We combine research, human-centred design, social and behaviour change, and systems thinking to help organisations solve complex social and environmental challenges across the Global South..
For 18 years we've built the most decentralised community of 250+ innovation specialists in 68 countries across Africa, Latin America, South Asia and the Middle East.
Local design researchers cut through language barriers, cultural nuance, and field logistics that outsiders miss. Empathy isn't a workshop technique when it's your community.
Multiple rounds of user testing without multi-week logistics. Minimal travel, minimal CO₂, maximal iteration. Prototypes return to the field in days, not months.
We combine human-centred design, systems thinking, futures foresight, business modelling, and social and behavioural insights to co-create solutions with users, communities, and the environment in mind. This approach helps organisations develop life-centred and community-led innovations that work within the wider ecosystem and are designed for self-sustainability and scale.
For every project, we assemble a tailored team from our vetted network of native innovation & design professionals. No two projects draw the same team, but every team has access to our shared knowledge base and past project experiences from across the world.
Built by Proportion Global and GAIN, The Innovators Team helps partners run innovation challenges, learning cohorts and communities of practice that continue beyond workshops, reports and funding cycles.
Explore our co-innovation platformA sample of recent engagements across research, prototyping, feasibility and business modelling — with the partners and funders who commissioned them.
Research, stakeholder engagement and HCD foundations for GAIN's flagship social protection co-innovation platform across multiple country contexts.
Read the case
Embedded HCD support into a major prize programme, helping African innovators reach stronger, more grounded solutions to marine plastic pollution.
Read the case
Coaching delivery partners through business model refinement to create sustainable, decent jobs for young men and women across the CFYE portfolio.
Read the case
Added structure and creative thinking to a complex acceleration programme, helping ventures integrate valuable user feedback into their business models.
Read the case
Building bottom-up innovation capacity inside the Power to Youth Program, equipping young facilitators to lead community-led design in their own contexts.
Read the case
How might pay-per-swap charging unlock e-motorcycle adoption among Kenya's boda-boda riders? A discovery study with operators, riders and station partners.
Read the caseWe serve NGOs, social enterprises and governments to design impactful solutions for low-income communities with the local innovation experts who live and work in those communities
The Proportion Global team has been a reliable and engaged partner, bringing valuable perspectives and practical insights to the project at every step — HCD, stakeholder engagement, user research.
A 30-minute discovery call is the fastest way to find out whether we're the right team. No pitch, no pressure — we'll listen, share honestly whether we can help, and follow up with a written proposal if there's a fit.
