Report
Digital Behaviors of Kenyan Micro-Entrepreneurs
Doing Business in the Age of Social Commerce
Authors Caribou
With the support of
Micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) have long been a focus of development actors due to their outsize role in economic livelihoods in the Global South. As mobile technology and digital products become ever more pervasive in social and economic life, it is important to understand how MSEs are using digital platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp to enable their work.
This study focuses on the smallest of MSEs: the micro-entrepreneurs that either work by themselves or have fewer than ten additional employees. Survey responses and data directly from smartphones illuminate the digital behaviors of MSEs and measure the impact and role that platforms play when advertising business, communicating with customers, and more. Ultimately, the study reveals the ways social commerce permeates the digital lives of micro-entrepreneurs.
