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:

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