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Respondents

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Overview

Once your questions are ready, you need to decide who will receive the survey. Safi Data gives you two options: bring your own respondents, and/or tap into the Safi network.

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Option 1: Upload Your Own Respondents

If you have an existing contact list, you can upload it directly to Safi Data.

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How to Upload a CSV

Your respondent file must be a .csv file with the following columns:
ColumnRequiredDescription
nameRecommendedRespondent’s first name, used to personalise the welcome message
phone_number✅ YesWhatsApp-registered number in international format (e.g. +254712345678)
To upload:
  1. In the Respondents step, click Upload CSV
  2. Select your file
  3. Map the columns to the correct fields if prompted
  4. Click Confirm
Make sure phone numbers include the country code and no spaces or dashes. For example: +254712345678 not 0712 345 678.
All phone numbers in your CSV must be registered on WhatsApp. Safi Data cannot deliver surveys to numbers that are not active on WhatsApp.

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The Onboarding Survey

Every respondent in the Safi network has completed an onboarding survey when they first joined. This survey asks for data collection consent and also collects demographic information such as:
  • Age and gender
  • Location (country, region, urban/rural)
  • Education level
  • Occupation
  • Language preference
If you are uploading entirely new contacts, Safi Data will send them the onboarding survey before your main survey begins.

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Filtering by Demographic

You can filter your list to target a specific demographic before sending the survey. Example filters:
  • Women aged 25–35 in Nairobi
  • Respondents who have completed a Masters Degree in Tanzania
  • Farmers in rural Uganda
To apply filters:
  1. After uploading your CSV, click Filter Respondents
  2. Select the demographic fields you want to filter by
  3. Set the conditions for each field
  4. Review the filtered count and confirm

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Option 2: Supplement with the Safi Network

If you don’t have your own contacts, or want to reach a broader audience, you can draw from the Safi Network - a panel of opted-in respondents across Africa.
  1. In the Respondents step, click Find Respondents in Safi Network
  2. Set your target demographic using the same filter tools
  3. Set your target number of respondents
  4. Safi Data will match you with qualifying respondents from the network
Safi Network respondents are compensated for their time. Network usage is charged separately from your Safi Data subscription. Contact your account manager for pricing.
You can also combine your own uploaded contacts with Safi Network respondents - for example, uploading 50 of your own customers and supplementing with 50 additional respondents from the network.

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Setting a Respondent Goal

After selecting your respondents, set a goal - the number of completed responses you want. The survey will remain active until this goal is reached or you manually close it. Your goal can be less than or equal to the total number of contacts you’ve added. Safi Data will send the survey to contacts in the order they were uploaded until the goal is met.

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What’s Next

WhatsApp Survey Features

Configure how your survey looks and behaves inside WhatsApp — including welcome messages, translation, voice memos, and the clarifier.