case study on innovation in india

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Innovation in Indian Businesses: Case Studies of Disruptive Ideas

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Innovation lies at the heart of every successful business, and the Indian subcontinent has witnessed a surge of disruptive ideas that have reshaped industries and transformed the way we live and work. From technology-driven breakthroughs to novel business models, Indian entrepreneurs have demonstrated remarkable ingenuity and foresight. In this article, we delve into case studies of innovation in Indian businesses, highlighting the transformative power of disruptive ideas and their impact on various sectors in the region.

Flipkart: Revolutionizing E-commerce

Case Study: Flipkart, founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, pioneered the e-commerce landscape in India. By introducing the concept of online shopping and offering a vast range of products at competitive prices, Flipkart disrupted traditional retail and quickly gained widespread popularity. The company’s customer-centric approach, innovative supply chain management, and introduction of Cash on Delivery (COD) revolutionised the way Indians shop.

Paytm: Transforming Digital Payments

Case Study: Paytm, founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, revolutionised digital payments in India. Initially launched as a mobile recharge platform, Paytm evolved into a full-fledged digital wallet and payment gateway. Through its user-friendly interface, secure transactions, and attractive cashback offers, Paytm played a crucial role in promoting digital transactions and financial inclusion in the country.

Oyo: Disrupting the Hospitality Industry

Case Study: Ritesh Agarwal’s Oyo disrupted the hospitality industry by offering standardised, budget-friendly accommodation options. Through its technology-driven approach, Oyo transformed budget hotels into a consistent and reliable option for travellers across India. The company’s aggressive expansion and franchising model have led to its rapid growth and global presence.

BYJU’S: Revolutionising Education

Case Study: BYJU’S, founded by Byju Raveendran, revolutionised the education sector by providing personalised, interactive learning experiences through its e-learning platform. BYJU leverages technology and data analytics to cater to the individual learning needs of students, making education engaging and effective.

Zomato: Redefining Food Delivery

Case Study: Zomato, co-founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah, redefined food delivery and restaurant discovery in India. Through its user-friendly app, Zomato enabled users to browse restaurant menus, read reviews, and place orders conveniently. Zomato’s innovative business model and strategic acquisitions have solidified its position as a leading food-tech company.

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Ather Energy: Revolutionising Electric Vehicles

Case Study: Ather Energy, founded by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, disrupted the electric vehicle market with its smart electric scooters. The company’s focus on technology, performance, and design made electric vehicles more appealing and accessible to Indian consumers. Ather Energy’s innovative subscription-based model and efficient charging infrastructure have set new benchmarks in the industry.

PharmEasy: Revolutionising Healthcare

Case Study: PharmEasy, founded by Dharmil Sheth and Dhaval Shah, transformed the way Indians access healthcare services. Through its online pharmacy platform, PharmEasy provides convenient access to medicines and diagnostic tests, making healthcare more accessible and affordable for millions.

Razorpay: Streamlining Online Payments

Case Study: Razorpay, co-founded by Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar, revolutionised online payments by offering seamless payment solutions to businesses. Its innovative technology and user-friendly interface simplify the payment process for merchants and customers alike, contributing to the growth of the digital economy in India.

Swiggy: Disrupting Food Delivery

Case Study: Swiggy, founded by Sriharsha Majety, Nandan Reddy, and Rahul Jaimini, disrupted the food delivery industry with its efficient logistics and fast delivery model. Swiggy’s innovative approach to last-mile delivery and its wide restaurant network has made it a leading player in the food delivery space.

Unacademy: Transforming Online Education

Case Study: Unacademy, founded by Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini, and Hemesh Singh, revolutionised online education by providing free and paid courses taught by experienced educators. The platform’s interactive approach, live classes, and comprehensive course offerings have made quality education accessible to millions of learners across India.

The case studies of innovation in Indian businesses underscore the transformative power of disruptive ideas. Visionary entrepreneurs have leveraged technology, customer-centricity, and innovative business models to reshape industries, improve lives, and drive economic growth. These success stories serve as an inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs and highlight the importance of embracing innovation to stay ahead in the competitive business landscape of the Indian subcontinent. As the region continues to evolve, the spirit of innovation will play a pivotal role in shaping a brighter and more prosperous future for India and beyond.

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A Systems View Across Time and Space

• Open access
• Published: 22 April 2015

User innovation and entrepreneurship: case studies from rural India

• Vanita Yadav 1 &
• Preeti Goyal 2  

Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship volume  4 , Article number:  5 ( 2015 ) Cite this article

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Innovation research has abundant literature on technologically advanced innovations and entrepreneurship. However, literature from a rural innovator and entrepreneur perspective is sparse. Therefore, we explore rural user innovation and entrepreneurship in a developing country, India. Using multiple case study research method, we study cases of five rural user innovations in detail. These rural innovators innovated to alleviate the drudgery of their lives and to fulfill their need for a low-cost local solution to a widespread rural problem. They often face a resource void for commercializing their innovations and we find that external actors can play an enabling role in filling this void. The findings of our study help propose a framework for enabling rural innovation and entrepreneurship in developing countries like India. Further, in addition to poverty alleviation, we found that there was a positive social impact on the lives of rural entrepreneurs and their community.

User innovation and entrepreneurship is an important phenomenon, which competes with and may displace producer innovation in many areas (Baldwin and Von Hippel 2011 ). There is a growing interest in this field and we know very little about its applicability in the developing economies.

Research on user innovation and entrepreneurship to date has focused almost entirely on developed economy settings (Enos 1962 ; Knight 1963 ; Freeman 1968 ; von Hippel 1988 , 2005 ; Shah and Tripas 2007 ). The phenomenon is understudied from the developing economy's perspective. Gupta ( 2006 ) reports numerous examples of rural innovations occurring in India. However, his study does not examine these rural innovations from the user innovation perspective.

Bruton et al. ( 2008 ) suggest that there is a need to examine the applicability of existing innovation and entrepreneurship theories in a developing economy context to advance our theoretical understanding of this field. This context is quite different from that pertaining in developed economies. For example, institutional arrangements supporting markets are either absent or weak in developing economies resulting in institutional voids (Mair and Marti 2009 ). This is impedes entrepreneurial activities in developing countries like Bangladesh (Mair et al. 2012 ) and India (Khanna and Palepu 2010 ).

In this paper we address this gap in the literature by examining rural innovation and entrepreneurship in India using the user innovation theoretical lens. Specifically, we ask the following research questions: (1) Why do rural users innovate? (2) How do they innovate? (3) How do they commercialize their products to become user entrepreneurs? (4) What is its impact on the individual rural user entrepreneur? (5) What is the impact of rural user entrepreneurship on the society or local community?

The paper proceeds as follows: First, we present a theoretical overview of user innovation theory and highlight the gap in literature. Next, we discuss the findings from our case studies and present a cross-case analysis. Then, we summarize our findings and discuss the implications of our study.

Theoretical overview

User innovation theory.

von Hippel's ( 1988 ) work on sources of innovation reveals that users (both individuals and user firms) have developed some of the most important products and processes for their own use. He defines user innovators as a firm or individual that creates an innovation to use it. Examples of user innovation can include a surgeon inventing a new medical device for his/her use or a sports enthusiast creating new sports equipment for his/her own use.

Studies in many fields have documented the importance of user innovation. For example, in oil refining, user firms developed nearly all of the important innovations (Enos 1962 ). Users developed nearly 80% of the important scientific instruments (von Hippel 1976 ). Users also developed majority of the major innovations in semiconductor processing (von Hippel 1988 ) and in sports equipment (Hienerth 2006 ). In British firms, considerable fractions of inventions were for in-house usage (Pavitt 1984 ). Literature on user innovation reports empirical evidences from various countries like USA, UK, Canada, and Netherlands. Empirical studies reveal that users ranging from 6% to 40% develop and modify products (Baldwin and Von Hippel 2011 ). All this highlights the fact that users are developers of a significant number of innovations that exist in the world today. Baldwin and von Hippel ( 2011 ) argue that we are now witnessing a paradigm shift from the traditional producer innovation model to a user and open collaborative innovation model. von Hippel ( 1986 ) also suggests that needs of user innovators can be idiosyncratic or can reflect the needs of a larger population.

User entrepreneurship

We define user entrepreneurs as firms or individuals that initially create an innovation for their own use and then later commercialize the innovation for sale in the marketplace. The conventional understanding of entrepreneurship suggests that recognition of a commercial marketplace opportunity precedes prototype development (Venkataraman 1997 ). In contrast, the emerging literature on user innovation and entrepreneurship suggests that the process can be reverse. That is, user entrepreneurs first develop prototypes and subsequently recognize the commercialization potential of their product or service (Shah and Tripsas 2007 ; Haefliger et al. 2010 ). User innovators develop this insight into commercial potential by using and gaining experience with the product or service they have developed for their own use (Haefliger et al. 2010 ).

Shah and Tripsas ( 2007 ) pp. 124 define user entrepreneurship as ‘the commercialization of a new product or service by an individual or group of individuals who are also users of that product or service.’ They further classify user entrepreneurs as professional-user entrepreneurs and end-user entrepreneurs. Professional-user entrepreneurs are those individuals who use a product/service in their professional lives while remaining embedded in the organization. And end-user entrepreneurs are those individuals who use a product/service in their daily life and then commercialize it. Professional-user entrepreneurs have been studied in the ice-harvesting industry (Utterback 1994 ) and in probe microscopy (Mody 2006 ). End-user entrepreneurs have been studied in rodeo kayaking (Baldwin et al. 2006 ), mountain bicycle (Luthje et al. 2005 ), and automobile industries (Franz 2005 ), among others.

