Social change and upward mobility: what numbers can’t tell you
Rajesh Aithal noticed this first, in a rural Indian haat or market. Macaroni displayed and sold like any other staple commodity. Pasta was not part of the staple Indian diet, at least not the rural one. It wasn’t mainstream even 10 years ago. Is it a sign of the adoption of urban consumption patterns as […]
Emerging Markets Competition – this time its technology
Around twenty years ago, when the Indian and Chinese markets first opened up to global brands, many were surprised to discover domestic incumbents were stronger than they had imagined. Proctor & Gamble’s laundry detergents battled for the Indian housewife’s attention and share of wallet. It wasn’t just their usual competitor Unilever either but indigenous upstarts […]
Upward Mobility is Changing Base of the Pyramid Consumer Aspirations
I’d observed earlier that upward mobility wasn’t simply about increasing incomes, but also a change in mindset, world view and values. Aspirational consumer behaviour trickles downward faster, as strivers seek to emulate the status signals sent by those they perceive as “arrived”. The emerging middle class numbers may indeed be uncertain, as statisticians debate over […]
How social networks can share the cost of technology – An innovative payment plan
The original Prepaid Economy project grant from the iBoP Asia Project required me to design a payment plan for a shared community asset based on the exploratory user research on households managed their finances on irregular and unpredictable incomes. For the first time since I started looking into this space back in 2008 I’ve come […]
Meeting the challenge of consumer demand
Understanding consumer demand is an inherent part of the informal trader’s expertise. In the cash economy, unsold inventory is sunk cost. The balance between risk and return is a constant juggling, interwoven with the need for incoming cash flow to meet outgoing expenses. This tabletop – informal retail – caught my attention for its unexpected […]
Market forces transforming the African retail landscape
Cosmetics giant L’Oreal’s partnership with pan African e-commerce platform Jumia signals a big shift in the way consumer packaged goods companies address the challenge of reaching the emerging African consumer classes in a cost effective manner. A combination of market forces and on the ground realities points to this solution as a sweetspot for optimal […]
Quality of service at the last mile will make or break African e-commerce startups
With new e-commerce startups sprouting up everyday, competitive advantage in the urban African context will boil down to their quality of delivery and logistics managment. Given the lack of infrastructure such as home addresses, post codes with embedded information, or as is the case in India – the last mile of delivery in the form […]
“Cheap is expensive.”
Mama said something very profound when I asked her which of those kerosene stoves she would purchase for herself, “Cheap is expensive,” she said, making a moue at the low cost imports jostling for space in her kitchengoods shop on the outskirts of Kibra. While the limitations of cash in hand may drive her customer’s […]
Marketing the Unbranded: Avocados on the side of the Road
These stickers caught my attention. The only one of a long line of makeshift wooden stalls by the side of a highway in Central Kenya to display what looked like branded avocados. Were they part of some cooperative or horticulture exporter’s leftovers? They turned out to belong to Maude, the ambitious and aspirational market woman […]
Branding the Unbranded: The story of Cookswell Jikos, Kenya
These are jikos – metal stoves that use charcoal – displayed for sale in the jua kali market in the town of Nakuru, Kenya. Made from scrap metal, using the most rudimentary tools, under conditions of resource scarcity, they are one of the everyday products churned out by the informal manufacturing sector. These are […]
