We’re Caribou Digital
We are Caribou Digital, a research and advisory firm that helps clients change the world through building inclusive and ethical digital economies.
Our team of experts work across a range of sectors and businesses, from startup financing to data analytics, to financial inclusion and the use of space for development, to ensure our clients lead the field in the use of technology to deliver equitable and sustainable development.
Our team is experienced, empathetic, pragmatic and direct. We look to the central role startups and large companies alike play in ensuring that digital products, services, and markets unlock human capabilities and drive sustainable growth.
Our experience doesn’t stop at one sector because the shift to digital doesn’t stop at one sector.
Our Philosophy
The world is rapidly shifting to digital. No market sector, no country, no part of human life will be left untouched by this shift.
We believe that everyone should be included in the digital economy and that by helping build and shape ethical, respectful systems, we can reach that goal.
To bring about a world that is simultaneously prosperous, sustainable, and just, efforts must be taken immediately to protect and promote human agency and inclusion in the emerging global information economy. We believe addressing these challenges requires original thinking and original ways of working. Explore our updates below to see how we apply these themes to our work.
Updates
Five reflections on five years
Doing Development and Philanthropy in a Digital Age
Caribou Digital
Apr 03
When ID works for women: What’s the role of identification in helping women get access to work?
To what extent does identification help women get stable, secure work in emerging economies?
Savita Bailur
Mar 08
The difference between digital identity, identification, and ID
Caribou Digital’s style guide for talking about identity in a digital age
Jonathan Donner
Dec 19
Featured Advisor: Emrys Schoemaker
Emrys is a researcher and strategist with a background in international development programming. Emrys’ research interests are on the use of social media in resource constrained environments, and the social implications of their use. Emrys is currently writing up a PhD thesis at the London School of Economics in International Development that looks at the relationship between mobile social media use and identity, specifically religious and gender identity in Pakistan. He is particularly interested in how technology design and affordances interact with cultural norms and values to generate new social practices. Emrys has over a decade of experience in communications for international development programming as the Director for Innovation and Technology at iMedia Associates, a development communications consultancy, and as a consultant to institutions including the British Government’s Department for International Development, United Nations and World Bank. Emrys’ work has focused on the use of communications, particularly new technologies, in social change processes that include peacebuilding, governance, education and health. Emrys has a Masters in Conflict Management from the Department of Peace Studies, Bradford University. Emrys has been involved in community development initiatives, co-founded startups that provide software solutions to development organisations and lives in New York City, USA. He rides a Brompton and can be found on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Identity at the Margins