Research also highlights that user entrepreneurs are different from other entrepreneurs due to their direct experience with the need and prototype solutions. Although the importance of users as sources of innovations is well established in the existing literature on innovation studies (von Hippel 2005 ), the importance of users as a source of entrepreneurial activity is a relatively understudied area (Shah and Tripsas 2007 ). Shah and Tripsas ( 2007 ) argue that even though users innovate, commercialization of their innovations will be rare. Using the case of juvenile products, they suggest that users are most likely to be ‘accidental entrepreneurs’ and that accidental community interactions play a key role in their entrepreneurial pursuit.

User entrepreneurs derive benefits from the feedback and contributions through a collective social process. Using the example of firms founded by users of video games, Haefliger et al. ( 2010 ) suggest that user entrepreneurs derive their designs from existing products or technologies. Using the case history of rodeo kayaking, Baldwin et al. ( 2006 ) discuss how the level of entrepreneurial activity changes with changing economics of manufacturing. This is because subsequent user innovations and investment in production technology changes the nature of products and its demand.

At the macro level, Saemundsson and von Hippel ( 2010 ) study the level of user entrepreneurship in a country and how user entrepreneurs differ from other entrepreneurs in their attitudes and aspirations. Chandra and Coviello ( 2010 ) present a four-part typology of ‘consumers as international entrepreneurs.’ Shah et al. ( 2006 ) posit that the likelihood of users engaging in entrepreneurship is highest during the early phases of an industry lifecycle and declines rapidly over time. Furthermore, Shah and Tripsas ( 2007 ) posit that user entrepreneurship is likely to exist in industries where usage of the product or service provides enjoyment as opposed to pure economic benefits.

Paucity of user innovation and entrepreneurship literature from India

The existing literature on user entrepreneurs employs case studies from sports (Baldwin et al. 2006 ), specialized technology (Haefliger et al. 2010 ), and juvenile products (Shah and Tripsas 2007 ) - all examples of innovations from developed economies. There is a paucity of literature from developing economies. We carried out an extensive search in the online available databases like Proquest, EBSCO, JSTOR, and Google scholar to look for studies from rural areas in developing countries. To search, we used combinations of keywords like ‘user innovation + rural/grassroots/developing country/developing economy/India,’ ‘user entrepreneurship + rural/grassroots/developing country/developing economy/India’ and searched for words in title or author supplied keywords or abstract. The search results either displayed no papers or put forward a few papers that were not relevant for our search criterion. To decide on relevance, we read the abstracts of these papers and then dropped those papers that were not studies of Indian user innovation or user entrepreneurship. As a result, our search yielded no papers on user innovation or user entrepreneurship from India. Our search was restricted to papers published in journals and we did not search working and conference papers. Thus, our study is an important stepping stone to theory building from a developing country perspective in the area of user innovation and entrepreneurship.

Results and discussion

We began our research by looking for evidence of user innovation and user entrepreneurship occurring in rural India. We focused primarily on rural India because 70% of the Indian population lives in rural areas (PTI Press Trust of India 2011 ). The next step was to understand the phenomenon in detail and examine the unique manifestations of 150 user innovation theory in the Indian context. This could be feasible only through qualitative research design, and case study emerged as the logical research method. This section discusses the findings from our case studies. We first provide a brief description of the individual cases (see Table 1 for comparative descriptions). Then, we discuss the cross-case analysis in the light of our research questions.

Brief case summaries

Innovation case 1: cotton stripper.

In India, the traditional process of separating cotton lint from its shell is manual and involves separating by hand the firmly attached lint from the inner side of the cotton shell. Mansukhbhai Patel, a farmer, says that mainly women and children are employed to do this. In this process, cotton dust is emitted in the air, which is a serious health hazard. It has been found that workers exposed to an environment laden with cotton dust can become patients of byssinosis, a lung disease (Kumar 2008 ). Patel well understood the pain of the manual process as he was employed for cotton stripping in his childhood days.

I have seen the manual and tedious work. It was time consuming, it would take months and the rains would come and there would be huge losses for the farmers… Women and children had to do this backbreaking work and school going children were also employed in this job. I was also allocated this task. Studying or going to school was last priority. Father - mother said, ‘this much work has to be done and then study or go to school’. - Patel (translated from personal interviews)

Since then, he felt that he should do something to alleviate this drudgery. He dropped from school after 9th grade due to poverty and continued to work in his cotton field. He also did many odd jobs and picked up mechanical skills by working as an electrician and mechanic in cotton mills. In 1991 to 1992, he developed a machine that could mechanically strip cotton from its shell by borrowing money from his family and friends. He tested the machine in his farm and built many prototypes before it operated as per his satisfaction. Patel finally achieved a workable commercial solution with the seventh prototype and GIAN helped in mobilizing the technical support from premier education institutions like National Institute of Design (NID) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). He also obtained intellectual property rights protection for his product in India and in the USA with the help of NIF. Patel now owns five small firms with a turnover of over US$ 0.3 million.

Innovation case 2: mitticool (innovative clay products)

Clay pottery was the traditional business of Mansukhbhai Prajapati's family living in a small village in rural India. Prajapati failed in 10th grade and dropped out of school. Due to meager financial returns, Prajapati gave up pottery. He ended up earning his livelihood by doing odd jobs at various places like running a small tea stall or working in a factory for 4 years. While working for a brick roof tiles factory, he was inspired to build a machine to make clay products with high efficiency. So, he returned back to his family occupation - pottery. The clay used for this is somewhat different than the clay used for hand pottery and it took him some time to master this clay composition. He began by making earthen clay pots and hot plates in 1988. Most people in rural India use clay pots to store drinking water and hot plates or tawa for cooking flat wheat bread. In rural areas, the earthen pots are a natural way of keeping drinking water cool in summers. In January 2001, an earthquake registering 7.9 on the Richter scale devastated the Indian state of Gujarat and all earthen pots of Prajapati were broken.

A photographer took pictures of my broken clay pots and published in the newspaper with a headline ‘Garib Ka Fridge Tut Gaya’ (Refrigerator of the Poor has Broken). I thought; he is calling my pot a fridge. We also want a fridge but do not have money to purchase one… so…why don’t I make a clay fridge for myself… and I started experimenting with clay to make a clay refrigerator that did not need electricity to cool. In 2005, my wife wanted a nonstick pan for cooking and when I went to the market to buy one, I saw the cost was INR 450 (US$8). It was very expensive for me and I thought- can’t I do something to my clay hotplates to make them nonstick. I worked on it for 1.5 years… - Prajapati (translated from personal interviews)

Prajapati created many innovative clay products like the Mitticool clay refrigerator, the nonstick clay tawa (hot plate) and the clay pressure cooker. The name of the refrigerator ‘Mitticool’ comes from the Hindi word mitti , which in means ‘clay.’ The clay refrigerator can be used to store cold water, food, fruits, and vegetables without any electricity or any artificial form of energy. It works on the simple principal of cooling by evaporation. Water from the upper chambers drips down the sides and evaporates, which leaves the inner chamber cool. It can be good alternative for people living in rural areas where electricity is not available or for those who are poor and cannot afford the conventional refrigerator. Financially, Prajapati has been able to move out of poverty and he received 25 awards including one from the President of India.

Innovation case 3: Bullet Santi (motorcycle-driven ploughing machine)

In 1994, the region of Amreli in the western part of India faced severe drought. The cost of manual labor was high and tilling the dry farmland became difficult. There was also shortage of cattle fodder and Mansukhbhai Jagani could no longer afford to use his cattle for tilling his farm. These difficult conditions compelled Jagani to sell his bullocks and his farming suffered. He started thinking of ways by which he could come out of this misery.

With no money and bullocks, I had no choice but to think of an alternative way to plough our 20 bighas of land. I got this idea of developing a ‘Bullet Santi’ from ‘Chhakdas’, the common mode of three-wheeler transport in Saurashtra. - Jagani (translated from personal interview)

Jagani had also worked as a farm mechanic repairing diesel engines and farming equipment. He borrowed his friend's Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle and tried attaching a tiller to it. He created attachments using cheap and used components from foundries. The idea seemed to work and he further experimented with different ploughing attachments that could be fixed behind the motorcycle for farming. Jagani replaced the rear wheel with a set two smaller wheels and attached a metal plough behind the bike. He began using it for ploughing in his farm. It eliminated the need of bullocks or laborers for ploughing and Jagani named it ‘Bullet Santi,’ where Santi means ‘plough.’ The motorcycle had a 5.5 horsepower diesel engine and with the attachments it could be used as a multipurpose machine for ploughing, sowing, interculturing, spraying insecticides, or a small goods carrier. Other farmers also saw value in his invention and started approaching him for similar solutions.

The machine worked as a faster alternative to the traditional farming method that uses bullocks and as a cheaper alternative to modern farming methods that use tractors. In 1994, Jagani had developed the first prototype. Subsequently, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Lab in India helped Jagani improve the product design, and NIF and GIAN helped in its commercialization. His product got a patent in India and in the USA. Jagani has been able to move out of poverty and also received national level awards by NIF.

Innovation case 4: biomass gasifier

While other children went to school, Rai Singh Dahiya worked and helped his parents in their farm in rural India. He would weed and water the plants, look after the cattle, and do other jobs. They lived in a temporary or kutcha house made of mud and clay. Water would often come inside the house during rains and having a good meal was a luxury. Even though he could not attend school due to poverty, he had a keen desire to learn and was a regular listener of BBC radio for Science called Gyan - Vigyan . Dahiya had an inquisitive mind and he would often experiment with things. He would dismantle and again assemble anything that he could lay his hands on, for example, watches, clocks, radio, or farm machinery. He would often make models with mud and felt that he understood the language of machines.

In 1982, he started a brick kiln in which bricks are baked by burning the agriculture waste. He noticed that burning of biowaste in the kiln was producing gas. He thought whether he could store this gas and explore what it could be used for. Later in 1991, he opened a small workshop to repair tractors and farm equipment because he found machines fascinating and enjoyed identifying and solving problems. During that time, the fuel prices were going up and Dahiya felt that he must find some cheaper alternative to fuel.

LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) was becoming expensive, diesel was becoming expensive. I thought let me try to use the gas produced in my kiln to run the engine… this gas can also replace our cooking fuel and can be very cheap. - Dahiya (translated from personal interviews)

Dahiya thought about making an engine that could run on gas from farm waste or even cow dung. He made product designs using bricks and contemplated how he could make them using iron, other metal and old diesel engines. After years of experimenting, in 2001, he succeeded in running a diesel engine on biofuel by converting biomass into producer gas.

I faced lot of problems in the process. The engine would run for some time and then would stop. I had to open it, clean it, and then run again. I had no idea about filtration then… I thought about it and worked on it… Finally, in 2002, I made a fan filter and the engine ran successfully. - Dahiya (translated from personal interviews)

The unit consisted of a gasifier, which was conical in shape surrounded by a water jacket. The gasifier generated producer gas from biowaste and Dahiya used it to run diesel engines. Dahiya did not even know what to call his invention. In 2001, NIF scouted him and provided commercialization support. He has sold over 80 units of varied capacity and the latest version of the biomass gasifier is made of steel. It has the capacity to produce 1 kilowatt power to run an engine for 1 h from 1 kg of biowaste.

Dahiya has come a long way from extreme poverty to now owning property, which is a three-story building having his shops on the ground floor. He himself is illiterate and worked hard to ensure that his three children get education.

My eldest daughter is doing PhD. My younger daughter has completed MBA and my son is doing BBA. - Dahiya (translated from personal interviews)

Innovation case 5: multipurpose processing machine

Dharamveer Kamboj hails from a poor farmer family in the northern part of rural India. He studied in school until the 10th grade and then started assisting his father. Overburdened with loans, he decided to go to the nearby metropolitan city Delhi and work as a rickshaw puller to earn some money. He worked there for 2 years but had to return back to his village after meeting with an accident. He was bedridden for months and his family faced severe hardships. After recovering, he thought about growing medicinal herbs in his farm and visited the horticulture department in a small city called Ajmer in India. He had heard that there was a need for herbal plants during his stay in Delhi. Kamboj started with plants like aloe vera and stilia and built a small nursery.

Then came the problem of processing these herbal plants. He knew that there was a demand for aloe vera gel and he could make money by extracting and processing the aloe vera gel. But Kamboj did not have the money to buy the expensive machines existing in the market. Additionally, these machines could not carry out multiple functions that he wanted. Kamboj thought about building a processing machine something on the lines of a food processer which would not only extract pulp or juice from the plants that he was growing but also convert them into powder form. He borrowed money and struggled for 8 months in designing and building the machine. In 2005, he was able to build the first prototype. He took help of a local factory for fabrication and welding.

NIF scouted and helped commercialize his product. GIAN assisted Kamboj in product design improvement. Kamboj has made several changes in product design and the latest version is capable of extracting oil and juice from various herbs, fruits and vegetables. It can also work as pulp extractor, dry grinder, boiler, or sterilizer. It can be used to boil rice, make ketchup or puree from tomatoes, or make dry powder from spices or fruits. It can also be used to extract ripe mango pulp without breaking the seeds. Kamboj now earns a decent income per month that enables him to live comfortably and provide education to his children. He also provides employment to more than 25 people from the village in his manufacturing unit.

Cross-case analysis

Rq1: why do rural users innovate.

The common aspect found in all the five case studies was that the user innovators were poor and professionally dissatisfied. They had experienced hardships due to poverty in their lives. In case studies of Patel, Jagani, and Kamboj, we find that they innovated to automate a manual process that was time-consuming and laborious. Four case studies also reveal that the users innovated to fulfill a necessity for a low-cost solution as compared to the existing products in the market. For instance, Dahiya innovated a biofuel because the diesel was expensive, Jagni innovated a motorcycle-driven plough because tractors were very expensive, Prajapati innovated a mitticool fridge because existing market refrigerator unaffordable, and Kamboj innovated the multipurpose machine because the existing machines were expensive and offered limited functionality. However, Patel's need to innovate was driven by desire to alleviate drudgery of the manual cotton stripping process.

RQ2: how did the rural users innovate?

In this question, we tried to study the process of rural user innovation. We find that the users were well aware of their local need and the constraints of their environment. This drives them to develop an idea of a product. For example, Patel got an idea to build a machine for stripping cotton, Prajapati got an idea to build a clay-based refrigerator, Jagni got an idea to attach ploughing implements to a motorcycle, Dahiya thought of using the gas produced in his kiln, and Kamboj got an idea to build a machine on the lines of a food processor. The next step in the innovation process was to seek financial help to build the product, as all of them were poor. They primarily relied on informal means of obtaining finance either from family members or friends. All of them had little or no educational backgrounds and were not conversant with the process of obtaining financial support from financial institutions. Additionally, they had no collateral to submit to banks. After acquiring financial support from informal sources, they built an initial working prototype.

RQ3: how did rural users commercialize their products and become entrepreneurs?

The rural user innovators initially developed the product to meet their individual need but also thought about its commercial viability mainly to earn some money. They start using their product and show its use to other people living in their rural community. The rural innovators also tried to sell their product but were not able to successfully participate in the market and experienced a chasm. They tried to pick up business skills while on-the-job primarily through experiential learning. External organizations like NIF helped these rural innovators and they received financial support, without collateral, from NIF's Micro Venture Fund. They also receive marketing, intellectual property rights (IPR), and business development support through NIF and its partner organizations like GIAN, SRISTI, and Honey Bee network. Four rural user innovators, namely, Patel, Jagani, Dahiya, and Kamboj, received product design and development support from premier educational institutions in India with the help of NIF. As a result, they are able to improve their products and build technologically better commercial prototypes. With support from external institutions, they are able to sell the final product to more number of customers from different geographic locations in India. Some user entrepreneurs also sell their products in international markets like Dahiya received queries for his biomass gasifier from Africa, Germany, Singapore, and Pakistan. Prajapati has exported his mitticool refrigerator to Nairobi in Africa. Kamboj has exported his multipurpose processing machine to Kenya and has queries from Ethiopia.

RQ4: what is the impact on the individual rural entrepreneur?

We find that the five rural user entrepreneurs not only experience economic but also social gains. All the five rural entrepreneurs are able to generate livelihood for themselves and earn money by selling their products. All of them report that by becoming an entrepreneur they have been able to move out of poverty. In four cases, we also see increased productivity and efficiency of work. For instance, Patel reported his cotton stripper brought down cotton stripping cost from US$ 0.02 per kg to US$ 0.02 per 20 kg. All the five user entrepreneurs state that their entrepreneurial career has impacted them at a personal level. It has helped build self-confidence and has instilled a sense of self-respect. They proudly report that their community also respects them now as they have received national level recognition through awards and media coverage. All of them report that their standard of living has improved and they are now able to provide school and college education to their children.

RQ5: what is the impact of rural entrepreneurship on society or local community?

Through this research question we tried to explore whether there was any spillover effect of their entrepreneurial career on the society at large. We find that the creation of entrepreneurs, in our case rural user entrepreneurs, offers economic, social, and environmental gains for the society. Specifically, we find that customers get access to low-cost products like the mitticool refrigerator or the motorcycle-driven plough or low-cost biofuel. Two user entrepreneurs, namely, Patel and Kamboj, report their customers have experienced economic gains as reduced cost of production after using their machines. After analyzing the interview data of user entrepreneurs and the NIF chairman, we find that there is also a society-level impact like employment generation, improving quality of life for the poor, health benefits, and building a sense of pride in the community of the user entrepreneur. For example, Kamboj provides employment to 25 rural villagers in his small factory. Further, many rural women who bought Kamboj's machine have generated employment for themselves by processing and selling herbal products from their homes. Mitticool refrigerators offer cold water and food storage options to the poor. The cotton stripper offers health benefits by eliminating the harmful manual procedure traditionally used for cotton stripping.

All the five user entrepreneurs state that there has been a development of social pride within their communities. In one case, we find that the user entrepreneur has brought about change in their community, for instance, Kamboj states that there has been a parivartan ki lahar meaning ‘a wave of change’ that has enabled self-employment in whichever village his machine has reached. Finally, two case studies also reveal environmental benefits in the form of ecofriendly products like biofuel and clay-based natural refrigerators.

Towards a framework of rural user innovation and entrepreneurship in India

In this section, we discuss the findings of our study in the light of literature on user innovation theory and posit a framework of rural user innovation and entrepreneurship in India (see Figure  1 ). As discussed earlier, prior literature suggests that user innovation is driven by in-house use benefits (von Hippel 1988 , 2005 ). Prior literature also indicates that innovators develop their innovation using primarily the information and resources they have (Luthje et al. 2005 ). Prior literature on user entrepreneurship indicates that users innovate for their own use and only later discover the commercial possibilities in their products (Shah and Tripsas 2007 ). Finally, prior literature indicates that ‘lead’ users - those ahead of an important market trend - will tend to innovate (von Hippel 1986 ).

Results summary: framework of rural user innovation and entrepreneurship in India.

In our case studies, we observed that these factors hold in the case of rural innovators in India. The innovators' need for a low-cost solution or alleviating drudgery of their lives was their key driver for innovation. In other words, necessity is indeed the mother of invention in the case of rural user innovators. These are proposed as antecedent conditions/factors for rural user innovation in our model of rural user innovation and entrepreneurship in India (see Figure  1 ).

