For two decades, Angela Ambitho has been a force to reckon with in Kenya’s research and opinion polling industry.

She is the founder and CEO of InfoTrak Research and Consulting Ltd, a company that is headquartered in Nairobi and has affiliate offices in Uganda, Tanzania, and Nigeria and field contacts in 12 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Beyond InfoTrak, Angela is the regional representative for the World Association of Polling and Opinion Research, a visiting lecturer at Lagos Business School, and sits on the boards of several national and international organizations.

In a recent interview with Citizen TV’s Claire Munde, Ambitho reflected on her 20-year journey, shedding light on the passion, resilience, and strategic thinking that fueled her success.

Early beginnings

Ambitho stated that the journey into the research frontier was unplanned. Things started taking shape when she was a student of Sociology and History at the University of Nairobi in 1990.

At that time, the university was facing frequent closures as a result of student unrest and lecturers’ strikes. The students were protesting against matters such as education funding, governance, and educational policies. On the other hand, lectures demanded better pay.

With the institution closed, Angela found herself idle at home, where she persistently urged her parents to help her find something productive to do. Her mother connected her to a friend who ran a media monitoring and research firm.

At just 18, she joined Steadman Group (now Ipsos) as an intern, working under the mentorship of Roger Steadman. 

“The company was close to our home in Kileleshwa, and although much of the work involved basic tasks like making tea and stapling papers, I did everything with joy and enthusiasm,” she said.

After her undergraduate studies, she pursued a diploma in business administration and later joined one of the first cohorts of Kenya’s parallel master’s program, specializing in business administration with a focus on entrepreneurship.

Her steady climb within the corporate world was remarkable. 

She quickly advanced from a junior client service executive to a client service manager, to a general manager, and by age 26, she was a managing director. “Being thrown into the deep end of managing people at a very young age prepared me for the next phase of my career,” Angela offered.

The birth of InfoTrak

Despite her corporate success, Angela felt the urge to build something of her own. As an “intrapreneur,” she had been running a business for someone else, but she had bigger ideas she wanted to implement—ideas that she couldn’t fully execute within another person’s organization.

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By 2004, after nine years of employment, she leaped into entrepreneurship. At the time, she was 9 months pregnant, and many assumed she was taking a break from work. Little did they know that she was laying the foundation for what would become one of Kenya’s most respected research firms.

Having been in the corporate space for nearly a decade, she had mastered various facets of business, from marketing, and product development, to dealing with clients, and financial management – crucial skills for entrepreneurship.

She started InfoTrak from her home, operating there for three months before moving into a small rented office. From the beginning, she was strategic about keeping costs low while ensuring the company had financial resilience.

Overcoming challenges

Many startups struggle to cover operational costs in their first year, and InfoTrak was no exception. However, Angela’s industry experience helped her navigate financial constraints strategically, allowing the company to compete with bigger players.

“From the onset, I knew what I needed – how to play smart and look big without spending as much as what the big players were spending. I had the experience and the innovative mind, and I knew what to do to be at par with the big players,” she said.

Another major challenge was credibility. Many potential clients viewed InfoTrak as too small and preferred working with established foreign firms.

“Kenyans and Africans in general have a Eurocentric mentality. We place more trust in imported products, and this trust extends even to entrepreneurship. Big local companies prefer working with foreign agencies rather than supporting local businesses,” she opined.  

More than public opinion polling

While many Kenyans recognize InfoTrak for its political opinion polls, Angela clarifies that this constitutes only a small percentage of the company’s work and that over 95% of its revenue comes from marketing and social research. They also help businesses with product development, market analysis, and consumer insights. 

Public polling, however, has played a crucial role in giving the company the visibility it has today.

After Kenya’s 2002 election, increased political freedoms allowed the business of opinion polling to flourish. However, this freedom has brought its challenges, especially in dealing with politicians. 

“Some politicians think that once elected, they are not supposed to be appraised. And because they have been spoilt for so long, when we do an appraisal and they receive dismal ratings, you find that it becomes very difficult for them to take the information. Some become emotive in very despicable manners,” Angela expressed.

However, she asserts that InfoTrak remains committed to publishing objective and unbiased results.

“We cannot alter the findings to please a certain entity. If our findings say you are unpopular, that’s what we will tell you,” Angela asserts.

Work-life balance

Angela firmly believes that a healthy mind and body are essential for success. She is passionate about fitness and has been practicing boxing for three years, describing it as an exhilarating way to stay in shape.

She also enjoys dancing, particularly Zumba, which she does regularly on weekends.

Spirituality is another cornerstone of her life. As a devout Catholic, she starts her day with mass, recites the rosary, and engages in adoration. Family and friendships also play a crucial role in her overall well-being.

Career advice

Her advice to young professionals is that a clear, well-thought-out strategy is crucial for success.

“Never shy away from thinking big. The sky should be your only limit,” she says.