#ZoomIn on Njeri Wangari (GeoPoll)

This month we catch up with Njeri Wangari from GeoPoll, the leading mobile surveying platform in Africa, Asia and Middle-East with a database of over 300 million users.

Find out the importance of data, how to keep it safe, and how small businesses can utilize data to grow their business through research.

What has been your proudest moment with GeoPoll?

My proudest moment would have to be 19th July 2017; GeoPoll together with Portland Communications launched a survey report on the reality of Fake News in Kenya. This was after months of planning to ensure the launch, communication and the report itself was perfect.

Both the launch and the report was a huge success.  It was picked up by both local and international media, and has become the reference point as the first and conclusive research done on fake news.

How can entrepreneurs/small businesses protect their company’s data?

I would recommend the following based on what we have implemented at GeoPoll for the huge volume of data that we deal with daily; Encrypt your data, ensure that all your servers are up to date with security patches.

Install a Firewall, get rid of passwords on the server’s side and implement the use of SSH Keys instead.  This mostly prevents hacking into servers. Virtual private networks are a good practice to keep your company’s data safe.

Should entrepreneurs/small businesses pay attention to big data? And why?

The term big data has, in recent times, become a buzzword in describing a large volume of data. However, it is not the amount of data that is of importance, it’s how a business is able to draw insights from it for the business’ continuity and edge.  We are in a digital age and data is being generated by everything around us. Businesses, whether big or small, need to be very specific to their field or area of expertise.

Digital processes and Social media are two readily available sources of big data that small businesses can use.  These can be used to gather as much information as possible about their potential or existing customers and this will help them to gain insights and build their customer profile.

If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?

This is the best time to be starting out.  Research is crucial for you to know whether your business is viable and how to position yourself in a market.  There are many sources of secondary research and data available online, once your business/venture grows you can carry out primary research through firms like ours.

Technology has greatly impacted the field of Market Research and it is now possible to carry out research in a cheaper and faster way due to the rise of mobile research.

Who is the one entrepreneur to be your greatest example and inspiration?

Jeff Bezos. I greatly admire his journey, how he revolutionized the way we consume knowledge through books and his drive in the growth of Amazon. I just finished reading ‘The Everything Store’ a book by Brad Stone on the rise of Amazon and the story of Bezos.

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