60dB’s 2024 Year in Review
2024 by the numbers
5.5M+
2.8M+
152,000+
609
227
1
Hearing from the people who matter the most
We listened to 152,000+ unique perspectives as part of our work in 2024—here is a tiny slice of what we heard this year.
Introducing 60dB Signal
We launched 60dB Signal at the end of 2024 to help funders and foundations discover top social impact performers. Signal shines a light on companies that are delivering outsized positive impact— from quality of life improvements to poverty reach, market access metrics and more.
Drawing on the world’s largest social impact dataset spanning 80+ countries and 750,000+ unique customer responses, Signal bridges the gap between organizations creating meaningful change and the investors seeking to fund them. Our goal is to help capital flow more readily to the companies generating the most meaningful change.
Sector highlights
-
Championing Gender Inclusion
2024 was a standout year for our work in gender inclusion, with partnerships driving real change for women globally.
We explored how well digital solutions are working for women job seekers in Bangladesh and Kenya. Shomvob learnt that mobility constraints and mismatched expectations regarding hours and pay was preventing Bangladeshi women from making the most of their platform. Shomvob’s response—introducing GPS-enabled job postings and partnering with more inclusive employers. With MESH, we explored how mentorship and tailored employment opportunities are transforming women’s lives. 90% of women reported increased income, and the platform has significantly closed its gender gap, supporting women to move towards financial independence and leadership roles.
Stay tuned for more on what we are learning from a gender lens. If you’d like a teaser, see Part 3 in the Acumen Report ‘Pathways to Growth: Gender-smart business actions that work’.
![]()
-
Digital Agriculture Services in Kenya
We partnered with Busara and Gates Foundation to deliver a first-of-its-kind, population-level study – measuring the real-world impact of digital solutions for smallholder farmers in Kenya. 500 million small farms produce one-third of the world’s food supply and are increasingly vulnerable to climate shocks, making digital solutions crucial for their survival. Through phone interviews with over 1,400 Kenyan farmers, we gained unprecedented insights into how digital tools shape their farming practices.
Key findings from the study showed that while 56% of farmers used digital tools at least once during the 2023-24 masika season, there is high unmet demand. Our interactive dashboard and comprehensive report shed light on usage patterns throughout the season, moving beyond traditional supply-side metrics such as app downloads, to chart a path toward digital solutions that better address smallholder farmers’ needs.
![]()
-
Farmers’ Voices on Climate Resilience
Based on our new Climate Resilience Assessment, we published a comprehensive study amplifying the voices of 4,915 farmers across 7 countries, revealing how they experience and adapt to climate shocks. The findings paint a stark picture: while 4 in 5 farmers faced weather-related challenges in the past two years, 22% took no adaptive action.
The farmers’ perspectives highlighted a crucial finding: bundled services that combine weather information with hands-on support are making a real difference. They also surfaced persistent challenges, particularly for female farmers who reported significantly less access to vital resources like credit and pest management tools. These insights offer a clear roadmap for investors and businesses working to strengthen climate resilience where it matters most. Explore our Climate Resilience Assessment and case study.
![]()
-
60 Decibels in Latin America
2024 marked significant growth for 60 Decibels in Latin America, with over 96 projects delivered in 12 countries, including the first study on digitalization of the social sector in Latin America. In collaboration with Propel, we heard from more than 800 social sector leaders from 4 countries. They revealed strong momentum in digital transformation and data-driven decision making across the region.
NextBillion recognized our research in the financial inclusion sector by featuring an analysis of Chile-based fintech Galgo as one of their “Most Influential Articles of 2024”. The article explores the impact of providing motorcycle loans to low-income individuals through their digital platform, with 85% of Galgo clients accessing this type of loan for the first time (compared to our benchmark for the region of 54%).
Explore all of our recent insights and resources for Latin America here.
![]()
-
Unlocking Inclusive Impact in Energy
Our Why Off-Grid Energy Matters 2024 report, analyzed 2.5 million data points from 79,000 customers, revealing compelling evidence for investing in early-stage, women-led, and locally-owned energy organizations.
Locally-owned companies on average significantly outperformed their counterparts, with 66% of their customers reporting “very much improved” quality of life compared to 53% for not locally owned companies. Women-led businesses showed similarly impressive results: higher customer satisfaction, fewer reported challenges, and better reach among women and low-income populations.
These data points were uncovered thanks to our Inclusive Energy Opportunity, a new initiative seeking out customer insights from locally-owned and women-led ventures.. Building on the value of these insights, we’re expanding the Inclusive Opportunity across other key impact sectors in 2025 – learn more about getting involved.
![]()
-
Pioneering AI-Powered Impact Measurement
In 2024, we achieved a breakthrough in social impact data collection by developing and deploying our first AI phone interviewer. Working with BaldeCash in Peru, we successfully piloted ‘Beto’, our custom-built AI enumerator that cut data collection timelines from four weeks to just seven days, while maintaining comparable data quality to human interviewers.
Building on this pilot’s success, we’re expanding our AI capabilities into new languages including Hindi and French, while exploring innovative ways to analyze our 10 million impact data points. This technological advancement marks a significant step toward our vision of making high-quality impact data more accessible and timely for social enterprises and their funders.
