2. Contents
Micro and Small Enterprises
Business Incubation
Business incubation challenges
Mobi-Incubation
Problem
User Experience
UX Elements for Mobi-Incubation
Conclusion
3. Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) (1/3)
MSEs are a major contributor to economic growth and job creation
40% drop in the number of start-ups in 2009 compared to 2008 (GEM
Report, 2010)
Existing MSEs are struggling to survive.
8% New MSEs are from urban areas compared to 2% in rural areas
4. MSEs 2/3: Creation of New Firms
Phase 3: Persistence Phase
> 42 months Established Firm
Phase 2 • Trades and
3-42 Months New Firm Phase competes
75% Fail
Phase 1 •Identify the products or
(3 Months) services
Start up Phase •access resources
•set up infrastructure, which
would include staff.
5. Challenges facing MSEs (3/3)
Cultural and social Norms
Lack of
Financial and Business support
Regulatory and Government Policies
Challenges
Unknown and inaccessible
Support structures
Low education level
6. Business incubation process
Business incubation is one of the ways to curb the challenges facing
MSEs in South Africa
8. Current challenges in Business incubation
Incubation theory designed for the developed industrial countries does
not have the same application in South Africa
The large geographical areas is one of the crucial differences and
challenges to South Africa, individuals require access to support in remote
and rural areas, but it is naturally not possible for Incubators to be
established in each of these areas.
In addition, a large proportion of the rural South African inhabitants
have limited access to education, live in poverty, and generally
experience a low quality of life. These are unique needs
A lack of available and appropriate premises, or real estate;
Lack of funding to sustain incubation programmes.
9. What is the alternative?
Mobile phone has the potential to facilitate
business incubation process to improve the
sustainability of rural entrepreneurs
10. Mobi-Incubation
Mobi-Incubation can be defined as a
process of nurturing MSEs by providing
various business support activities
which assist them to grow, a mobile
phone is used to facilitate this process.
11. The concept of Mobi-Incubation
Interaction between the rural MSEs and the
“ Mentor is done via a mobile phone
13. Problem
How can one offer these services over a mobile phone?
Considering the mobile phone challenges i.e screen size
Mobile incubation is dependant on the uptake of the rural
entrepreneurs as end-user
There is limited understanding of the design of mobile
application for users in the rural areas.
Brings us to user experience
14. From Technology Centred to Human
Centred products
Adapted from Roto (2007) ; Seidel, M., Loch, C., Chahil, S. (2005); Pine, J. & Gilmore, J. H.
15. UX definition
ISO (2008) defines UX as
“...a person’s perceptions and responses that result from the use or
anticipated use of product, system or service”
Common Components
1. User
2. Context
3. System/Content
16. User Experience
User
Context
Product/
Content
User – Rural MSE
Context – Rural South Africa
Product – Mobi-Incubation application
17. Mobile User Experience
Mobile technologies are more complex than traditional
information technologies
Mobile technologies present visual and motor challenges
Are unique to mobile
Are sympathetic to the context
To achieve great mobile UX one should focus on the need
and solution
18. Research Question
What user experience elements should
be included in a mobi-Incubation to
ensure a seamless user experience?
20. Future Work
• Ongoing PhD study
•Develop the actual Mobi-Incubation application
•Further identify UX elements
•Investigate the impact of Mobi-Incubation in rural
areas
21. Conclusion
• we are trying to reduce poverty and build a vibrant
economy at the same time.
•Entrepreneurs and particularly rural entrepreneurs find
themselves in the midst of both interventions.
• we propose that mobile technology be used during the
business incubation process
• To ensure sustainability of both entrepreneurs and the
growing economy, it is necessary to design and develop a
mobi-Incubation application that considers all aspects of the
users’ interaction
22. Thank you
Further Enquiries
Edna Chelule
NMMU
and
DStv Online
Email: edna.chelule@dstvo.com
Editor's Notes
Phase 1 comprises of identifying products or services, access to resources..Most new firms fail in the first 42 months of their establishment.
