The Greenlight Office
The Greenlight Office is a Cape Town-based non-profit that operates a social-impact measurement methodology and technology platform, serving South African non-profits, social enterprises, and corporate CSI programmes with a six-metric, stoplight-based survey suite.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersCape Town, South Africa
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Greenlight Office does
The Greenlight Office NPC is a South African non-profit company established in November 2016 (rebranded July 2019) and headquartered in Cape Town, operating a social-impact measurement methodology and technology platform used by non-profits, social enterprises, foundations, and corporate CSI programmes. Its core offering is the Greenlight approach: a visual stoplight (red/yellow/green) self-assessment framework built on 50 indicators grouped into six dimensions of poverty (Income & Employment, Health & Environment, Housing & Infrastructure, Education & Culture, Organisation & Participation, and Self-Awareness & Motivation), supplemented by five additional specialised metrics covering Disability, Resilience, Teacher Wellbeing, Tertiary Student Wellbeing, and Inclusion & Diversity in Schools. Methodology execution is delivered through a web-based platform, an Android mobile application with GPS-enabled field data capture, and a geo-mapping aggregation layer that supports longitudinal scorecards and aggregated national-level poverty maps.
The business model is membership-driven: organisations pay an annual subscription to access the methodology, metrics, technology platform, induction training, the public facilitator database, forums, webinars, and the annual conference. A secondary transactional revenue stream comes from individual facilitator training at R500 per person and from negotiated rates for external survey facilitation through the independent facilitator network. The Greenlight Movement, a community of 170+ member organisations that have cumulatively conducted 109,000+ surveys since 2015, provides the network backbone. Operations are underwritten by three core foundation funders — The Saville Foundation, Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies, and Rising Tide Foundation — alongside membership and training fees. The organisation reports an 84% household quality-of-life improvement rate within one year of survey engagement, and is currently extending operations from South Africa into Uganda and Namibia.
The Greenlight Office firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Greenlight Office
- Legal name
- The Greenlight Office NPC
- Website
- https://greenlightmovement.org.za
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Greenlight Office is a Cape Town-based non-profit that operates a social-impact measurement methodology and technology platform, serving South African non-profits, social enterprises, and corporate CSI programmes with a six-metric, stoplight-based survey suite.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Greenlight Office industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Social Impact Measurement
- NAICS
- Civic and Social Organizations (813410)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)
Keywords
Where The Greenlight Office is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cape Town
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Greenlight Office business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Annual Membership Fees: Organisations join the Greenlight Movement by paying an annual membership fee. Membership provides access to the methodology and metrics, induction training, facilitator database, online technology platform, data via the Movement website, forums, webinars, conferences, and referral pathways.
- Facilitator Training Fee: Individual facilitator training course costs R500 (one-time fee per facilitator). Training covers indicators, definitions, survey process, messaging, and technology use.
- External Survey Facilitation Services: Member organisations without in-house facilitators can engage independent trained Greenlight Facilitators from the database at a standard rate per survey, which includes travel, miscellaneous costs, and feedback at an unpacking session. Rural locations may involve negotiation.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Annual membership for non-profits, social enterprises, and businesses |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual facilitator training |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | External facilitator survey engagement |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
The Greenlight Office product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Greenlight Office operates a social impact measurement methodology and supporting technology platform that helps organizations measure, track, and improve the wellbeing of households and beneficiaries they serve. Members access a standardized survey framework with six validated metrics (Poverty, Disability, Resilience, Teacher Wellbeing, Tertiary Student Wellbeing, and Inclusion & Diversity in Schools), supported by a web platform, mobile application, and geo-mapping capabilities. The organization also trains and certifies facilitators and offers outsourced survey administration services to non-profits, social enterprises, corporates, foundations, and government bodies.
Product overview
The Greenlight Office offers a social methodology and technology platform for measuring multi-dimensional social impact. The core offering consists of the Greenlight Platform (available as a web-based platform and Android mobile app) combined with survey frameworks/metrics. Six distinct survey metrics are offered: Poverty (most widely used with 50 indicators across 6 dimensions), Disability, Resilience, Teacher Wellbeing, Tertiary Student Wellbeing, and Inclusion & Diversity in Schools. The platform collects both quantitative and qualitative data, generates scorecards, and enables data aggregation with geo-referenced mapping for social development organizations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Poverty Metric: Assesses poverty levels using 50 indicators grouped into 6 dimensions of poverty (Income & Employment, Health & Environment, Housing & Infrastructure, Education & Culture, Organisation & Participation, Self-Awareness & Motivation)
- Disability Metric
- Resilience Metric
- Teacher Wellbeing Metric
- Tertiary Student Wellbeing Metric
- Inclusion & Diversity in Schools Metric
Products and services
- Greenlight Platform (Web Application) Web-based platform that enables member organizations to administer the Greenlight surveys, capture household wellbeing data, view geo-mapped results, and access scorecards and dashboards for monitoring and evaluation.
- Greenlight Mobile Application Android mobile application that supports field survey administration and follow-up engagement with households, available via the Google Play Store.
- Poverty Metric Survey Standardized Greenlight survey instrument for measuring household poverty status and tracking quality-of-life improvement over time.
- Disability Metric Survey Standardized Greenlight survey instrument for assessing disability and the wellbeing of people with disabilities.
- Resilience Metric Survey Standardized Greenlight survey instrument for measuring household and community resilience to shocks and stressors.