Driven by these antecedent factors, the rural user innovates and develops a product. His understanding of the local environment and its constraints shapes the product development process. Most of the rural innovators did not have any formal education or training; yet, it is this familiarity with their environment that enabled them to develop local solutions. They understand the needs as well as the constraints of the communities and its environment. This is in concurrence with the finding of Lujthe et al. ( 2005 ) where they suggest that user innovators mostly use ‘local’ information both for determining the need for and for developing solutions for their innovations. Lujthe and von Hippel (2006) define local information as knowledge already in possession of the innovators or the innovators themselves have generated it.

Next, we find that some of these innovations are built on existing products that are meant for purposes other than what the original product was meant for, like Jagni modified a motorcycle for use as a farm ploughing machine. This transformation is not unique to rural user innovations as prior literature also reports transformations in other cases of user innovation. The shooting films in video games (Haefliger et al. 2010 ) and the transformation of a phonograph turntable from a playback device into a musical instrument (Faulkner and Runde 2009 ) in its own right are examples of similar innovations with technological transformations.

The antecedent factors drive the user to conceptualize the idea for an innovative solution and the user now initiates the process of developing the user innovation (Figure  1 ). The process of rural user innovation is an interplay of local knowledge and innovative transformations in order to seek solutions for local problems and alleviate drudgery. The rural user tries to overcome his constraints by seeking financial and moral support from family and friends. This is represented as enabling factors for rural user innovation in the model. It is import to note that at this stage, the rural user is dependent only on his informal network for support. His low educational background, poor financial conditions, and limited knowledge on how to seek finance from financial institutions limit him to reach out to only his informal network for innovation development support.

In our five cases, the innovators were lead users with respect to the important general trend - driven by ‘bottom of the pyramid’ demand - for extremely low-cost solutions. In each case we studied, expensive solutions existed in the marketplace for the needs each experienced - but in each case, the rural innovators were too poor to purchase these solutions. In addition, given their poverty, the solutions were not appropriately designed to suit their needs. Thus, commercial tractors did exist which could perform the same task as the Jagni-modified motorcycle, which he developed as a farm ploughing machine. Similarly, commercial gas and electric refrigerators do exist which could perform the same task as Prajapati's evaporative cooling clay refrigerator. The innovations that these five entrepreneurs developed performed the functions of existing products - but filled a leading-edge marketplace demand in the sense of being well ahead on the dimension of low cost.

Going forward, having a good and useful innovation does not necessarily translate into an entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship literature suggests that to be an entrepreneurial individual, one needs to possess certain core human attributes (Shane 2003 ) like willingness to bear uncertainty (Kihlstrom and Laffont 1979 ), tolerance for ambiguity (Schere 1982 ), or need for achievement (McClelland 1961 ). We find in our case studies that the rural user innovators kept on trying despite their difficult living and working conditions. They all wanted to alleviate drudgery of their lives by innovating. In other words, as an individual, they all were willing to take risk and face uncertainty. They kept on trying even after losing money or their personal belongings like their house as seen in the case of Prajapati.

Further, if we look at the traditional model of new product development, we find that it is a process that starts with the generation of ideas, which undergoes a number of iterations and finally lead to the commercial launch of new products (Cooper and Kleinschmidt 1993 ; Cooper 1996 ; Fox et al. 1998 ). This is in line with the findings from all our case studies. We find that the rural user develops an idea and initiates the process of user innovation by building a prototype or initial product, which undergoes a series of changes before it could be commercialized. The cotton stripper was modified seven times over a period of 10 years. The motorcycle-driven plough, biomass gasifier, mitticool refrigerator, and multicrop thresher were all modified multiple times during the commercialization process.

Our case studies also reveal that rural innovators had poor understanding of obtaining formal finance from financial institutions, little exposure to the world at large, and limited technical know-how to make advanced product design modifications. As a result, there existed a chasm, which they had to overcome in order to bring their product to market and achieve profitable sales. This chasm or void was filled by the external organizations who not only provide financial support but also other forms of support, which is required to commercialize a product. Our finding is contrary to the finding of Lettl et al. ( 2006 ) where they report that users of medical equipment technology are not only inventors but also codevelopers. These advanced users play an entrepreneurial role and themselves organize the required innovation networks to commercialize their products. In our case studies, we find that the rural users are able to organize only informal innovation networks for seeking finance and resources to build their initial product. Due to their educational and financial backgrounds, they are unable to organize formal innovation networks to grow and achieve sales in markets outside their immediate community/village. Thus, a void or a chasm impedes their market participation and some form of external institutional support is required to enable participation in larger markets.

The literature on institutional voids also suggests that in many developing economies, formal institutional arrangements that support markets are absent, weak, or fail to achieve stated goals (Mair and Marti 2009 ). The biggest challenge for developing economies like India is to enable participation of the poor in markets. Puffer et al. ( 2010 ) used institutional theory to study entrepreneurship in China and Russia. They report slow development of efficient and legitimate formal institutions in Russia and China resulting in institutional voids. These entrepreneurs mainly relied on informal institutional arrangements of their trusted networks to fill the void of formal institutions. In our case studies, we also find that the rural users sought help from their informal network of family and friends. This is clearly different from the case of entrepreneurs from developed economies who operate with relatively higher certainty under effective formal institutions.

We find that external actors played an enabling role in product commercialization in our case studies. All the five rural user innovators took help from external organizations such as NIF, GIAN, SRISTI, and educational institutions in India such as IIT and others. Specifically, they got financial support, marketing and business development support, and IPR-related services from these external organizations. Therefore, in our model, we posit that the support provided by external actors like the government, non-government organizations, educational institutions, and private sector organizations act as critical enabling factors that can help the rural user entrepreneur cross the chasm by acquiring the required resources and skills to commercialize their product. This is a two-way interaction wherein the rural user entrepreneur primarily seeks financial support, but these external actors like NIF scout the rural innovator and extend not only financial but also marketing, business development, and legal support. We also posit that the rural user innovator is able to commercialize his product and become a user entrepreneur only when he possesses some individual level entrepreneurial traits like bearing risk and trying to build product prototypes despite all constrains (Figure  1 ).

After the commercialization of an innovation, the economic benefits for the entrepreneur are well documented (Wennekers and Thurik 1999 ; Van Praag and Versloot 2008 ). We found this to be true in our cases as they all were able to move out of poverty. In addition to the economic benefits, we found that there was a positive social impact on the lives of these rural user entrepreneurs. The user entrepreneurs enjoyed social recognition and also experienced greater self-esteem, social respect, and acceptability. For example, Patel's social acceptability took a dramatic turn with the success of his entrepreneurial venture. He was initially critiqued as a failure but after his entrepreneurial pursuit he became the ‘pride of his community.’ Furthermore, coverage of such stories by television channels like Discovery or NDTV increased confidence and self-esteem in rural user entrepreneurs.

In addition to the impact at an individual level, rural user entrepreneurship is likely to make a significant impact at the society or community level. The products innovated and commercialized for the rural level improve the users' quality of life by having access to products that are usually considered as basic necessities in developed economies. In addition, the commercialization of innovated products may also provide health benefits in the form of reduced harmful impacts as seen in the case of cotton stripper machine and the nonstick clay tawa . The use of cotton stripper increased the production and improved the quality of cotton ready for ginning, which increased profitability. This suggests that the increased efficiency and productivity with the use of the product also leads to the economic prosperity of its users. Instances of such cross-pollination would be in line with the suggestions of World Bank's published research (Dutz 2007 ) on increasing India's innovation potential. The report suggests that supporting networks and institutions like NIF and others can promote grassroots level rural innovations, which are likely to assist in poverty alleviation and sustainable development (Utz and Dahlman 2007 ).

As seen in the case of Prajapati, individuals who may have been considered ordinary on becoming successful can be a ‘source of pride’ for their community. On the whole, this sense of social pride is likely to lead to a feeling of well-being in communities. Furthermore, the products of rural user entrepreneurs can also offer environmental benefits and can possibly offer sustainable solutions for future generations. The case study of Prajapati's mitticool clay products and Dahiya's biomass gasifier discussed earlier is an example of environmental friendly products.

To conclude, in our framework, we suggest that antecedent conditions motivate rural users to initiate the process of rural user innovation. This rural user innovator is likely to commercialize his products and become a rural user entrepreneur with the help of enabling factors. Moving forward, rural user entrepreneurship is likely to have an individual level as well as societal/community level impact.

Conclusions

Implications for research, practice, and policy.

Innovation is seen as crucial vehicle for increasing India's growth and helping reduce poverty and rising living standards (Dutz 2007 ). Nearly 90% of India's workforce is employed in the informal sector, which is typically characterized by low productivity and low-skill activities, and about 60% is employed in the informal agriculture sector. India would benefit from encouraging rural level innovation by promoting creative efforts by the poor (Utz and Dahlman 2007 ). To overcome institutional voids in developing countries like India, there is a need to create and strengthen formal institutional arrangements that can support rural level innovation and entrepreneurship.

We studied cases of five rural user entrepreneurs using the case study research method. From our findings and cross-case analysis, we posit a framework which suggests that rural user innovation is likely to occur when there is a strong desire to alleviate drudgery and a need to fulfill a necessity for a low-cost local solution. Further, we suggest that rural users experience a chasm/void and the commercialization of their product is more likely to occur with the help of enabling factors, such as individuals (like friends and family) and external institutions (like the government and non-government organizations, educational institutions, and private sector organizations).

In addition to the economic benefits to the entrepreneur, we also found that there was a positive social impact on the lives of the rural user entrepreneurs. The rural user entrepreneurs enjoyed social recognition, experienced greater self-esteem, social respect, and acceptability. Further, rural user innovation and entrepreneurship is likely to make an impact at the community/society level also. The increased efficiency and productivity with the use of the product is likely to lead to the economic prosperity for its user community. The users of such products are likely to experience improved quality of life by gaining access to affordable low-cost products meeting their local needs. Further, some of these products can also offer health benefits in the form of reduced harmful impacts of existing products/methods as seen in the case of Patel's cotton stripping machine.

