When I started this project, my idea was to design a marketplace app based in Kenya. The initial scope included the ability to buy and sell goods and services on the app. However, after careful analysis of the scope, timeframe, and a discussion with my mentor, I made a decision to design the scope in phases and focus on the buy functionality for the purpose of this project. The sell function will be designed at a later date. A feature for Sellers requires another round of user research, based in Kenya, focusing on vendor’s goals, habits, and points of frustration.
This app will be a place where designers and creators can display and sell their products. It will be a place where consumers can shop across a variety of goods made in Kenya and support local entrepreneurship.
The feature for local designers to sell on the site will be designed at a later date. I plan to conduct additional research and interview designers and local entrepreneurs to gain a better understanding of their needs. This may highlight potential design opportunities to enhance the experience not only for consumers but those that sell on the platform.
Kenya Vision 2030, the national development plan to create an industrializing middle income nation with a high quality of life by 2030, identifies the Textile and Clothing sector as a major driver of industrialization. With over 75,000 micro and small companies, local fashion designers and tailors have the potential to contribute to economic development by creating employment and generating income.
Hivos and Equity Bank, "The Kenyan Textile and Fashion Industry: The role of fashion designers and small tailors in the fibre to fashion value chain", June 2016.