Building apps for rural Africa
summary
Built an Android app for Just Dig It that initially fails user testing — locals call it Mazongu app — so teams fly to Tanzania, run in-person UX sessions across 570 villages and redesign around concrete findings: library concept is unknown, red signals danger, arrows and icons misread, and people hide income (goat counts). Engineers implement offline-first sync with local data source and network using WorkManager and exponential backoff, ship cheap Chinese-brand phones to reproduce crashes, add hyperlocal languages (some lack ISO tags) and payment via Empa; AI avatars boost engagement.
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chapters (14)
- 0:00Introduction and background
- 1:53Project context: Justdiggit
- 8:10Cultural and historical context
- 12:10The impact of colonial history
- 15:01Early UX design failures
- 20:55Field research in Tanzania
- 23:55Localization and cultural nuances
- 31:08Content, media, and representation
- 34:52The role of AI in scaling
- 37:58Navigation and icon design
- 41:26Hardware and device diversity
- 44:55Connectivity and data costs
- 51:15Accessibility and digital payments
- 57:49Conclusion and final reflections
