Study of the use, limitations, and possibilities of peer-to-peer digital marketplaces for rural micro-enterprises in developing countries.

Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE), which are enterprises typically defined as having less than 10 workers and annual turnover of less than $100,000, play a significant development role in leveling income inequality, especially amongst developing countries (Asiedu et al., 2019; Duncombe & Heeks, 2002). This is because MSE is recognised for its ability to create employment and generate income for sustainable and social development (Duncombe & Heeks, 2002). In the meantime, appropriating digital technologies into commerce has become crucial for the survival of enterprises evident through the COVID19 pandemic (Modgil et al., 2022). MSE likewise have begun adopting numerous digital solutions to innovate and optimise their business operations across its business areas: including logistics, access to market, payments, and access to finance. Despite so, within the umbrella term of MSE, rural micro-enterprises (ME) face a myriad of challenges in digitalisation compared to its urban counterparts due to infrastructural, technological, social(Philip et al., 2017) and interventional approach (Makoto et al., 2021).

Digital computing technologies have in the past two decades been predominantly designed by technological companies in developed countries, often for an urban, infrastructurally well-connected and digitally sophisticated audience (Hardy et al., 2019). The traditional approach in addressing the digital divide between rural and urban despite being seen as worsening (Hollman et al, 2021), has primarily been through a deficit model, whereby rural technological capabilities need to 'catch up' with its urban counterparts. The deficit model and the lack of inclusion in technology design calls for a critical view of present digital technology design for rural communities and a need for appropriate technology tailored to the rural and in the discovery of unique digital solutions (Hardy & Wyche, 2019) based on the distinct technological, economical and human needs of rural communities (Räisänen & Tuovinen, 2020).

Motivated by the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals No.8 of "Decent Work and Economic Growth" and No.10 of "Reduced Inequality", my PhD proposal attempts to combine the overlooked digital needs of rural micro-enterprise (ME) with the rising adoption of peer-to-peer (P2P) digital marketplaces across the developed and developing world (Akhmadi & Pratolo, 2021) to study the use, limitations, and possibilities of digital marketplaces for rural ME in developing countries. This research calls for a user-centred and co-produced approach in studying rural ME's human-computer interactions (HCI) with P2P digital marketplaces. Through ethnographic observations, key stakeholder interviews, and participatory-design workshops in rural Malaysia, this research attempts to understand the HCI of rural ME' with digital marketplaces and seek to co-design a peer-to-peer digital marketplaces framework with local stakeholders suited to the needs and limitations of rural micro-business in developing countries.

Research Questions:

How are rural micro-enterprises interacting (or not interacting) with digital technologies in their day-to-day business operations?
What are the limitations of current digital marketplaces in the context of rural entrepreneurship in developing countries?
What are the requirements for designing a peer-to-peer digital marketplace suited to the needs of rural entrepreneurs and rural communities?

We will collaborate with over 40 partners drawn from across FMCG and Food; Creative Industries; Health and Wellbeing; Smart Mobility; Finance; Enabling technologies; and Policy, Law and Society. These will benefit from engagement with our CDT through the following established mechanisms:

- Training multi-disciplinary leaders. Our partners will benefit from being able to recruit highly skilled individuals who are able to work across technologies, methods and sectors and in multi-disciplinary teams. We will deliver at least 65 skilled PhD graduates into the Digital Economy.

- Internships. Each Horizon student undertakes at least one industry internship or exchange at an external partner. These internships have a benefit to the student in developing their appreciation of the relevance of their PhD to the external societal and industrial context, and have a benefit to the external partner through engagement with our students and their multidisciplinary skill sets combined with an ability to help innovate new ideas and approaches with minimal long-term risk. Internships are a compulsory part of our programme, taking place in the summer of the first year. We will deliver at least 65 internships with partners.

- Industry-led challenge projects. Each student participates in an industry-led group project in their second year. Our partners benefit from being able to commission focused research projects to help them answer a challenge that they could not normally fund from their core resources. We will deliver at least 15 such projects (3 a year) throughout the lifetime of the CDT.

- Industry-relevant PhD projects. Each student delivers a PhD thesis project in collaboration with at least one external partner who benefits from being able to engage in longer-term and deeper research that they would not normally be able to undertake, especially for those who do not have their own dedicated R&D labs. We will deliver at least 65 such PhDs over the lifetime of this CDT renewal.

- Public engagement. All students receive training in public engagement and learn to communicate their findings through press releases, media coverage.

This proposal introduces two new impact channels in order to further the impact of our students' work and help widen our network of partners.

- The Horizon Impact Fund. Final year students can apply for support to undertake short impact projects. This benefits industry partners, public and third sector partners, academic partners and the wider public benefit from targeted activities that deepen the impact of individual students' PhD work. This will support activities such as developing plans for spin-outs and commercialization; establishing an IP position; preparing and documenting open-source software or datasets; and developing tourable public experiences.

- ORBIT as an impact partner for RRI. Students will embed findings and methods for Responsible Research Innovation into the national training programme that is delivered by ORBIT, the Observatory for Responsible Research and Innovation in ICT (www.orbit-rri.org). Through our direct partnership with ORBIT all Horizon CDT students will be encouraged to write up their experience of RRI as contributions to ORBIT so as to ensure that their PhD research will not only gain visibility but also inform future RRI training and education. PhD projects that are predominantly in the area of RRI are expected to contribute to new training modules, online tools or other ORBIT services.