Overall, our study contributes to the growing area of user innovation and entrepreneurship. It extends the applicability of user innovation theory in the context of developing economies like India. However, our findings need to be supplemented with large-scale quantitative studies to draw generalizations. In particular, policymakers can help promote entrepreneurship in rural areas by creating innovative mechanisms and institutional arrangements that facilitate rural entrepreneur's participation in markets.

We followed Yin ( 2003 ) for our case research design and Miles and Huberman ( 1994 ) for analyzing the qualitative data.

Sample and data collection

We began our study with an online search for data on user innovation and entrepreneurship in rural India. This led us to online databases and websites of four nodal organizations for rural innovations in India, namely, National Innovation Foundation (NIF), Honeybee Network, Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI), and Grassroots Innovations Augmentation Network (GIAN). We crosschecked the applicability of these databases for our study with four academic experts in India.

We found that these organizations maintain a database of grassroots innovations and related activities. As part of the documentation, the members of Honey Bee network go on shodh yatras , which is a ‘journey of exploration’ to scout for innovations from rural India (Gupta 2006 ). They meet villagers, farmers, and artisans individually and prepare a report on their experiences. Finally, they create a documentation of the scouted innovation, which is maintained in an electronic database.

For data collection, first we used the online databases of NIF, SRISTI, Honey Bee, and GIAN to create our sampling frame, as they have an exhaustive list of rural innovations listed in its database since year 2000. Some examples of these rural innovations include agricultural machinery, food-processing machinery, bamboo-processing machinery, dairy machinery, handlooms and textile-related devices, and herbal products. NIF has tried to file over 550 patents on behalf of its listed innovators. Out of this, 35 patents have been granted in India and 4 have been granted in USA. NIF has Micro Venture Innovation Fund (MVIF), which has provided capital to 178 projects.

Next, we searched for cases of rural innovators who had turned into entrepreneurs. Using the user innovation theory, our selection criterion for a case of user innovation and entrepreneurship was whether the fundamental definition of user innovator was applicable to that case. In other words, we checked whether the rural user entrepreneur initially invented the product for his or her own use and then commercialized the product. We selected five entrepreneurs who had received commercialization support from NIF and/or GIAN. Our sampling was purposive and we do acknowledge that there could be other instances of rural user entrepreneurs in India. Our sample, even though purposive, had a potential to offer rich insights to lay the foundation for future research in this area.

Our unit of analysis or the ‘case’ was an individual user entrepreneur, and we used the multiple-case design (Yin 2003 , pp. 41). We conducted total 11 personal interviews. Eight in-depth personal interviews were conducted in the Indian national language ‘Hindi’ as the respondents were not conversant in English. Two in-depth interviews were conducted in a regional language ‘Gujarati’ with the help of a translator. The final interview with the NIF chairman was conducted in English. Before starting the interview process, we created an interview guide based on our research questions. The sub-questions and supporting probes were also written in the interview guide to facilitate the flow of the interview. The interview guide was translated in the local language wherever required. The interviews were tape-recorded. They were later translated and transcribed in English.

Each case of the rural user entrepreneur was used to understand why he invented the X product, how he invented the X product, how he commercialized the X product and became an entrepreneur (with probes on understanding the process and enabling factors), what was its impact on him at a personal level, and was there an impact of his entrepreneurial work on the society/his local community. The interview guide used for interview with the chairman of NIF was modified to understand the larger picture of rural innovation and entrepreneurship in India. For instance, the question ‘How did you commercialize the X product?’ was modified to ‘How did the innovators listed in NIF database commercialize their products? What was the role of NIF and other organizations in this process?’ These questions explored the impact and outcome of NIF's work at a national level.

Data reduction and coding

To begin with, we created high-level categories or codes deductively from user innovation and entrepreneurship theory to explore our research questions wherein codes were developed for user background, user innovation, enablers for innovation, user entrepreneurship, enablers for user entrepreneurship, and outcome of user entrepreneurship. These codes were further refined inductively using the data collected through personal interviews. The list of codes with few examples from translated interview transcripts is included in Table 2 of the paper.

Multiple sources of data and triangulation

Yin ( 2003 ) emphasizes that the strength of case study is in using a variety of evidence ranging from documents, reports, interviews, and observations. To strengthen our case study, we used a variety of evidence for data triangulation, which helped validate information from the interviews (Maxwell 1996 ). Our study includes primary data from personal interviews and secondary data from various sources like national level databases, company documents, reports, newspapers, and Internet sources (see Table 3 ). After each interview, we created individual case memos summarizing the interview. The primary data for each interview was triangulated with secondary data available from different sources listed in Table 3 . Finally, we then created individual case summaries from the triangulated data.

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Acknowledgements

We greatly acknowledge the support provided by the Fulbright Foundation -USIEF, Prof. Iqbal Z. Quadir and MIT's Legatum Center for conducting this study. We are thankful to Prof. Eric von Hippel and Prof. Susan Silbey of MIT for their review and continuous guidance while writing this paper. We would like to thank all the respondents - Mr. Patel, Mr. Prajapati, Mr. Jagani, Mr. Dahiya, and Mr. Kamboj for their participation in our research study. We are also thankful to Dr. R.A. Mashelkar and Prof. Anil Gupta for their support and input.

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VY conceived the research and worked on it during a Fulbright funded research fellowship year at MIT. Both VY and PG together worked on the paper, PG collected primary data from innovators, and VY collected primary data from chairman. Both VY and PG collected secondary data and analysed the primary and secondary data. Both drafted and coordinated the paper. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Yadav, V., Goyal, P. User innovation and entrepreneurship: case studies from rural India. J Innov Entrep 4 , 5 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-015-0018-4

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India: Case Study on the Power of Fintech Innovation

The Indian payments landscape completely transformed over the last decade, catalyzed by a shift from cash, cards, and other traditional payment methods to real-time A2A payments, powered by the UPI network and mobile apps. This globally-relevant case study on fintech innovation and disruption was fueled by a crescendo of forces including government policies, banking infrastructure upgrades, and the influence of mobile phone technologies. Figure 1 shows the rapid ascent of UPI-powered mobile payments while usage of cash, cards, and prepaid wallets diminished in share of wallet. Within this article, we tell the story of the rapid transformation of payments in India, and what the future might hold.

Mobile Payments Disruption

Prior to UPI, Indian fintechs were already driving the market towards mobile payments, a push that started with the introduction of digital wallets powered by prepaid accounts such as the Paytm Wallet in 2014. These mobile wallets were propelled by India’s demonetization policy, a large scale macro-economic exercise implemented by the government to combat corruption and push for digital payments. In November 2016, the government of India discontinued the acceptance of all existing currency notes overnight (larger than Rs. 500), with the motive of replacing them by printing new notes. The policy led to a shortage of cash in the country forcing consumers to find digital alternatives. This created the perfect opportunity for fintechs such as Paytm to fill this gap by offering digital propositions designed for both consumer and merchant. Digital wallet adoption rate skyrocketed as consumers became more comfortable with mobile payments.

UPI Payments Explained

The introduction of UPI turbo-charged the pace of innovation and disruption in India. Unified Payments Interface or UPI, launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (established by the Reserve Bank of India) in 2016, is an account-to-account payment system that enables consumers and merchants to send and receive payments with real-time settlement. Currently UPI accounts for about two in every three retail non-cash transactions in India.

UPI is not an end-user product (not a mobile app), but a payment network, used by fintechs and banks who develop and distribute the mobile apps that power payments through the UPI network. Users can easily enable this payment method by creating a unique UPI identification key that is linked with the user’s bank account and mobile number. Many mobile payment apps such as PhonePe, GooglePay, and Paytm (among others) support UPI sign-up, initiation or receipt of payments to and from users’ bank accounts. For P2P transactions, users can simply use the mobile number linked with a UPI ID to transfer money instantly making the user experience extremely quick and frictionless.

Figure 3 illustrates the primary use cases for C2B (merchant) payments, which are enabled by QR codes. There are two types of QR codes used with UPI: Dynamic QR and Static QR. Larger merchants that have integrated payments at their point-of-sale, will utilize the dynamic QR code, which is generated upon billing and presents the customer with the exact amount to be paid. As software embedded payments are still relatively nascent in India, and limited to larger enterprises, static QR codes provide a simpler way for small merchants to receive payments without having an integrated POS system. The static QR only contains the UPI ID of the merchant and customer needs to manually input the amount to be paid. The key success factor for achieving a frictionless experience is that UPI transactions are real-time, allowing both consumers and merchants to receive instant notification of payment completion.

Government Incentive and The Real Cost of UPI

UPI’s rapid growth as a preferred means of C2B payments is fueled in part by a government policy for zero-cost UPI payments, which today, are free for both consumers and merchants (a policy introduced on 1 Jan 2020). The government does subsidize market participants, but this subsidy is small in comparison to the actual costs of the ecosystem (subsidies of c.$295 million in 2022 to merchant acceptance participants falls vastly short of the estimated total costs that are in excess of $1 billion). In the recently announced Budget for FY 2023-2024, the government reduced the subsidy amount to less than $200 million. According to ecosystem cost estimates from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on average, a C2B UPI transaction generates a total cost of approximately 0.25% considering the roles of the different stakeholders in the value chain. We break-down RBI’s cost estimates in Figure 4.

Due to India’s current zero-merchant-discount-rate policy, UPI C2B payments are unusually unprofitable for fintechs and banks. PSPs and app providers such as PhonePe, GooglePay, and Paytm (shares shown in Figure 5) are forced to find other sources of revenue such as bill payments and most notably, various forms of embedded credit to consumers and merchants. The lack of payments profitability is one reason why fintechs such as Paytm still struggle to achieve profitability. Paytm reported a -30.5% EBITDA margin for FY 2022, despite its scale and relatively long tenure in the market. The company did however, report a positive EBIDTA margin of c. 1.5% for the first time in Q3 FY 2023, which is attributed largely to expense reductions.