![]()
-
60 Decibels and Bayer Crop Science
We were proud to have Harvard Business Review recognize our work with Bayer Crop Science as pioneering in social impact measurement. The article, A Better Way to Measure Social Impact, highlights how Farmer Reported Outcome Measures (FROMs) are reshaping the way organizations capture and act on impact data.
We partnered with Bayer Crop Science in a multi year stidy to evaluate their Better Life Farming (BLF) program, bringing farmers’ voices to the forefront, and enriching their impact assessment with real, lived experiences.
Our studies in India validated BLF’s effectiveness and highlighted areas for growth, such as consistent communication, training frequency, and farm infrastructure support. These insights are helping Bayer refine and scale their program to better serve farmers’ needs, and design interventions that truly transform lives.
![]()
How companies are using their impact data
We asked the funders, NGOs, corporations, and social enterprises we worked with in 2024 to share how they have been using their 60dB data. Take an inside look here.
Mapping our year in projects
Explore all the places where we completed impact measurement projects in 2024.
Top Volume opens
The Volume is a curation of our favourite weird & wonderful finds, with over 11,000 fellow data geeks tuning in each month. Not yet one of them? Sign up here.
Here are some of the most popular reads of 2024, based on your clicks.
-
> Your Data’s Daily Commute
Think your morning rush hour is busy? There’s a whole other traffic system happening beneath the waves: 870,000 miles of submarine cables shuttling data across oceans like a transcontinental subway system. But unlike most commuter lines, this transport network is remarkably reliable, it requires only 100 repairs a year! These are handled by skilled sea-faring mechanics who use electrical pulses (kinda like echolocation) to locate breakages, and haul cables from the seafloor to mend faults quickly. Compare that to the 18 weather-related disasters in the U.S. in 2022 that each resulted in $1B+ in damages and thousands of repairs to on-land cables. Note to self: for best weather-proof results, just add ocean.Bonus (!) Explore your data’s sub-marine path on this interactive map by TeleGeography.
-
> Micro Loans, Macro Impact
Now in its third year, the 60dB MFI Index has become the defining global report on client outcomes in microfinance. Drawing from 36,000+ microfinance clients across 45 countries, this year’s report represents 32 million people globally. It explores key themes including client protection, gender impact, and climate resilience. The Index also recognizes 9 top-performing financial service providers (FSPs) through our 60dB Social Impact Awards.Key highlights:
- 89% of clients report improved quality of life, the highest in three years.
- 26% remain vulnerable to unexpected expenses, though additional services like training, savings, or insurance are helping to bridge this gap.
- Clients of female-focused FSPs—who are more likely to be poor—are 20% more likely to report improvements in their financial resilience and ability to face an emergency expense than women working with non-female-centric FSPs.
Want the full story? Download the report here. -
> Rice, Rice Baby
Did you know that the average person consumes their body weight (roughly 63.5kg) in rice each year? Yum! Rice has been on our mind since we came across Of All the People in All the World, an art installation by Stan’s Cafe that’s been touring since 2003. The show, a masterclass in data viz, brings statistics to life, using grains of rice to represent everything from the number of people who’ve walked on the moon (12) to the population of Birmingham (1.15M, which is a tonne of rice). To put this year’s MFI Index in perspective, if we lined up a grain of rice for each of the 32 million customers represented by our data, we’d make a line of rice 100 miles long! It’s a powerful reminder that every grain represents a life, a story, a perspective—just like each response in our surveys.
-
> Underwater alphabet
Scientists are using AI to decipher the speech of sperm whales. It turns out that these gentle giants use a phonetic alphabet that’s as sophisticated as ours. Instead of ABCs, whales use a series of clicks, or ‘codas,’ to exchange complex information. Through years of underwater eavesdropping, researchers have identified 156 distinct codas that whales string together to form ‘coda sentences.’ 60 Decibels researchers collectively speak more than 200 languages (sadly, whale clicking isn’t one of them), a network that enables us to decode and understand human experiences globally. The key to understanding is listening—whether to a whale, a farmer, or someone who clicks in a different tongue. Turns out, Moby Dick wasn’t just rambling after all.
-
> AI For Good
There’s no doubt that AI is here for good, but is it here for good…of humanity? At 60dB we have an #ai-enthusiasts Slack channel where team members drop AI headlines. Here’s two that jumped out this month:
Our story starts in the tiny Caribbean island of Anguilla. It turns out the Anguillan government owns all of the world’s .ai domains. Last year’s revenues from this unlikely source? A cool $32 million that is providing a boost to the economy and has enabled more spending on social services. Who needs buried treasure when you’ve got domain names?
The next AI tale involves a flamingo in an AI photo contest. Miles Astray’s award-winning, surreal image, “Flamingone,” took home two awards—the photo looked like was generated from the prompt “Salvador Dalí’s dream, but a flamingo.” The plot twist: Astray took the photo himself, and AI didn’t play a role. Though Astray was ultimately disqualified, the mind-bending image left a lasting impression on the judges and creatives alike, reminding us that sometimes reality can be the most fantastical art of all.
60dB in the news
From agriculture and off-grid energy, to financial inclusion and child-lens investing, you can explore all our 2024 media features here.
