Category Archives: Retail in Africa

Applying the Systems Test to the Regional Informal Economic System

By Niti Bhan | Published: December 13, 2021

If the informal economic system, as seen in east Africa, is a system, and there are social practices at both the rural end of the interconnections and flows that comprise the functioning of the system, then taking a systems approach to food security would facilitate not only the increase in stocks i.e. the yield of […]

Also posted in Africa, African Consumer Market, Biashara Economics, East African Community, Ecosystem, Indigenous & Traditional, Informal & Flexible, Mama Biashara, Marketing, Perspective, Sub Saharan Africa, Systems | Leave a comment

Time to update the 5D’s framework for inclusive business design after 12 years

By Niti Bhan | Published: June 10, 2021

Two things have happened since I first published The 5D’s of BoP Marketing: Touchpoints for a holistic, human-centered strategy in Core77 back in January 2009. One, Core77 overhauled their site design and broke my article rather badly. Its layout and formatting makes it virtually incomprehensible. On the other hand, the 5Ds framework has apparently held […]

Also posted in African Consumer Market, Base of the Pyramid, Consumer Behaviour, Design, Emerging Markets, Frameworks, Informal & Flexible, Innovation Planning, Marketing, Perspective, Strategy, Sub Saharan Africa, User research | Tagged 5Ds of bop marketing, framework for inclusive business design | Leave a comment

Sensemaking in extreme conditions for enhancing resilience: Literature Review

By Niti Bhan | Published: April 27, 2021

Here, I want to explore themes of resilience and sensemaking together in extreme conditions. For now, I have considered the systemic shock of the global pandemic as an increase in volatility, complexity, and uncertainty of operating conditions, from the perspective of the informal urban food system in Nairobi, Kenya. Therefore I have deliberately excluded literature […]

Also posted in Africa, Analysis, Biashara Economics, Business, Flexibility, Indigenous & Traditional, Informal & Flexible, Kenya, Literature review, Perspective, Research, Risk, Sub Saharan Africa, Systems, urban, Work in Progress | Tagged complex adaptive systems, extreme conditions, informal trade ecosystem, literature review, resilience, sensemaking, systemic shock, visual sensemaking | Leave a comment

Situating one’s rant within business model typology for rural and low income markets

By Niti Bhan | Published: April 24, 2021

After yesterday’s post on stripping out social considerations to allow for a pragmatic economic assessment of viability prior to investing in infrastructure for service delivery to rural customers, I looked up literature on the general theme. Site selection as a keyword brought a slew of articles focusing on GIS technology, primarily from the lens of […]

Also posted in Biashara Economics, Business Models, Consumer Behaviour, Frameworks, Indigenous & Traditional, Informal & Flexible, Innovation Planning, Literature review, Marketing, Perspective, Rural Economy, Strategy, Sub Saharan Africa, Work in Progress | Tagged business model, conceptual framework, informal trade ecosystem, literature review, marketing, pels & sheth, rural economy, strategy tools, toolmaking, typology | Leave a comment

Looking back at 2020 from Mama Mboga’s eyes: The Pandemic as Natural Disaster

By Niti Bhan | Published: December 4, 2020

I am moved today by my work to look back at this agonizingly long year of separations and losses and delays for peoples around the world. Uncertainty and complexity have both increased, and economic volatility has become the order of the day, regardless of the development status of the region or location. More people in […]

Also posted in Africa, African Consumer Market, Analysis, Base of the Pyramid, Biashara Economics, Consumer Behaviour, East African Community, Economy, Ecosystem, Frugality, Kenya, Mama Biashara, Marchés africains, Marketing, Perspective, Risk, Scarcity, Strategy, Sub Saharan Africa, urban, User research | Tagged endurance, farm to fork, food security, informal economy, informal urban food system, mama mboga, nairobi, precarious, remoteresilienceproject, resilience, stoic, vcd | 1 Response

Closing the Circle: Can integration of the flows in the post consumption ecosystem of Global North & South aid resilient recovery for all?

