LocationsThe Neighborhood as a Source of Innovation: Experiences of the Shopkeepers from the Nearby Stores in the Con Vos Network for Digital Inclusion
24 de Septiembre de 2024
“Helping neighbors as a driving force for change.” “Bringing digital inclusion to those who need it most.” “Being trained to provide more services.” These were some of the main motivations for the shopkeepers in Fray Mamerto Esquiú, province of Catamarca, Argentina, to join the Con Vos (With You) Network. The Network promotes digital inclusion for neighbors, but what happened to the store owners and shopkeepers who were part of it? A year ago, in September 2023, we presented the results of the initiative and had the opportunity to speak with them to understand their experiences.
How Nearby Stores Drive Neighborhood Innovation
Nearby stores play a fundamental role in bringing products and services closer to their neighbors, just a few blocks from their homes, through someone they trust. These stores boosts innovation when they offer new technologies on a small scale that become essential, such as the historic public telephone, the photocopier, the printer, or the mobile credit top-up, among others. Similarly, today, these nearby stores can contribute to the digital inclusion of the people in their neighborhood. The Con Vos Network leverages this role by encouraging shopkeepers to support neighbors in completing digital administrative procedures and tasks, so that they can save time and money avoiding the need to commute to the city center. In this way, the Network aims to promote digital inclusion at its most basic level, enabling more people to perform online procedures, even if it is with the shopkeepers’ help.
As previously done in the city of Concepción, in the province of Entre Ríos, in 2020, and in Fray, in 2021, the stores join the Network voluntarily with the infrastructure they already have. The Accelerator Lab, the Co_Lab, invited the stores that already had a computer or mobile phone and Internet access to join the initiative. Many shopkeepers, eager to be part of the Network, decided to take the plunge and purchase a printer or subscribe to an Internet service. However, the implementation of this solution requires the commitment of the stores and their active participation.
Shopkeepers must be at the service of their neighbors, guiding them through the different steps of the online administrative procedures. For this purpose, a group of territorial promoters trained and assisted the shopkeepers to support their neighbors with online procedures of different kinds. In this way, the Network not only promotes digital inclusion in the community but also provides shopkeepers with the opportunity to deepen and expand their skills and the variety of services offered.
Experiences of Shopkeepers in the Con Vos Network in Fray
Motivations
First, we wanted to know what had encouraged shopkeepers to join the Network. The main reason was their desire to help the community, particularly the elderly. The owner of a grocery store mentioned that there was a demand for managing online administrative procedures that many people could not do on their own, especially the elderly. Meanwhile, the owner of a clothing store explained that it seemed "useful to be able to help neighbors" and that they "have a nearby point to turn to."
Another reason why shopkeepers joined the Network was to learn how to perform new online procedures and provide better services. In the words of a bookstore owner: "I was motivated to learn about other procedures that people were coming to inquire about." Some shopkeepers also saw participation in the Network as an excellent opportunity to attract new customers. The owner of a clothing store stated, "I liked being part of the Network to have more customers, so that more people can come by."
Outcomes
A year after the pilot, we spoke with the shopkeepers again, and some mentioned that they were no longer providing the services. In other cases, they had already been assisting their neighbors with certain online procedures before joining the Con Vos Network, but thanks to the initiative, they began offering a broader range of services. A few stores, relevant for evaluating the impact of the experience, had incorporated and continued to support digital procedures, and they were still doing so at the time of the interviews.
The shopkeepers highlighted certain challenges in performing tasks and online procedures within the Network. The main obstacle they faced was the difficulty to help customers and assist neighbors with procedures at the same time. Others noted the challenge of having to carry out the online procedures on their mobile phones because they did not have computers. Despite these difficulties, most shopkeepers overcame the operational challenges and provided a very useful service to their neighbors, significantly contributing to the community's digital development.
Recommendations
Lastly, we asked what recommendations they had for future experiences with the Con Vos Network. Most of them focused on:
- Improving outreach so that more people will go to the participating stores,
- Selecting stores that are more well-known or located in visible and busy areas to enhance outreach.
These recommendations are designed to increase the project's impact by reaching more people and ensuring that it can become a widely accessible and beneficial tool for everyone involved.
Are you interested in this project? Contact us, and we will tell you more about how to put it into practice.
With a Little Help From My Neighbors