- Teacher Wellbeing Metric Survey Standardized Greenlight survey instrument for measuring the wellbeing of teachers within school communities.
- Tertiary Student Wellbeing Metric Survey Standardized Greenlight survey instrument for measuring the wellbeing of students enrolled in tertiary education.
- Inclusion & Diversity in Schools Metric Survey Standardized Greenlight survey instrument for measuring inclusion and diversity outcomes within school communities.
- Greenlight Facilitator Training Paid training program (R500 fee) that certifies individuals to administer the Greenlight surveys and use the methodology.
- External Survey Facilitation Service Service offering in which The Greenlight Office facilitates surveys on behalf of organizations that do not have their own trained facilitators.
- Greenlight Annual Membership Annual subscription membership that gives organizations access to the Greenlight methodology, surveys, and supporting technology platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- 84% of households improved their quality of life within 1 year of using the Greenlight approach
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use The Greenlight Office
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Greenlight Office technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
The Greenlight Office partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered foundational.
- Fundacion Paraguaya (Martin Burt)foundationalMartin Burt of Fundacion Paraguaya developed and innovated the Poverty Stoplight methodology (the global predecessor to Greenlight) and expanded it internationally. The Greenlight Office's methodology is directly derived from this foundational work.
- Instituto Dara / Vera CordeirofoundationalVera Cordeiro of Instituto Dara (Brazil) developed the original Plano de Acao Familiar (Family Action Plan) methodology, which is the pioneer social methodology underlying the global Poverty Stoplight/Greenlight approach. This methodology has transformed thousands of lives over 30+ years.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Greenlight Office competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Reach Digital Health: South African-based digital health and social impact organisation leveraging mobile technology for measurement and behaviour change at scale. Comparable as a tech-enabled South African social impact measurement platform with mobile-first delivery.
- ImpactMatters: Independent impact rating service for non-profits that combines cost-effectiveness analysis with impact evaluation. Comparable as an evidence-based impact assessment service for funders and donors evaluating NGO performance.
Direct peers
- IDInsight: Data-driven decision-making organisation operating across Africa and Asia, providing M&E, surveys, and rigorous impact evaluation to social programmes. Directly comparable in mission (evidence-driven social impact) and survey-based methodology.
- Sopact: Impact measurement SaaS platform purpose-built for the social sector, offering data collection, analytics, and reporting for NGOs and funders. Comparable as a technology-enabled social impact measurement vendor targeting similar buyer segments.
- 60 Decibels: Lean Data social impact measurement firm that conducts phone-based surveys with beneficiaries of social enterprises and NGOs to produce comparable impact benchmarks. Directly comparable as a subscription-based social impact survey service targeting funders, NGOs, and social enterprises.
- Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA): Global research non-profit that designs and conducts surveys and randomized evaluations to measure poverty programmes, including the Poverty Probability Index (PPI). Comparable as a survey-based poverty measurement organisation targeting similar funder and government buyers.
- Fundacion Paraguaya (Poverty Stoplight): Originator of the global Poverty Stoplight methodology on which Greenlight is directly based; operates internationally with the same visual stoplight self-assessment approach and indicator framework. The most direct comparator given the foundational methodology partnership.
- The Good Economy: Social impact measurement consultancy advising funders, social enterprises, and corporates on impact strategy, metrics, and reporting. Comparable as a B2B service provider helping organisations evidence and measure social outcomes.
Broad incumbents
- J-Pal Africa: African branch of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, conducting rigorous impact evaluations and poverty research across the continent. Comparable as a major Africa-focused evidence and poverty measurement organisation, though more research-oriented than membership-based.
- Social Value International: Global network that establishes the Social Value framework and Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology for measuring social impact. A broader incumbent with overlapping goals of standardising social impact measurement but operating through framework accreditation rather than survey deployment.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Greenlight Office social profiles
Digital presenceThe Greenlight Office compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
The Greenlight Office financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Greenlight Office leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
The Greenlight Office funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Greenlight Office 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 The Greenlight Office
What does The Greenlight Office do?
The Greenlight Office operates a social impact measurement methodology and supporting technology platform that helps organizations measure, track, and improve the wellbeing of households and beneficiaries they serve. Members access a standardized survey framework with six validated metrics (Poverty, Disability, Resilience, Teacher Wellbeing, Tertiary Student Wellbeing, and Inclusion & Diversity in Schools), supported by a web platform, mobile application, and geo-mapping capabilities. The organization also trains and certifies facilitators and offers outsourced survey administration services to non-profits, social enterprises, corporates, foundations, and government bodies.
Is The Greenlight Office a public or private company?
The Greenlight Office is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Greenlight Office founded?
The Greenlight Office was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Greenlight Office based?
The Greenlight Office is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, in the Africa region.
How does The Greenlight Office make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Annual Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are facilitator Training Fee and external Survey Facilitation Services.
Who are The Greenlight Office's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Reach Digital Health and ImpactMatters. Direct peers are IDInsight, Sopact, 60 Decibels, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), Fundacion Paraguaya (Poverty Stoplight) and The Good Economy. Broad incumbents are J-Pal Africa and Social Value International.
Does The Greenlight Office have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Greenlight Office.
What industry is The Greenlight Office in?
The Greenlight Office's product category is Social Impact Measurement. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHALAJ, Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services. Its NAICS code is 813410 and its SIC code is 8300.