In Kenya alone, there are roughly 7 million non-agricultural microenterprises with less than 10 employees that, in total, contribute roughly 30% of the Kenyan GDP. The Partnership for Finance in a Digital Africa (FiDA Partnership), an initiative of the Mastercard Foundation, recently began research, based in Nairobi, looking specifically at this subset of microenterprises. The research focuses on how they use digital platforms (from social media sites to e-commerce marketplaces and online freelancing websites) to find work and improve their current business operations.

To celebrate Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day, we’re highlighting learnings from the 27 micro-entrepreneurs the FiDA Partnership talked to in Nairobi. Their stories offer interesting insights for the platforms they use in their businesses, the development organizations that focus on economic inclusion, and other researchers working at the frontier of economic and financial inclusion.

Read full article: NextBillion

Download the research on micro-entrepreneurs’ platform practices in Kenya