Some Indian market participants expect the ‘zero-cost’ policy to fade, resulting in more natural economic incentives for parties involved in C2B UPI transactions. Merchants continue to lobby in favor of the current policy, which seems to be working as the Indian Ministry of Finance announced last year that UPI is a digital good and the government has no intension of changing the current zero-cost policy. For now, there remains a tension between the massive fintech potential of UPI and the lack of payments profitability for UPI service providers.

Growth of Mobile Payments and Future Implications

India is now the global market leader for real-time A2A payments, but certainly not the only country which has seen a massive uptake in digital payments, as shown in Figure 6. This trend is replicated in other markets such as Brazil and Thailand, where A2A banking infrastructure combined with mobile means of payment are powering disruption. We do not see the same pace of A2A + mobile disruption in more mature western markets. This is a classic example of the ‘leapfrog effect’ in payments where less-developed markets evidence far more rapid innovation and disruption versus mature markets, where behaviors linked to cards are more deeply entrenched (formed over decades).

Countries around the world are drawn to the India (UPI) case study as they aspire for efficient, digital payments and alongside financial inclusion. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is working to internationalize UPI, recently signing a memorandum of understanding with 13 countries including Singapore, Thailand, France, Netherlands and the U.K. to enable acceptance of UPI outside the countries. NPCI is working with payment providers such as Worldline in Europe to implement Indian payment methods including RuPay and UPI in countries including Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland. Through this partnership, Worldline’s merchants in Europe will be able to accept UPI payments at the point-of-sale using QR codes.

The Reserve Bank of India also recently announced an agreement with the Monetary Authority of Singapore allowing interoperability between UPI and PayNow (Popular alternative payment method in Singapore). This allows users of both instant payment systems to use the other seamlessly without additional sign-ups and send money cross-border. This alliance is a unique global case study on interoperability of A2A schemes, and one which we expect to be replicated in other markets.

India is a perfect example of the power of fintech to transform an economy and the day-to-day lives of people. In less than a decade, India went from a wide-spread lack of financial inclusion to a country that is now leading the world in A2A-powered mobile payments. This success is the result of government policy working hand-in-hand with banking and fintech innovation. Going forward, however, the fintech community must tackle challenges posed by zero-cost payments, as while Indian consumers and merchants benefit from payments innovation, shareholders are still searching for return on investment.

Please do not hesitate to contact Joel Van Arsdale at [email protected] with comments or questions.

Sameer Verma

Joel Van Arsdale

Topics & themes, related articles, growth opportunities in b2b mobility & fuel payments, embedded payouts are booming, next-gen pos driving impressive growth, reactions to stripe’s new feature announcements at annual sessions conference, subscribe to our expert analysis and insights on payments and fintech.

© 2023 Flagship Advisory Partners LLC. These materials may be freely copied and distributed so long as the user attributes the source as Flagship Advisory Partners and references our website: www.flagshipadvisorypartners.com

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The emergence of India as a Global startup hub

Recent case studies.

In recent years, India has rapidly emerged as a global powerhouse in the startup ecosystem. With a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit, a massive pool of skilled professionals, and a growing appetite for innovation, India has transformed into a hub for startups across various sectors.

The country's startup ecosystem has witnessed an unprecedented surge, supporting a culture of innovation, risk-taking, and technological advancements. India's remarkable journey to becoming a global startup hub can be attributed to a combination of key factors, which have propelled its growth trajectory to new heights. India is fast emerging as a start-up nation. The Indian technology landscape has seen tremendous growth towards the creation of innovative startups and has emerged as the 3rd fastest-growing hub for technology startups with more than 4,200 start-ups creating over 80 thousand jobs.

At the heart of India's emergence as a global startup hub lies the unwavering support and encouragement from the government. Realizing the potential of startups as a powerful engine of economic growth and employment generation, the Indian government has implemented a series of policy reforms to nurture and boost the startup ecosystem. Initiatives like "Startup India," launched in 2016, have provided startups with a conducive environment to thrive. These policy reforms have laid a solid foundation for startup growth through tax exemptions, fast-track patent registrations, and access to government-aided funding.

Furthermore, the surge in investor confidence has been a game-changer for India's startup ecosystem. Domestic and international investors have displayed a keen interest in funding innovative and promising startups across diverse sectors. This influx of capital has fuelled growth and empowered entrepreneurs to think big and scale their ventures.

  Indian Startup Ecosystem witnessed exponential growth in the past few years (2015-2022):

Indian Unicorns are flourishing in the fast-paced and dynamic economy of today. These startups are not only developing innovative solutions and technologies but are generating large-scale employment. Till FY17, approximately one unicorn was being added every year. Over the past four years (since 2017-18), this number has been increasing exponentially, with a whopping 66% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in the number of additional unicorns being added every year. As of May 31, 2023, India is home to 108 unicorns with a total valuation of US$ 340.80 billion. Out of the total number of unicorns, 44 unicorns with a total valuation of US$ 93 billion were born in 2021 and 21 unicorns with a total valuation of US$ 27 billion were born in 2022.

The years 2021, 2020, and 2019 saw the birth of the maximum number of Indian unicorns with 44, 11, and 7 unicorns coming each year, respectively. COVID-19 has caused a great amount of socio-economic suffering globally, but it is during this time that resilient Indian Entrepreneurs have worked effortlessly to not only contribute to the economy but also contribute toward COVID-19 relief efforts. In 2020, there was the birth of more than 10 unicorns. It's raining unicorns has been the motto of the year 2021 with 44 unicorns pumped in the ecosystem and many unicorns waiting in line.

Ccumulative Unicorn Count in India (As of May 2022)

India's startup ecosystem has come a long way, from obtaining its first unicorn in 2011 with "Inmobi" to reaching 100 in just over ten years. Moreover, 50% of Indian firms achieved unicorn status within five years of their founding, thanks in large part to widespread digitalization during the period immediately following 2016. This marked a significant uptick in the startup sector.

Mensa, GlobalBees, and Cred Avenue became the fastest startups to enter the coveted unicorn club in record time – at six months, seven months, and 1.5 years, respectively. Other startups that achieved a billion-dollar valuation in record time include Paytm Mall, Glance, Ola Electric, Spinny, PharmEasy, etc.

India added 44 unicorns in 2021 alone, significantly more than the 37 companies that passed the US$ 1 billion value threshold in the ten years prior put together. In addition, India produced 14 more unicorns in the first four months of 2022, including LEAD School, Fractal, DarwinBox, XpressBees Logistics, Cred Avenue, etc. In the first quarter of 2022, Indian entrepreneurs raised over US$ 10 billion in funding, up from US$ 5.7 billion in the corresponding period of 2021, according to statistics from Venture Intelligence. Despite the doubts of private market investors who favour a "wait and watch" strategy because of global challenges, this is significant growth.

India's rich talent pool has played a pivotal role in its rapid startup growth. The country's education system churns out a vast number of skilled engineers, developers, and business professionals annually, providing startups with a steady stream of talent. The technological process of India's workforce, particularly in information technology and software development, has enabled startups to harness cutting-edge technologies and develop groundbreaking products and services.

The digital revolution in India has opened boundless opportunities for startups. With the widespread adoption of smartphones, affordable internet access, and digital payment platforms, startups have been able to reach a vast and diverse consumer base. The "Digital India" initiative has further bolstered digital infrastructure across the country, creating a favourable environment for startups to thrive in the digital era.

India's startup culture is vibrant, dynamic, and inclusive. An array of startup events, networking forums, and incubators/accelerators have fostered a spirit of collaboration, learning, and mentorship. Major cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi-NCR have emerged as bustling startup hubs, attracting talent from every corner of the nation. The presence of co-working spaces and startup campuses has created a sense of community and camaraderie, driving collective progress in the ecosystem.

In terms of startup hubs, Bengaluru took its spot back as the top startup hub from Mumbai, with Bengaluru-based startups raising US$ 285 million, slightly higher than US$ 241 million raised in August 2022.

Mumbai slid to the third spot with US$ 92 million, having secured pole position in August 2022 with US$ 585 million. Delhi NCR rose to the second spot, with the startups based in the region raising US$ 251 million in September 2022.

As of February 28, 2023, the government has 92,683 startups recognised under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

The start-up India project was launched by the central government on January 16, 2016, to foster a strong ecosystem for the promotion of the country's expansion of innovation and entrepreneurship. There are formal policies in 31 out of 36 states and union territories in India.  There is no specific policy in the two states of Ladak and Arunachal Pradesh. Post the launch of the Startup India Project 2016, there was a huge development in the startup policies in India. Such regulations are important to ease the process of following rules and providing incentives which eventually creates a favorable atmosphere for entrepreneurs.  Many of these regulations talk about the entire development of the startup ecosystem in the country by offering incentives to various startup actors like incubators, colleges like the IITs, and other higher education institutions.

India lays the foundation for government support to create a vibrant startup ecosystem in the country. Such as "Simplification and handholding," "Funding support and incentives," and "Industry-academia partnership and incubation" are covered. As part of the Start-up India Initiative, the government implemented the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) and the Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) to provide financial help at various stages of a start-up business's lifecycle. Both programmes are in place across India and are reportedly assisting startup founders in getting a foothold in their respective industries.

