#householddecisions

By Paul Nnanwobu, Random Dynamic Resources Ltd (Nigeria & Canada)

It’s easy to look at a household and assume the person holding the money is the one making the decisions. But in Sub-Saharan Africa, the truth is often more layered—more nuanced. Purchasing power is shaped not just by income, but by influence. And when we zoom in on who holds that influence, gender dynamics come clearly into focus.

At Random Dynamic Resources Ltd, operating across Nigeria and Canada, and working in dozens of African markets, we’ve seen just how critical it is to consider gender when studying consumer behavior. Not as a footnote, not as a demographic filter—but as a lens through which decisions are negotiated, reshaped, and sometimes resisted entirely.

Here’s what I mean.

In many West African households, it’s common for men to handle bulk purchases—rice, fuel, rent. It signals control. Yet it’s often women who make the daily purchasing decisions—what to cook, what soap to buy, what snacks the children will take to school. These aren’t small choices. They add up. And in many categories, especially fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), women are the primary gatekeepers.

But influence doesn’t always align with visibility.

Take rural Kenya, for example. In a study we supported last year, men were listed as the formal “owners” of mobile phones in 68% of households. But when researchers conducted observational interviews, they found that women often used the phones more frequently—for mobile payments, health tips, even shopping advice. The phones might be registered to men, but women were driving much of the digital engagement.

So, what does this mean for brands? For policymakers? For researchers?

It means that if we don’t design our surveys and insights-gathering tools with gender sensitivity, we risk missing the full picture. Or worse, we build products and campaigns based on faulty assumptions.

We once worked with a client launching a new fertilizer product. Their initial assumption was that male farmers would be the primary adopters. But our qualitative research in Ghana’s Northern Region told a different story. While men owned the land, women managed the actual planting and crop rotation. They weren’t just labor—they were knowledge holders. So we advised including women in the marketing strategy and training rollouts. Adoption rates improved.

That project reminded us that gender roles are both visible and invisible. They're shaped by tradition, religion, economics, and—importantly—aspiration. People don’t always behave according to stereotypes. A young urban woman in Lagos will think about money and identity differently than her grandmother in the village. Same goes for men. Masculinity, too, shifts across contexts.

This is where research gets really interesting. Because when we ask people not just what they buy but why—we hear the real stories. A mother choosing powdered milk over fresh because of refrigeration issues. A father buying a cheaper brand of noodles because his son likes the taste better. A teenage girl influencing her uncle’s decision on what mobile network to switch to. These aren’t just gendered decisions. They’re emotional ones, shaped by relationships and roles.

At Random Dynamic Resources Ltd, we take pride in uncovering these layers. It’s part of the reason, I believe, why we’ve been nominated for the 2025 Go Global Awards, hosted by the International Trade Council this November in London. And while recognition is always appreciated, what excites us more is the platform it provides—to connect with peers around the world, to explore how business and research can intersect with culture in ways that truly matter.

Because in Sub-Saharan Africa, the marketplace isn’t just about products. It’s about people—how they live, how they love, how they make choices in the quiet corners of their lives.

And gender? Gender is right there in the middle of it all. Not as a binary, not as a quota, but as a living, shifting influence that shapes how economies work from the ground up.