A framework for technology design for emerging markets

A billion new people are expected to come online in the next couple of years--almost entirely from emerging markets. A majority of these new users are coming online through a mobile phone. Decreased costs of production of smartphones, shifting localities for labour, rollout of Internet pipes, and aspirational desires have led to rapid growth and uptake of the Internet in emerging markets. Today, Internet software can be made available to millions across the world instantly. Technologies, though, enter heterogenous cultural, social and economic milieus in their traversals. The HCI community can play a critical role in bringing insights on practices, values, and infrastructures in these contexts to the design process. In this article, we share the process of creation and dissemination of a research-led framework for design for emerging markets at Google and externally. In the second half, we discuss the framework, principles and implementation.

• Human-Computer Interaction and Visualization