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• Cisco India (A): Innovation in emerging markets

Case A describes the challenges a multinational corporation, Cisco Systems Inc., faces in an emerging market in developing new products specific to local needs. Dr Ishwardutt Parulkar and his team at Cisco’s Indian subsidiary in Bangalore had identified a promising concept that could potentially become the company’s first product developed end-to-end at the India site. They had to address three critical issues: How to define the right product to address the specific needs of telecom network customers in the emerging market? How to build the business case for approval from the headquarters in the US? How to compensate for the significant gaps in the Indian ecosystem that was not fully mature in terms of partners and skills required to develop such a product? Case B presents how the Cisco team resolved the new product development challenges. The success of the new Advanced Services Router (ASR) 901 would mark a milestone in Cisco’s journey of evolution of engineering capability in emerging countries into the next phase of innovation and thought leadership.

1) Identify key challenges in developing a mainstream product from concept to completion in an emerging market. 2) Understand essential factors for building subsidiary R&D capabilities for mainstream product development. 3) Introduce the Technology Champion framework, which serves to bring out innovation aspirations in a subsidiary R&D team.

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Innovating in India: the “chotuKool” Project

I. Introduction The refrigerator brand “chotuKool” was developed by Godrej & Boyce, an Indian appliance conglomerate, along with Innosight, a consulting firm (Dhillon, 2015; Tiwari & Herstatt, 2012; Williams, Omar, & Rajadhyaksha, 2012). It was commercially launched in India with a focus at bottom of the pyramid (BoP) market, in 2010 (Williams et al., 2012).

The project that brings “chotuKool” to the BOP market receives enormous praise scholarly because it addresses consumer need in an innovative way. First of all, its layout has been designed to suit target consumers’ living environment such as frequent power shortage, limited living space, and the need to move frequently (Tiwari & Herstatt, 2012; Williams et al., 2012). Secondly, it reduces product parts to minimizes maintenance obstacle, as child can easily take the lid where all the essential part sits in to a service center (Sameeullah Khan & Haldar; Williams et al., 2012). Thirdly, its design and marketing process involves the participation of local communities, notably women (Dhillon, 2015; Tiwari & Herstatt, 2012).

II. Comment According to Simanis and Duke (2014) it is critical to examine the success of a BoP innovation by the substantial change it brings to the consumer behavior. In the case of “chotuKool” the answer remains unknown. Part of the reason was there’s no public figure about market share of the product. However, based on Google Picture search result, most of “chotuKool” owners are those who possess a shop, a car or a decent house, which are quite different from the described target consumers of the product. In addition, the features emphasized by “chotuKool” are irrelevant to their described target consumers. People live under limited finance are unlikely to have abundant food that left for storage. Furthermore, although the project successfully raise attention internationally, how the low-cost brand image appeals to the target market remains to be tested. Considering the case of Tata Nano, an India car which brands itself “cheapest in the world” shows, low-cost reputation receives negative market feedback (Buss, 2018). Last, but not least, it’s dubious that the project is profitable considering its investment in surveying consumer and cooperating with consulting firm; However, financial figure remains undisclosed. Without further investigation, it is too early to claim its success.

III. Reference Buss, D. (2018, July 27). No To The Nano: Tata Phases Out ‘World’s Cheapest Car’ As It Failed To Attract Pretty Much Anyone. Retrieved April 12, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/dalebuss/2018/07/27/nano-nano-tata-phases-out-worlds-cheapest-car-as-it-failed-to-attract-pretty-much-anyone/#674ab57e6ffc Dhillon, R. (2015). Capturing Indian rural market through a proactive tool: Reverse innovation. In Managing in Recovering Markets (pp. 167-182): Springer. Sameeullah Khan, P., & Haldar, O. P. Frugal Innovation: How Meager Resources and Idealistic Goals Lead To Sustainable Development. Simanis, E., & Duke, D. (2014). Profits at the bottom of the pyramid. Harvard Business Review, 92(10), 86-93. Tiwari, R., & Herstatt, C. (2012). Frugal innovations for the’unserved’customer: An assessment of India’s attractiveness as a lead Market for cost-effective products. Technology and Innovation Management Working Paper(69). Williams, R., Omar, M., & Rajadhyaksha, U. (2012). The Value Flame at the Base of the Pryamid (VFBOP): Indentifying and creating a valuable market. Advances in International Marketing, 23, 267-279.

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These are the reasons why businesses are getting started in 2023, 29% of entrepreneurs say they wanted to be their own boss, 17% were dissatisfied with corporate life, 16% wanted to pursue their passion, and 12% say the opportunity presented itself. Entrepreneurship in India has witnessed a remarkable surge over the past few decades. With a burgeoning economy and a dynamic ecosystem, the country has produced a plethora of successful entrepreneurs and startups. In this article, we delve into the top 10 case studies on entrepreneurship in India, each offering unique insights, lessons, and inspiration for aspiring business leaders.

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Table of Content Top 10 Case Studies on Entrepreneurship in India

Top 10 Case Studies on Entrepreneurship in India

Flipkart: revolutionizing e-commerce.

Founders : Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal

Year Founded : 2007

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Key Takeaway : Customer focus and innovation can disrupt traditional industries and lead to exceptional growth.  

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OYO: Disrupting the Hotel Industry

Founder : Ritesh Agarwal

Year Founded : 2013

Ritesh Agarwal's story is a prime example of young entrepreneurship in India. OYO, which began as a budget hotel aggregator, has expanded globally, becoming one of the world's largest hospitality chains. Ritesh's vision is backed by a robust technology platform, and streamlined and standardized hotel operations, offering affordable, quality stays.

Key Takeaway : Identifying a market gap and using technology to address it can lead to rapid business expansion.

Read more:  Top 12 Examples of AI Case Studies in Content Marketing

Byju's: Changing the Face of Education

Founder : Byju Raveendran

Year Founded : 2011

Byju, the edtech unicorn, was born from Byju Raveendran's vision to make learning engaging and accessible. He built a unique platform offering interactive online classes for students across India. Byju's became one of the world's most valuable edtech companies, catering to millions of students.

Key Takeaway : Leveraging technology for education can create substantial opportunities and impact a wide audience.  

Paytm: A Digital Payment Pioneer

Founder : Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Year Founded : 2010

Paytm, initially a mobile recharge and bill payment platform, became a pioneer in digital payments in India. Vijay Shekhar Sharma's journey from a small town in Uttar Pradesh to building a fintech empire is an inspiration. The company's success can be attributed to its innovative approach and the ability to adapt to evolving market needs.

Key Takeaway : Flexibility and adaptability are crucial in the ever-evolving fintech industry.

Zomato: From a Restaurant Guide to a Food Delivery Giant

Founders : Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah

Year Founded : 2008

Zomato began as a restaurant discovery platform but swiftly evolved to include food delivery services. The founders, Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah, navigated challenges like fierce competition and the logistical complexity of food delivery. Their ability to pivot and cater to diverse customer needs allowed them to expand globally.

Key Takeaway : Adapting to changing market demands and diversifying offerings can lead to substantial growth.

Related article:  Top 10 Ways to Achieve Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategies

MakeMyTrip: Trailblazing in Online Travel

Founders : Deep Kalra

Year Founded : 2000

Deep Kalra founded MakeMyTrip at a time when e-commerce was in its nascent stage in India. Over the years, the company transformed the way Indians booked travel. With continuous innovation and expansion, MakeMyTrip is now a leading online travel company in the country.

Key Takeaway : Identifying an untapped niche and being a pioneer can result in long-term success.

Nykaa: Redefining Beauty Retail

Founder : Falguni Nayar

Year Founded : 2012

Falguni Nayar, a former investment banker, ventured into the beauty and cosmetics industry with Nykaa. The e-commerce platform revolutionized the beauty retail sector by offering a vast range of products, including both luxury and affordable brands. The company's success underscores the importance of understanding consumer preferences and delivering a seamless online shopping experience.

Key Takeaway : Customer-centricity and a diverse product range can lead to rapid growth in e-commerce.

Suggested:  Nykaa Case Study on Digital Marketing Strategies 2023

Freshworks: SaaS Unicorn from India

Founders : Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy

Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy co-founded Freshworks with the aim of creating a customer engagement software company. The company's suite of SaaS products has gained global recognition. Their approach to building a robust software platform with a focus on customer satisfaction exemplifies their journey from a Chennai-based startup to a SaaS unicorn.

Key Takeaway : A strong product and customer-centric approach can drive international success in the SaaS industry.

Lenskart: Redefining Eyewear Retail

Founder : Peyush Bansal

Peyush Bansal recognized the need for a reliable and convenient way to purchase eyewear in India. Lenskart introduced an online platform for buying eyeglasses and contact lenses. By integrating technology, Lenskart streamlined the purchase process, offering a wide range of eyewear and personalized services.

Key Takeaway : Identifying gaps in the market and providing innovative solutions can create new business opportunities.  

Rivigo: Revolutionizing Logistics

Founders : Deepak Garg

Year Founded : 2014

Deepak Garg's Rivigo introduced an innovative approach to logistics and transportation in India. Their relay model and tech-enabled trucking system optimized supply chain operations, reduced transit times, and enhanced efficiency. Rivigo's success in a traditional industry showcases the power of technology-driven solutions.

Key Takeaway : Applying technology to traditional sectors can lead to significant improvements and growth.

These 10 case studies on entrepreneurship in India provide a diverse range of success stories, demonstrating the versatility, resilience, and innovative spirit of Indian entrepreneurs. Each of these entrepreneurs identified market gaps, harnessed technology, and adapted to changing dynamics to build successful businesses. Their journeys serve as inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs and underscore the limitless possibilities that await those willing to take risks and pursue their visions in the Indian business landscape.

What is entrepreneurship?

Who is an entrepreneur, what qualities make a successful entrepreneur, what is a business plan, and why is it important for entrepreneurship, what is "bootstrapping" in entrepreneurship, what is a business model.

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Digital transformation and teaching innovation in higher education: a case study.

1. Introduction

2. theoretical framework, 3. objectives and methodology.

