Ask Afrika nominated for 3 prestigious awards at the NSTF Awards

Established in 1998, the NSTF Awards have grown to become the largest and most prestigious SET and innovation awards in South Africa. They encourage and reward excellence in scientific research, management of SET and innovation, engineering research capacity development, water solutions, data for research, innovations and science communication. In addition, an NGO award is announced each year.

For the past year Ask Afrika has conducted the Covid-19 Tracker, a pro bono research study which aims to better understand the socio-economic impact that the pandemic, lockdown and gradual re-opening of the economy has had on South Africans. The study aims to give equal voice to citizens about their experiences during this time using a proportionally distributed sample.

Ask Afrika has been nominated for three of the 12 awards made each year by the NSTF Awards. They are the Data for Research Award, the Communication Award and the Special Annual Theme Award.

The Data for Research Award acknowledges the work of an individual or team for the generation, preservation, sharing and/or re-use of a valuable scientific output. The intention of this award is to recognise the value of a data set that is of national interest or for the public good.

The Communication Award recognises a communicator who has made an outstanding contribution to SET through a substantial impact in terms of public awareness of SET.

Andrea Rademeyer

The Special Annual Theme Awards is a special award this year which recognises an outstanding contribution to SET and innovation towards the ‘Creative Economy for Sustainable Development’. It is intended to focus on research, development and innovation in the area of the creative economy in support of sustainable socio-economic growth in South Africa.

“We are extremely honoured to have been nominated for these three awards, particularly given that Ask Afrika is a commercial research firm and that these awards are usually reserved for top academics,” says Andrea Rademeyer, CEO and founder of Ask Afrika.

These nominations, she says, indicate that commercial social science also has the potential to change the world.

Rademeyer says that being acknowledged by the NSTF for Ask Afrika’s research work around the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is one of the highlights of her career. “It is very encouraging to be recognised in the hallowed halls of academia for scientific rigour and contribution to society at large through research. I have always maintained that societal evolution and understanding can be fast-tracked by the communication of research. Great research can - and inevitably will - benefit citizen wellbeing.”

About Andrea Rademeyer

Andrea is much more than a CEO and Intellectual Researcher—she is an icon for female entrepreneurs on the continent and has gained success and global recognition as a leader in her field over the last 25 years. She sees business as playing a pivotal role in shaping and changing society and is committed to that change through uplifting societal voices. Ask Afrika was founded in social research and this drive is still evident in the weekly Covid-19 measurements, directed by Andrea’s thought leadership. Her commitment to honouring the voice of South African citizens is born out of an enduring passion for all things socio-political.

Andrea served on two Covid-19 MAC technical committees led by Prof. Mokgatle and Prof. Mehtar and is registered with SAMRA, ESOMAR, PAMRO and as a research psychologist, with the Health Professions Council of South Africa. She successfully completed the YPO-WPO Presidents’ Program at Harvard Business School, Boston USA (2015, 2016,2017, 2018) and has delivered several international papers, complimented by leadership awards and accolades, including being awarded the Alumni Laureate at the University of Pretoria. She works actively with universities around the country to create student internships.

She is an acclaimed conversationalist who is respected for her integrity, loved for her eccentricity and well known for enjoying life to the fullest, having taken the front-seat on the roller-coaster of life.

About Ask Afrika

Ask Afrika is a decisioneering company. We support our clients’ decisions through facts. Typically, our clients’ require information around social research and philanthropy, experience measures and consulting, and brand dynamics.

Social research decisions are required around HIV/Aids and more recently, Covid-19. Educational and early childhood development, fair-trade shopping, media and financial research are some of the areas we love to work in. NGO’s, public- and private sector clients choose to work with us to get the pulse of the nation.

Besides being decisioneers in brand and customer experience research, Ask Afrika is well known for creating some of the most useful, go-to industry benchmarks, including the Ask Afrika Orange Index®, the Ask Afrika Icon Brands®, the Ask Afrika Kasi Star Brands and the Target Group Index (TGI). Ask Afrika’s knowledge of brands is extensive. The Target Group Index (TGI) survey, which measures psychographics, service, products, media and brands, has been used by the majority of the top 50 advertisers and media owners in South Africa for nearly two decades.

Our clients operate across various industries, including retail, telecoms, finance, and the public sector. We offer tailor-made and ready-to-use offerings for all our clients regardless of the size of project.

In addition to being brave, agile, vibrant and experimental, we apply deep thinking to every research project. Our aim is to be legendary at everything we do and to make a meaningful impact.

www.askafrika.co.za | az.oc.akirfaksa@tcennoc | 012 428 7400