internet Project (HIP) browser extension, testing how users identify and flag misinformation.
- UNDP Accelerator Lab KenyaminorBusara partnered with UNDP Accelerator Lab Kenya to test a browser plug-in to crowdsource flagging of misinformation, examining end-user behaviors and experiences with the tool.
- Microinsurance NetworkcoreBusara collaborated with the Microinsurance Network to develop the Behavioral Diagnostics Toolkit for Inclusive Insurance, providing a practical step-by-step approach for diagnosing behavioral barriers before designing or scaling inclusive insurance products.
- Investing in Children and their Societies (ICS-SP)coreBusara worked with ICS-SP to apply the COM-B behavior change framework, co-design methods, validation workshops, and field testing in Kenya and Tanzania to redesign a Social Norms Transformation Curriculum and supporting monitoring and evaluation tools.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Busara competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Behavioral Insights Team (BIT): Pioneer in applying behavioral science to public policy and program design. Directly comparable to Busara in applied behavioral science methodology, though BIT operates more heavily in OECD public-sector contexts.
- IDInsight: Data and evidence advisory for development organizations, with offices in Africa and Asia. Comparable to Busara in target customers (NGOs, funders, governments) and evidence-to-action service model.
- ideas42: US-based non-profit that applies behavioral science to social problems in health, finance, and international development. Directly comparable to Busara in mission, methodology, and non-profit applied research model.
- Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA): Evidence-based development research organization running randomized evaluations across the Global South. Closely comparable to Busara's evidence-generation role for development partners and funders.
- Rare: Behavioral science and social marketing non-profit focused on environmental and community well-being.
Broad incumbents
- Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL): Global network of academic researchers running randomized evaluations on poverty alleviation. Wider in scope and academic in origin, but directly competes for the same donor-funded research mandate.
- Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA): UC Berkeley-based research network generating evidence on global development. Comparable as a research partner for development funders, with academic rather than lab-based delivery.
- The Rockefeller Foundation (Behavioral Science team): Large philanthropic foundation with internal behavioral science capacity that commissions and sometimes competes for behavioral research mandates. Comparable as a funder and occasional practitioner in the same space.
Emerging players
- Bridgespan Group: Nonprofit and social-sector advisory firm that increasingly incorporates behavioral and evidence-based approaches. Adjacent peer serving overlapping funder and NGO clients.
- Mango (formerly Nuffield Foundation Mango): Charity evaluation and learning organization that builds evidence on nonprofit effectiveness. Comparable methodological overlap with Busara's MEL-adjacent research and learning work.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Busara social profiles
Digital presenceBusara financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Busara leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Busara funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Busara M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Busara
What does Busara do?
Busara advances, applies, and anchors behavioral science research in development across Global Majority contexts through its Busara Lab — the world's largest behavioral science lab with 133,000+ active participants. It delivers bespoke applied behavioral research projects, develops behavioral diagnostics toolkits, and produces publication series for governments, NGOs, funders, and academics operating in low- and middle-income countries.
Is Busara a public or private company?
Busara is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Busara founded?
Busara was founded in 2015. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Busara based?
Busara is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, in the Africa region.
How does Busara make money?
One revenue line is on record: research Grants and Project Funding.
Who are Busara's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Behavioral Insights Team (BIT), IDInsight, ideas42, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and Rare. Broad incumbents are Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) and The Rockefeller Foundation (Behavioral Science team). Emerging players are Bridgespan Group and Mango (formerly Nuffield Foundation Mango).
Does Busara have an API?
No public API is recorded for Busara.
What industry is Busara in?
Busara's product category is Behavioral Science Research Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAEAB, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL), with a secondary code of BPAHALAE, Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom). Its NAICS code is 541720 and its SIC code is 8742.