MyAssistant

Small businesses form the foundation of every emerging economy. Research has consistently shown that women-run enterprises are not only profitable but contribute numerous benefits to their communities. And yet, few products or services exist to help female business owners shoulder the many responsibilities of running their enterprises so they can focus on more attention on growing their enterprises. I want to change that. After dozens of conversations with female entrepreneurs, it became clear that what they needed (and weren't getting) were tools to help them manage their business operations better. Existing services were too expensive or only addressed part of their needs. Which is where MyAssistant comes in, an accessible, integrated software that will allow business owners to manage all of their operations. Such a tool would allow entrepreneurs to build stronger internal systems while saving them time,  thereby allowing business owners to focus more attention on growing their businesses.

Female business owners in emerging economies (especially those with limited resources) are responsible for ensuring their enterprises are profitable while single handedly managing the operations of their businesses. Two major hurdles raised during conversations with business owners include: an inability to assess the financial health of their businesses, and challenges with finding and retaining good staff.

While there are plenty of digital tools to help companies manage finances and teams, these are often expensive, typically sold as separate software, and are not designed by businesses based in emerging economies. At the time of this application, I have only identified one organization with a platform integrating both finance and HR. The only drawback to this platform is its cost: with a basic package of $20 per month per employee, it is simply out of the reach for most small businesses in emerging economies. Which begs the question: given the expressed need for such a tool by this market, how might we develop a similar product but at a more accessible price point? Especially during these trying times, with businesses shuttering and plummeting sales, such a tool would help business owners remain focused on keeping their doors open.

A cloud-based software designed to help women who run businesses in emerging economies manage their business operations better, starting first with financial and HR management given these often came up in user interviews. The solution will be designed for the busy female business owner who, given that they handle all of their business operations, are significantly constrained by time. As such, this will be an integrated platform that allows business owners to handle multiple tasks at once, freeing more time to focus on growing their businesses. While the software  will first be developed for female business owners living in Phnom Penh, it will be designed to be scalable so the tool can be adapted to other markets. Why Cambodia? Well, in addition to living here, I believe it’s an ideal market. The country’s internet access is one of the highest in Southeast Asia. The majority of businesses are already run by women (61%), an overwhelming number of those enterprises are profitable (90%), and most of these businesses expect growth or at least stable development in the future (84%) which means there is a sizable market for this kind of tool that is able to pay for it. 

User interviews with 20+ female business owners in Phnom Penh and discussions with several organizations in Cambodia’s entrepreneurship ecosystem (ex. ImpactHub, Asia Foundation, NGOs supporting female entrepreneurs, etc) raised one key insight: young Cambodian business owners are generally confident in their abilities to build successful businesses but anxious about asking for help from their peers, preferring instead to learn “the hard way.” The proposed solution would not only save business owners time, it would allow them to maintain their independence while lessening the pain associated with starting a new business. Based on this and the common themes that emerged over four months of user research, my solution could best serve:

• Cambodian women between the ages of 25-35 who run their own enterprises in Phnom Penh and manage all of their business operations single handedly;

• have launched at least one non-family business that is already generating revenue 

• have limited or no experience managing teams or finances, and are unsatisfied with the resources available to manage these operations; and

• regularly use digital products and are open to adopting new ones if they can easily see the benefits of their use.

I am developing this solution based on the assumption that, if business owners have a tool that supports them to manage their business operations better, two things will change. First, business owners will save time managing their businesses’ operations, allowing them to devote more energy toward customer acquisition and retention. This will allow businesses to finally experience the kind of growth they’re capable of, which would ultimately lead to more jobs for more people in emerging economies. Secondly, improving business operations will lead to improved internal systems, leading to better jobs and working environments.