• What digital technology resources have been available to the faculty since the beginning of the pandemic?
• Which kind of technological support devices have been acquired by the faculty?
• How have technological support devices been managed?
• What challenges and opportunities have you seen with regard to the use of digital technology in teaching?

5. Discussion

6. conclusions, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Paños-Castro, J.; Korres, O.; Iriondo, I.; Petchamé, J. Digital Transformation and Teaching Innovation in Higher Education: A Case Study. Educ. Sci. 2024 , 14 , 820. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14080820

Paños-Castro J, Korres O, Iriondo I, Petchamé J. Digital Transformation and Teaching Innovation in Higher Education: A Case Study. Education Sciences . 2024; 14(8):820. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14080820

Paños-Castro, Jessica, Oihane Korres, Ignasi Iriondo, and Josep Petchamé. 2024. "Digital Transformation and Teaching Innovation in Higher Education: A Case Study" Education Sciences 14, no. 8: 820. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14080820

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Latest News Olympics 2024 Real Estate Entertainment IND vs SL Live Score Jharkhand Train Accident Live Paris Olympics 2024 Live TN SSLC Supply Result 2024 Live India vs Ireland Live India vs Sri Lanka Live Score India vs Sri Lanka The Interview Web Stories Mumbai News Bengaluru News Daily Digest Medical advice viewed as 'less' reliable, empathetic if chatbot involved: study New Delhi, People rated medical advice as "less reliable and empathetic" when they believed it was provided by AI-chatbots, a new study published in the journal Nature Medicine has found. Researchers found that this was also the case when patients or medical advice seekers were made to believe that a doctor took the help of artificial intelligence before sharing his guidance. As a result, the individuals were also found to be less willing to follow AI recommendations, compared to advice from human doctors provided solely on their medical expertise, found the study led by the University of Wuerzburg in Germany. The results suggested that people trust medical guidance less if they suspect AI involvement, even as people around the world are increasingly turning to ChatGPT for health-related information, the researchers said. With AI acknowledged for its potential in reducing bureaucracy and day-to-day workload for doctors, the authors argued that the findings are important as "trust in medical diagnoses and therapy recommendations" are critical for successful treatment. The setting of the study is based on a digital health platform from where information on medical issues can be obtained, the researchers said. For the study, over 2,000 participants received identical medical advice and were asked to evaluate it for reliability, comprehensibility and empathy. The participants were divided into three groups. While one group of participants was told that the advice came from a doctor, the second was told that it came from an AI chatbot. The third was led to believe that a doctor provided the medical advice with help from an AI. The researchers found that advice provided by human doctors also scored higher on empathy, compared to that when AI was involved. The study represented a starting point for detailed research into the conditions under which AI can be used in diagnostics and therapy without jeopardising patients' trust and cooperation, according to the authors. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now! Terms of use Privacy policy Weather Today HT Newsletters Subscription Print Ad Rates Code of Ethics Live Cricket Score Cricket Teams Cricket Players ICC Rankings Cricket Schedule Shreyas Iyer Harshit Rana Kusal Mendis Ravi Bishnoi Rinku Singh Riyan Parag Washington Sundar Avishka Fernando Charith Asalanka Dasun Shanaka Khaleel Ahmed Pathum Nissanka Other Cities Budget 2024 Live Income Tax LIVE Updates Income Tax Calculator Petrol Prices Diesel Prices Silver Rate Relationships Art and Culture Taylor Swift: A Primer Telugu Cinema Tamil Cinema Board Exams Exam Results Admission News Employment News Competitive Exams BBA Colleges Engineering Colleges Medical Colleges BCA Colleges Medical Exams Engineering Exams Love Horoscope Annual Horoscope Festival Calendar Compatibility Calculator Career Horoscope Manifestation The Economist Articles Lok Sabha States Lok Sabha Parties Lok Sabha Candidates Explainer Video On The Record Vikram Chandra Daily Wrap Entertainment Photos Lifestyle Photos News Photos Olympics Medal Tally Other Sports EPL 2023-24 ISL 2023-24 Asian Games 2023 Public Health Economic Policy International Affairs Climate Change Gender Equality future tech Daily Sudoku Daily Crossword Daily Word Jumble HT Friday Finance Explore Hindustan Times Privacy Policy Terms of Use Subscription - Terms of Use Enhancing Inclusive Learning through Digital Innovation: A Case Study in Optometry Education, aligned with the revised PSF Author By Clare Tyrer Publication date July 30, 2024 Categories: Case Studies , Learning design , Learning Technologies Categories: Advance HE Fellowship , h5p , learning design , Moodle , PSF No Comments on Enhancing Inclusive Learning through Digital Innovation: A Case Study in Optometry Education, aligned with the revised PSF Introduction Introduction of h5p resources, moodle redesign and expansion, collaboration with lead digital learning design service, student feedback and outcomes, future directions. The revised 2023 Advance HE Professional Standards (PSF) emphasise the use of educational and learning technologies. This is underpinned by principles of inclusive practice to support learning, for example in core knowledge dimension 4 (K4). This dimension asks individuals applying for any level of Advance HE Fellowship (Associate, Fellow, Senior, or Principal) to “apply knowledge of appropriate use of digital and/or other technologies, and resources for learning.” This is a pedagogic design task, to make appropriate use of these technologies to enhance learning. Demonstrating inclusive practice in this context involves designing and implementing digital learning experiences that accommodate diverse learner needs and abilities, ensuring equitable access and engagement for all students. Case Study: Moodle Design in Optometry The following case study documents how academics in Optometry reflected on their approach to Moodle design in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The dimensions of the PSF are referenced in brackets, to show how the academics discussed their practice in reference to these criteria. In 2020, H5P interactive video and text resources were introduced on the Optometric Physics module to enhance engagement and interactivity in online learning. Clear guidance was provided for students through a sequence of activities aligned with the module learning outcomes and summative assessment requirements (Biggs, 1996; Hounsell & Hounsell, 2007), and tailored to their pace of learning (A4, K1, V1). Following initial positive student feedback on the introduction of H5P resources and a significant increase in cohort size, the academics saw an opportunity to redesign the Moodle pages across the whole Introduction to Optometry programme (A1, K3, K5). This decision was further prompted by the move to Moodle 4 in 2023. By leveraging the versatility of H5P resources, students could be provided with multiple pathways to achieve the programme learning outcomes and engage in active and self-regulated learning (Rowe and Rafferty, 2013) (A1, K1, K4, V2). In collaboration with the LEaD (Learning Enhancement and Development) Digital Learning Design Service, the academics discussed how to improve the accessibility of resources and ensure consistency of navigation. The digital design colleagues provided insight into effective practices for interface design, module navigation, and the embedding of different learning activities into Moodle (Laurillard, 2013) (A1, K2, V5). For example, the decision to transition to H5P course presentations reflected a strategic move to support a more inclusive learning environment. These allow for more structured content, with clear headings and subheadings, to guide the students (A4). Compatible with assistive technologies, these interactive elements, such as clickable hotspots, drag and drop activities, fill in the blanks, multiple choice questions, and flashcards also provide alternative means of engagement and enable students to control the pace of the presentation (V1, V2). To gauge the effectiveness of the Moodle redesign, a survey was distributed to all students on the Introduction to Optometry programme. The students were invited to provide feedback on the module structure, navigation, and user interface as well as provision of appropriate guidance. The results were overwhelmingly positive, with students commenting favourably on the clarity, consistency, and engagement of the design features (K5). The academics also shared their positive experiences of this initiative change with the wider university community through the Learning at City blog (A5). Reflecting on this successful integration of asynchronous H5P resources on the Optometry programme, the academics are keen to harness the affordance of other digital technologies in laboratory sessions to promote student engagement and autonomy in laboratory sessions (K3). [This case study is shared with kind permission from Benjamin Evans and Marisa Rodriguez-Carmona] Biggs, J. (1996). Enhancing teaching through constructive alignment.  Higher education ,  32 (3), 347-364. Hounsell, D., & Hounsell, J. (2007). 7 Teaching-Learning Environments in Contemporary Mass Higher Education. In  BJEP monograph series II, number 4-student learning and university teaching  (Vol. 91, No. 111, pp. 91-111). British Psychological Society. Laurillard, D. (2013).  Teaching as a design science: Building pedagogical patterns for learning and technology . Routledge. Rowe, F. A., & Rafferty, J. A. (2013). Instructional design interventions for supporting self-regulated learning: enhancing academic outcomes in postsecondary e-learning environments.  Journal of Online Learning and Teaching ,  9 (4), 590-601. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * 394 IMAGES (PDF) INNOVATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: A CASE OF INDIA Role of Research and Innovation in India's Economic Growth Download case study on innovation and creativity in service National Payments Corporation of India Cutting-Edge Fintech Ecosystem Case Study on Innovation (PDF) User innovation and entrepreneurship: case studies from rural India VIDEO IDT- Module 1- Case study- Innovation and culture-Explore presentations designers across globe "National Creators Award is 1st of Its Kind in the World” PM appreciates & recognizes the efforts at #NationalCreatorsAward! Times When PM Modi Did Not Hesitate! 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Dr Ishwardutt Parulkar and his team at Cisco's Indian subsidiary in Bangalore had identified a promising concept that could potentially become the company's first product developed end-to-end at the India site. Case Study: India's investment in innovation for sustainable The study estimates that India spends over USD 3 billion annually (~USD 25 billion for the period 2010-2018) on agricultural innovation, including investments by the government, development partners, and PE/VC firms. The SAI investment as part of innovation is estimated to be ~USD 120 million annually (less than 5% of overall innovation funding). AI for agriculture: How Indian farmers are harvesting innovation In response to these challenges, the World Economic Forum's Artificial Intelligence for Agriculture Innovation (AI4AI) initiative is stepping in to support India's agricultural transformation by driving the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies for agricultural advancements. 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