Tag Archives: biashara economy

Why the Potential of the African Consumer Market Cannot be Considered in Isolation from the Informal Economy

By Niti Bhan | Published: December 17, 2018

Top flight management consulting firms like McKinsey, BCG, Deloitte, PwC et al have been taking a good long look at the emergent African Consumer Market for a number of years now. McKinsey, in fact, has just released a book on the theme, authored by their leading Africa experts. All of them acknowledge the existence of […]

Posted in Africa, African Consumer Market, Analysis, Assumption filter, Biashara Economics, Commerce en ligne (e-commerce), Consommateurs, Consumer Behaviour, Distribution, Ecosystem, Emerging Markets, FMCG, Innovation Planning, Marchés africains, Marketing, Mobile platform, Perspective, Prepaid Economy & Informal Sector, Report Review, Retail in Africa, Strategy, Sub Saharan Africa | Also tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Rural Household Financial Management on Irregular Incomes

By Niti Bhan | Published: October 18, 2018

While all farms are not alike, and scale and variety and geography differs, the pattern of household financial management holds its fundamental logic across continents. As we saw previously, an experienced farmer tends to fall somewhere in between a salaried employee and an odd job labourer in their ability to predict with any reasonable degree […]

Posted in Africa, Analysis, ASEAN, Biashara Economics, Business Models, Cashless transactions, Cattle, Economy, Ecosystem, Emerging Markets, Frameworks, Indigenous & Traditional, Informal & Flexible, Livestock, Mama Biashara, Perspective, Philipines, Prepaid Economy & Informal Sector, Research, Rural Economy, Savings, Strategy, Sub Saharan Africa, User research | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mobile First Africa: Social Media’s Boost to Rural Productivity in Kenya

By Niti Bhan | Published: February 22, 2018

Now in business for just six months, he also uses social media pages to sell his products, improving his customer reach. “Through Facebook posts I receive enquiries and orders from Kenyans in the diaspora living in the US, South Korea, South Sudan, UK, Switzerland and Botswana who want the splits to be delivered to their […]

Posted in Africa, African Consumer Market, Biashara Economics, Business Models, Commerce en ligne (e-commerce), Informal & Flexible, Kenya, Marchés africains, Marketing, Mobile platform, Perspective, Platforms, Prepaid Economy & Informal Sector, rural, Rural Economy, Strategy, Sub Saharan Africa, Technology | Also tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Resilience of Innovation under Conditions of Scarcity

By Niti Bhan | Published: February 20, 2018

Innovating beyond the traditional tin lantern – a simple wick attached to the can – Kouassi Bafounga cuts shapes from tin cans and fixes them together with glass, string and a little petrol to produce storm-proof lanterns. Last year, Bafounga was one of 11 winners in a “Fab Lab” innovation competition run by the French […]

Posted in Africa, African Consumer Market, Base of the Pyramid, Biashara Economics, Consommateurs, Design, Frugality, Innovation Planning, jua kali, Marchés africains, Prepaid Economy & Informal Sector, Sub Saharan Africa, Systems, Technology | Also tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Zambia’s inclusive approach to various sectors in the informal economy is worth noting

By Niti Bhan | Published: February 8, 2018

The Zambian government most recently announced that they would provide certificates to illegal (artisanal) miners in order to recognize and formalize their activities. In addition, they were being encouraged to form cooperatives – a legally recognized organizational structure – that would permit further benefits to this informal sector. Compared to the challenges Ghana is facing […]

Posted in Africa, African Consumer Market, Biashara Economics, Emerging Markets, Flexibility, Frameworks, Indigenous & Traditional, Informal & Flexible, Mama Biashara, Marchés africains, Marketing, Migrant worker, Perspective, Prepaid Economy & Informal Sector, Retail in Africa, Strategy, Sub Saharan Africa, urban | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

East African Imports in rural Rwanda?

By Niti Bhan | Published: February 5, 2018

This highway ‘storefront’ in rural Rwanda made me wonder if the trader had imported his goods rather than purchased them locally. And, further, if they were imports from Kenya. First, unlike the majority of such roadside shops, he is dealing with multiple products – while all are related to home decor, they are made of […]

Posted in Africa, African Consumer Market, Afrique francophone, Analysis, Assumption filter, Biashara Economics, Consommateurs, East African Community, Flexibility, Informal & Flexible, Marchés africains, Marketing, Prepaid Economy & Informal Sector, rural, Rural Economy, Strategy, Sub Saharan Africa | Also tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Mobiles at the Border Post: Anti-Atlas of Borders Exhibition Slides (Jan 2016)

By Niti Bhan | Published: January 31, 2018

In January 2016, our submission for the Anti-Atlas of Borders Art Exhibition in Brussels was accepted for a commission of 500e. We were thrilled and surprised since we’d never imagined our work on mobile platforms, technology, and the borderland biashara could be considered from the arts and culture point of view. Here is our story […]

Posted in Africa, African Consumer Market, Afrique francophone, Airtime, Biashara Economics, Business Models, Consommateurs, Consumer Behaviour, Design, Informal & Flexible, Kenya, Marchés africains, Migrant worker, Mobile platform, Photography, Platforms, Prepaid Economy & Informal Sector, Research, Systems, Technologie, Technology, Uganda | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Deconstructing “Formalization” as Panacea for the Informal Economy

By Niti Bhan | Published: July 22, 2017

IGO definitions of the informal economy are crafted from a top down perspective (Global North*) of the operating environment prevalent in the economies of the developing world (Global South*). Further, they do not distinguish between the operating environment of the shadow economies of OECD nations, and those which encompass the unorganized sectors of trade and […]

Posted in Africa, Analysis, Assumption filter, Biashara Economics, Business Models, Culture, Design, Economy, Ecosystem, Emerging Markets, Frameworks, Informal & Flexible, Mama Biashara, Perspective, Prepaid Economy & Informal Sector, Research, Strategy, Sub Saharan Africa, Systems | Also tagged , , , , | Leave a comment


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