24 July, 2026

We all know that changing behaviour is hard. Whether it’s improving health outcomes, increasing financial inclusion or preventing tobacco use, we never underestimate the pulling power of the status quo.

At Good Business we’ve seen firsthand that lasting change needs local expertise, local credibility and local ownership, but also that impact is never built in isolation. That’s why SKY Girls, our behaviour change programme for adolescent girls and young women, is delivered through a network of local agencies across sub-Saharan Africa, and why we bring them together each year through SKYLights, a three-day event focused on building the collective capacity to act at scale.

SKYLights builds a culture of trust, allowing teams across SKY countries to learn from each other’s insights, grow their own skills and knowledge, and identify innovative and creative tools and practices that have proven effective, ultimately making behaviour change more efficient and more impactful at both local and regional levels.

Last week, 14 members of the SKY Girls community gathered in Senegal for SKYLights. It wasn’t about showcasing campaigns, but all about testing ideas, learning from each other and adapting together. Across 14 sessions, teams shared lessons from the frontline of implementation, from creative audience engagement in Senegal to data-driven decision-making in Kenya and innovative stakeholder approaches in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire.

Researchers and practitioners from IFRC, Tostan, Speak Up Africa, AfSMA and ONG RAES also joined discussions on fundraising, evidence, social listening and AI-enabled analysis. Most importantly, girls themselves helped co-create future campaigns, ensuring their experiences continue to shape the programme.

Over 14 years of SKY Girls, we’ve not only used the models and techniques of behavioural science and marketing, combined with deep insight into our target audience, to drive lasting change, we’ve also seen that behaviour change at a systemic level can only be achieved when multiple partners come together.

If your organisation is looking to influence attitudes, shift behaviours or tackle complex social issues, we’d love to explore how our Behaviour Change services can help turn insight into evidence-based impact, and help you identify and drive the collaborations needed for structural change.

 

By Sarah Forero