Leading pan-African experiential events firm, Exp Agency (EXP) has partnered with pan-African transaction informatics firm, REACH Technologies (REACH), to conduct the first-ever multi-city investigation of the ways that money, society and professional aspiration empower and inform the African millennial experience.

The study’s findings are to be shared with an exclusive line-up of marketing executives and tastemakers in a series of three invite-only events in Accra, Nairobi, and Lagos.

This move comes at a time when Africa is experiencing unprecedented urbanization and population growth. With a population expected to hit 1.7 billion in the next 10 years, understanding the continent’s largest-ever group of consumers is imperative for the survival of any brands that intend to harness this enormous opportunity.

The study represents the views of over 20 million urban Africans between the ages of 20 and 35. Collected simultaneously across Lagos, Nairobi, and Accra, the study leveraged the REACH transaction informatics platform to accurately identify and elicit input from young Africans. This is the first time a study of this accuracy and relevance has been simultaneously conducted, and automated.

Speaking of their decision to partner with REACH, Carol Abade, CEO of EXP, says, “This endeavour is something that matters and has never been done before. We needed a way to quickly and accurately connect with the sentiments of African millennials and REACH was a natural partner.”

She goes on to add, “Given their guidance to tens of thousands of Africa’s millennials who use their platform to manage their finances, we could think of no better way to reliably understand the realities of the urban African in their 20s and 30s. We will expand the study to other markets next year.”

The survey yielded several surprising sentiments according to JR Kanu, CEO of REACH. “Millennials in Africa have long been misunderstood by the brands that seek to serve them,” he said.

“From where they go for news and helpful information to the types of people they trust for guidance, this study showed us that contrary to popular opinion, social media is not the catch-all answer for engaging millennials.”

Invitations for Casino Millennial are expected to arrive in mailboxes by the end of June 2019. The marketing executives of MTN, Safaricom, Coca-Cola, and Diageo are but a few of the notable companies that will be in attendance.