Systemic design thinking and complex adaptive systems
Going back to first principles has been a refreshing exercise. Even as our work has taken us into some wholly new places, there’s comfort in knowing that others have thought deeply about the concepts, though not in our context. I’m a firm believer in not re-inventing the wheel. Consider it a working prototype to be […]
How the African movable assets bill can unleash innovation opportunities for the rural economy
As Kenya joins Zambia and Zimbabwe in ratifying a Movable Property Security Rights Act, there’s a sense that the floodgates to innovation in access to finance might be taking place in rural Africa, south of the Sahara and north of South Africa. Kenya’s law also goes beyond the cows and goats and allows a borrower […]
A Framework for New Market Entry Strategy
There are two parts to this article: The first is a revision of the lenses through which we assess the landscape within which your new market strategy will be expected to operate; and the second covers your implicit assumptions at inception, as well as gaps in your mental model. 1. The lenses for innovation need […]
National design and innovation policies: a user centered perspective
I’ve been chewing over Tim Brown’s post on Design Nations since I came across it for the first time yesterday morning. He touches upon Aalto University and Finland in his musings viz., Finland is a great example of a country that has done many of the right things. It has an integrated design and innovation […]
Systems design lessons from challenging and demanding environments
The most common question posed by designers (at the Design Factory, in Finland) has been “What is different about designing for the BoP from the way I already design for mainstream consumers?” Its a good question to ask, because it takes a systemic view of the user centered design process and methods being taught to […]
