In global tech, what you don’t know can break your product. Every day, teams design features, launch services, and build AI models based on narrow defaults - often shaped by the culture and assumptions of those at the centre. These strategies get scaled globally and fall short when they collide with the complexity of real life. This isn’t just inefficient. It’s a form of digital colonisation.

The Local Lens insight report series is created for UX, product and innovation teams building tech for real users in real places.

Each report tackles a default industry assumption and reveals what’s really happening on the ground — through the eyes of our in-country researchers. Designed to challenge assumptions and unlock cultural clarity, these reports are for teams who can’t afford to assume.