About us

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We are a data science consulting firm

Working across the value chain to develop insights that drive social and economic impact

About us

71point4 is a data science and strategic research consultancy based in Cape Town and registered in South Africa and Rwanda. Our team comprises ten full time analysts, consultants, data scientists and data engineers with extensive experience across various sectors including financial inclusion, affordable housing, credit markets, agriculture and transport.

We work across the data value chain with quantitative and qualitative data typologies and are invested in each step of the process – from helping clients frame their research questions and collecting data, to designing and building data warehouses and data pipelines, analysing data (big and small), and bringing it all together to drive decision-making and shape strategy. You can read more about what we do here.

Training, on-the-job capacity building and mentoring for our clients is also central to the 71point4 offering. This ensures continuity and sustainability beyond the term of our work.

About our name

In 2018, when the company was founded, the global average life expectancy at birth was 71.4 years (according to the United Nations data). This number is too often overlooked as a key performance indicator of development. While many economists focus on measures of output and economic growth, others emphasise the importance of tracking the most basic measures of life (Sen’s Development as Freedom, 1999). Our firm is named 71point4 as a reminder that while the purpose of the firm is to maximise profits, the purpose of an economic system is to enable better lives.

Sectors of interest

Our work focuses on a number of core sectors listed below.

Click here or on the links below to find out more about the projects we have worked on over the years. 

Financial sector development & inclusion

Financial sector development & inclusion

  • Spanning all products from insurance, transaction banking, savings and credit products and across all channels (traditional, digital, mobile)
  • Understanding consumer financial behaviour (uptake, usage, uplift)

Housing & Housing Finance

Housing & Housing Finance

  • Focus on affordable housing, including rental
  • Performance of housing markets & submarkets
  • Origination and performance of mortgage loans in affordable market segments
  • Transaction Support Centre in Khayelitsha

Economic inclusion

Economic inclusion

  • Urbanisation, transforming cities and city-led growth
  • Youth employment
  • Informality

Credit markets & indebtedness

Credit markets & indebtedness

  • Credit market trends and performance using records level credit bureau data & National credit regulator data
  • Alternative data
  • Informal lending