Case Study: FernRidge achieves real-time, scalable Africa-wide demographic insights with Microsoft Azure

Fernridge - Customer Case Study

FernRidge, a Johannesburg-based research house, developed AfricaEye to help formalise and grow the African retail sector by providing reliable demographic and retail-expenditure data. Facing an unstable, limited on-premise system that lacked full regional coverage, real-time uploads, robust search and reporting, and scalable storage, FernRidge needed a technology partner to build an affordable, easy-to-use portal that could serve clients across Sub‑Saharan Africa.

Working with Mint, FernRidge built AfricaEye on Microsoft Azure App Service, enabling automated uploads, advanced search and reporting, integrated admin tools and satellite imagery, with secure cloud hosting for over 20 million records. The result: coverage expanded to all of South Africa and 82 African cities, faster response times and better data control, simplified secure storage, on‑demand scalability and improved competitiveness with lower, predictable costs.

Fernridge

Ilse van der Merwe

Executive