Human-Centred Technologies in Resource-Constraint Settings. Insights from a Frugal Innovation Perspective

This exploratory paper provides an initial overview of frugal innovation (FI) in social entrepreneurship and calls for a greater consideration of the local contextual conditions in the analysis and implementation of FI. To do so, three FI cases from social enterprises in Colombia are presented. It contends that an adequate consideration of local conditions is fundamental in FI, to provide a human-centred technological solution that is more responsive and appropriate for its intended users and their lived reality. The stories of the three social ventures show how the innovators kept the local needs in mind and adjusted their technologies in a way that responded to the local circumstances. The cases illustrate how human-centred technologies in resource-constraint settings can benefit un(der)served users, if they are developed to solve a specific problem and are tailored to the challenges of that particular environment.