Common challenges facing Entrepreneurs in South Africa
Enterpreneurs go through a selection process, the selected ones go through incubation process where they are located in (central place – an incubator and are exposed to various services. After they are
Business support services The number of South Africans that believe that they have the knowledge, skills and experience required to start a business is rather low [4]. Many South African rural entrepreneurs do not distinguish between their personal expenditure and the business expenditure. It is therefore crucial to provide a way for them to manage their finances. Providing rural entrepreneurs with these skills is crucial for their success. Business support services may include an array of support such as entrepreneurial training and business development advice, as well as services concerning general business matters such as accounting, legal matters, advertising and financial Those of most concern here are those related to business development and entrepreneurial training, including coaching and education related to business planning, leadership marketing, sales and financial assistance. Technical Support servicesDue to the paucity of financial resources for further education, rural entrepreneurs have low literacy levels. It is therefore, necessary to provide technical support for rural entrepreneurs whenever needed. Technical assistance includes research and technology supply pipelines, intellectual property protection and technological know-how skills. Technical support include aspects such as; technology trouble shooting for example printers, faxes and other technology which they many have. Mentoring servicesMentoring refers to the close hand-holding of new rural entrepreneurs. Rural entrepreneurs lack skills in areas such as negotiation, communication, conflict management, time management among others. These skills are essential for the success of any business. Other mentoring services include investments, general support and life skills mentoring. We therefore propose that the mobi-Incubation application should also include these services.
Useful Usefulness is based on usability and utility. This implies that a mobi-Incubation application should give exactly the right kind of service that meets the users’ expectations. Considering the rural entrepreneurs’ physical remoteness and lack of transport, providing them with the correct and complete services will reduce the frustration of having to struggle to access the services elsewhere. Desirable To an increasing extent products should not only fulfil the utilitarian but also hedonic user needs. Therefore, visual design is crucial in order to ensure a positive UX. It is responsible for the clarity of the information and the elements, the simplicity of the tools and features, the pleasant or interesting appearance of the interface, the visual hierarchy, and the look and feel of the interface. mobi-Incubation applications should be designed with appreciation of brand, image and other elements of emotional design.Accessible Accessibility describes how easy it is for people to use the applications. In this case the mobi-Incubation application should be designed in such a way that includes the diversity of all rural entrepreneurs. Findable This aspect focuses on the clarity of information and features, hence a mobi-Incubation application should respond to issues of workflow, the logic and simplicity of information. This should enable users to navigate the application with ease.Usability Usability describes how easily an application can be used by the user. A usable application is effective, efficient, easy to learn, and provides a satisfying user experience. Due to low literacy levels of rural entrepreneurs, usability is vital to the success of mobi-Incubation applications.SustainabilityMobi-Incubation applications should enhance sustainability of entrepreneurs, considering the limited resources available in rural areas. The mobi-Incubation itself should also be sustainable adding value and good experiences to the overall incubation process.Relevant Relevance in this regard refers to the relevance of the content provided for the incubation of entrepreneurs in a local (South African) context. Since rural entrepreneurs face unique challenges for instance low technical skills it is crucial to provide relevant mobi-Incubation services.
we are trying to reduce poverty and build a vibrant economy at the same time. Entrepreneurs and particularly rural entrepreneurs find themselves in the midst of both interventions. In many instances the objectives of developmental and business approaches appear to be in conflict. In an attempt to reconcile these, we propose that mobile technology be used during the business incubation process. Many entrepreneurs appear to fail outright or they do not grow beyond survivalist levels. To ensure sustainability of both entrepreneurs and the growing economy, it is necessary to design and develop a mobi-Incubation application that considers all aspects of the users’ interaction with such an application. Some of these aspects include business principles and needs, context of use, utility and usefulness of the application and relevant local content. Only when all of these and more are in place, will entrepreneurs be empowered to build successful and sustainable business which will contribute to the economic growth of the country.
