Entrepreneurial Handbook System

Problem Statement: Cape Town township entrepreneurs lack the knowledge and support to make use of alternate funding sources

Research

Problem Definition

Ideation

Prototyping

Testing

Presentation

Thesis Documentation

For my Bachelor of Design Degree in Ideation (at Inscape Education Group), the focus of my final thesis project was entrepreneurs from townships in Cape Town. I decided on this topic as I wanted to focus on community upliftment and understand my studies' applications through a Social Innovation lens.

The first step was to conduct secondary and contextual research to gain an understanding of the circumstances, existing aids and to identify the area of focus of the project. I additionally conducted an initial interview with an emerging entrepreneur.  Using this initial research I defined the problem and created a challenge statement. I then conducted further, deep research on funding options and business education concerning entrepreneurs from townships. I interviewed several township entrepreneurs from and working in townships as well as business professionals - from organisations aiming to develop entrepreneurship in South Africa (incubators). I surveyed micro-entrepreneurs who utilise a jobbing platform. Thereafter, I collated my research into an empathy map to understand the township entrepreneurs (as the end-users), a contextual framework for the entire ecosystem and data visualisations from the survey.

Following the deep research and contextual findings, I identified key take-aways and insights to inform the ideation of the solution. I utilised the key insights in an Opportunities Map to guide the ideation process and to conceptualise a larger number of potential solutions. The idea that I decided to develop into a prototype was a combination of ideas with the core focus on the creation of an entrepreneurial handbook.

I identified the key aspects that were ‘must-haves’ in the solution or key features and outlined the chapters of the handbook. I understood that I should have an element of interactivity to the education of the topics in the handbook (to encourage engagement) and therefore I decided to include a quiz format. The first prototype I conceptualised included a choose-an-option quiz that followed a line until a specific outcome. When testing this prototype, with entrepreneurs, I realised that the format was difficult to follow and without guidance, they would not know how to use it. Thereafter I adapted the feedback to conceptualise the full outcome of a system and gained feedback on that concept.

The final outcome, after prototyping and retesting the concept a number of times with both entrepreneurs and business professionals, is a complete guidance system for entrepreneurs. The system starts with the receiving of the handbook, the entrepreneur then gains a mentor to guide them through the concepts of the handbook and provide feedback. At the end of a 6-month period, and completing the handbook, the entrepreneurs are able to take part in an exhibition of their business and sell to potential investors using what they have learnt through the process.