Design research as a method for discovering & understanding the world around us
Variously known as User Centered Design (UCD) or Human Centered Design (HCD), the fundamental philosophy underlying the designer’s approach to problem solving is that of discovery – “figuring out how to make something that will work in this context”. Innovation, invention and novelty rarely have pre-scripted processes due to the as yet unknown, and often, […]
Leapfrogging the cookstove
Take a closer look at those LPG (cooking gas) cylinders stacked around the pole, displayed for sale. The small ones on top have a rough and ready metal fitting attached to them which converts them into stoves. However, you’ll note in the delivery cart that these small cylinders are without the addition. This makes me […]
Cash in hand
I needed to convert some euros into Ivorien francs in Abidjan last month and my colleague suggested Treichville market as the go to place. On our way there, I’d imagined it would be one of those hole in the wall currency exchange kiosks one sees in global cities from Singapore to South Africa. There would […]
Bitcoin accepted here
This money transfer point in Treichville market, Abidjan in the Cote D’Ivoire accepts bitcoins.
@Prepaid Africa Connecting Dots – October 2015
October was a busy month for us – The African Development Bank hosted their first Innovation Weekend in Abidjan from the 9th to the 11th of October. Our contribution was thinking about the problems we face as the starting point for new venture design. Savvy young people from across Francophone West Africa gathered to conceptualize […]
Customer-Centric Business Model Design for Financial Inclusion
The Challenge Digital financial services (DFS) seek to bridge the chasm between the structures, policies and institutions of the formal economy, and the cash intensive informal and rural economy. Current day approaches tend to take the perspective of the service providers when assessing the market opportunity and the needs of the intended customers. And so […]
@Prepaid Africa Connecting Dots – September 2015
The biggest news for the world’s Africa watchers this September has ironically been the UN’s General Assembly and 70th Anniversary festival held with great fanfare in New York this past week. Global powers attempted to shake hands and agreed to keep our planet sustainable for a little while longer. We’re holding our breath. Many aren’t […]
Retail ranking metrics vs Readiness for formal retail #AfricanConsumerMarket
Continuing the thoughts expressed by Yacine in the previous post, I’d like to explore these rankings and their value. We’ll use the example of Tanzania, ranked 5th by AT Kearney in their 2015 African Retail Attractiveness Index (ARDI). The ARDI states: Tanzania is starting from a low base: With only 30 percent urbanization, high poverty […]
First world trends: Financial inclusion, the unbanked, and the prepaid business model
The Economist explains just how expensive banking can be for the lower income population, even in the United States. Financial inclusion for the unbanked and underbanked must include cost/benefit analysis based on the limitations of income streams of those whom they hope to serve. The cost of ownership is often overlooked in current day literature, […]
Key Insights on the Reality of Rural India: Socio-Economic & Caste Census data
Recently, India released a selection of data from the 2011 Census of India – their focus was rural India’s socio-economic reality, primarily aimed at policymakers and programme designers. This was the first time the Government of the Republic of India has collected information on caste. The last such census was back in 1931, by the […]