By Niti Bhan | Published: November 30, 2020

It was in July 2009 that I first attempted to visualize the significantly large subsector of informal recycling that fed the informal industrial ecosystem with re-processed ‘raw’ materials for their manufacturing output. The first draft was based on what I’d seen and documented in The Philippines, and in India, during the fieldwork for the ‘prepaid […]

Also posted in Africa, African Consumer Market, Base of the Pyramid, Biashara Economics, China, Consumer Behaviour, East African Community, Economy, Ecosystem, Frugality, Ghana, global, India, Informal & Flexible, jua kali, Kenya, Perspective, Prepaid Economy & Informal Sector, Research, Senegal, Strategy, Sub Saharan Africa, Systems, Tanzania, Technology, Uganda, User research | Tagged boundary spanners, circular economy, ecosystem map, global south, informal economy | Leave a comment

Half a year, 2020 : The Remote Resilience and Recovery Project

By Niti Bhan | Published: August 8, 2020

I have umpteen drafts saved, of posts I began writing since the last published one on 29th February this year, and never finished. 2020 has outdone itself in its impact on all of human society, across our entire planet. I have been active on Twitter, where my literature reviews, in service of the pivot I […]

Also posted in Africa, Base of the Pyramid, Biashara Economics, Design, Ecosystem, Flexibility, Frameworks, Informal & Flexible, Innovation Planning, Mama Biashara, Marketing, Perspective, Prepaid Economy & Informal Sector, rural, Strategy, Sub Saharan Africa, Systems, urban, User research, Value | Tagged design thinking, farm to fork, informal market, market women, nairobi, remoteresilienceproject, resilience, urban food systems, vcd, workshops | Leave a comment

Book Review: Stuffed and Starved by Raj Patel

By Niti Bhan | Published: July 5, 2019

Although the book I’ll be reviewing today was first published in the year 2007, I only came upon it this year in a used bookstore. Raj Patel’s Stuffed and Starved lays bare the innards of the world’s food distribution systems and the market dominance of the megacorps in the business. The Guardian’s original review captures […]

Also posted in Africa, ASEAN, Base of the Pyramid, Biashara Economics, Book Reviews, Economy, Ecosystem, Emerging Futures, FMCG, Indigenous & Traditional, Informal & Flexible, Migrant worker, Perspective, rural, Rural Economy, South Asia, Sub Saharan Africa | Tagged book review, food systems, raj patel, stuffed and starved | Leave a comment

The role of the grey market in Africa’s mobile telephony boom years

By Niti Bhan | Published: February 1, 2019

The grey market refers to goods which have been manufactured by or with the consent of the brand owner, but are sold outside of the brand owner’s approved distribution channels – which can be perfectly legal. (1) In Africa’s teeming business districts and electronics mega markets, the concept of grey market products underwent an evolution […]

Also posted in Africa, African Consumer Market, Afrique francophone, Biashara Economics, Business Models, Consumer Behaviour, Design, Emerging Markets, Innovation Planning, Marchés africains, Marketing, Mobile platform, perfect storm, Perspective, Prepaid Economy & Informal Sector, Sub Saharan Africa, Technology | Tagged africa, gray market, grey market, mobile telephony, perfect storm, smartphones | Leave a comment

Africa’s emerging digital, social, mobile economy is neither formal nor informal but a bridge in between

By Niti Bhan | Published: January 7, 2019

Let’s call it the prepaid economy, I told Michael in our regular weekly call the other day. We were exploring the emergence of commercial activity on digital platforms in Kenya, and debating whether it could still be considered as an element of the existing informal economic ecosystem, or, was it something wholly novel and different? […]

Also posted in Africa, African Consumer Market, Airtime, Alternative currency, Analysis, Assumption filter, Biashara Economics, Business Models, Cashless transactions, Commerce en ligne (e-commerce), Consumer Behaviour, East African Community, Ecosystem, Emerging Futures, Flexibility, Informal & Flexible, jua kali, Kenya, Marchés africains, Marketing, Mobile platform, Perspective, Prepaid Economy & Informal Sector, Strategy, Sub Saharan Africa, Technology | Tagged africa, african digital economy, digital social economy, prepaid economy | Leave a comment