Sheila Akinnusi from South Africa’s Nedbank explains how regional languages, nuances and traditions affect the field, talks of her experience with the latest technologies and the future of research in the region.

In this episode of Insights from Elsewhere, we travel to South Africa to meet Sheila Akinnusi, the Executive Head of Group Market Research at Nedbank. Sheila has been redefining what it means to connect business decisions with deep human insight — in one of the world’s most diverse markets.

Sheila shares how South Africa’s cultural richness, diversity, and expressiveness shape the insights landscape. With 12 official languages, distinct regional nuances, and vibrant traditions, understanding the South African consumer requires more than data — it demands empathy, curiosity, and cultural intelligence.

Despite experimenting with the lates research technologies, like AI chatbots, metaverse studies, and synthetic panels, Sheila insists that human intuition still leads the way and qualitative research remains at the heart of insight.

“AI can analyse at scale, but intuition and empathy are still our superpowers.” – Sheila Akinnusi, Nedbank – South Africa.