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Tanzania Segmentation Study

“At the beginning, we had ideas about segmenting girls into two groups — ‘with child’ and ‘without child.’ But our formative research showed us that girls don’t group themselves this way. Our assumptions needed to be challenged.” — Cathreen Bukuku, Regional Operations Manager - Katavi region, TanzaniaWhat is it?

A summary of new sexual and reproductive health segmentation focused specifically on psycho-social development and behavior change pathways​ that inspired us to refine our design in Tanzania.

How did we use it?

Our design team decided to expand its understanding of the true target population, leveraging segmentation analysis. The results led to precision of understanding about four archetypal figures: “Farida,” “Furaha,” “Pendo,” and “Bahati.” Farida and Furaha are younger (typically 15-17 years old), and at the cusp of physical maturation. Bahati and Pendo are more physically mature. While they may be anywhere in the 15-19 age range, they are typically representative of girls aged 18-19, and share similar social and developmental stages.

Recognizing how suddenly and unpredictably girls’ sexual activity status can change, and the heightened need for girls to feel connected to trusted information and services during this dynamic time, we prioritized developing messaging and outreach that would resonate with girls regardless of their sexual activity status. We integrated the four segments into its programmatic design by absorbing Furaha into the “Farida” segment, and Pendo into  “Bahati.” In so doing, we targeted our outreach based not on girls’ sexual status, but on their life experiences and needs.

Consider using it to:

Explore a key element of Kuwa Mjanja’s design—segmenting our audiences according to girls’ lived experiences, and not just their marital status.