Business Designer Eric Lopez joins the IDEO.org team finding new savings solutions in Uganda and talks about his experience in the field based upon a more for-profit perspective at IDEO.

I was lucky enough to join IDEO.org designers, Danny Alexander and Robin Bigio, along with client teams from Ugafode and MEDA on a project bringing innovative savings solutions to Uganda. Coming from the commercial and business side of IDEO, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had worked in the developing world before but, for the most part, I’m used to working on big, hairy issues that are confined to the glass walls of our larger corporate clients. How would the human-centered design process that I hold so dear work and feel on the ground in a developing world context? And, how would this context define, if at all, the types of solutions we create?

Though much felt the same, there were many moments in the design process that felt different. I remember leading an interview and conversation with several savings groups under a giant mango tree in the middle of a banana field outside Masindi, Uganda. Unlike previous interview experiences at IDEO, we were using a translator. Building a real connection and getting a sense for the nuance of their answers was tough. I found myself gesticulating wildly, building connection not through what I said but how I carried myself. We acted out scenarios and used activities as a way to loosen up the conversation around one’s financial life - a sensitive topic, especially when asked by a foreigner that you met just minutes ago.

We also started building prototypes sooner than any project I’ve ever worked on. With just two weeks in the field, we built prototypes based upon early intuitions that allowed for quick live testing. This proved to be not only another way to connect but also an effective way to gather the right feedback to propel us forward. The prototypes were far from “right,” but they contributed to our understanding of the barriers that we were designing for. This felt to me like a great model for overcoming some of the challenges of working in an economic and cultural context unlike my own and is now something that I am going to apply to my “day job” as I continue to lead projects on the commercial side of IDEO.

Prior to the project, I had heard about the need for financial education in Uganda. The presumption was that at least part of the failure of formal banking products was a lack of understanding on the ground about how formal banking works. If that were the problem, it’s not hard to see how one’s mind would go directly to financial education programs. But, there was another side to the story that resonated with our team.

As Danny mentioned in a previous post, the level of sophistication of Ugandan savers is staggering. As an individual with a business background and someone who prides himself on being financially responsible, I was truly impressed by how savvy people were. They put deep consideration into the types of assets they should invest in and what risks they were taking or mitigating by doing so. Coming back to the United States, I felt inspired to more actively manage my own financial life in a similar way. The assets look different than the 401K plans and stock holdings of a traditional western portfolio, but it is a complex, actively managed portfolio nonetheless.

So the question of the project quickly became not how do we teach individuals about formal savings solutions, but rather how do we build savings products that speak to the complex behaviors that Ugandans are doing already? It flips the “problem” on its head. With the user no longer presumed to have the deficiency, we understood that it’s the product that needs to change. We took inspiration from a variety of places - from savings groups to mobile money to simple changes in language that gave individuals a point of reference to understand. We worked to build formal products that fit existing behaviors. We saw this to be a powerful approach that will hopefully lead to financial products that speak more clearly to the contexts in which they exist.

- Eric Lopez (IDEO Business Designer)