Play #6: Simulate it, then make it
When regulation is moving too slowly to test a proposition with the live technology in place, fake the tech … and then use the data to build your case to regulators
The Pilot: Pay-as-you-go Bikes in Zambia
If we introduce a pay-as-you-go or lease-to-own business model to rent or own a bicycle, then we will increase bike uptake and enhance mobility in rural Zambia.
Use this play to answer our challenge around regulatory barriers: where implementing the tech is hindered by a non-favourable regulatory environment. I.e. it is non-existent, not keeping pace with technological change, difficult and costly to engage, and so on.
This play is part of our Frontier Technology Playbook: Plays by DfID Pioneers to Overcome Development Challenges. Click here to read the other plays and an introduction to the Playbook.
The Pioneers: Onyx International
GPS-equipped bicycles are a key part of our tech plan for pay-as-you-go bicycles in Zambia. Tracking the bikes is how we intend to find them if payments aren’t made or bikes are stolen. However, the regulation around tracking in Zambia takes ages and is very expensive.
So instead, at pre-scale phase, we distributed 8 bikes and told users of the service that the GPS tracker was switched on, when it wasn’t, allowing us to get testing other things like logistics, perception of lease-to-own as a business model, and bike use.
Then, armed with data on how these bikes and business model worked, and the impact we made on mobility and income for users, we could go back to regulators with a stronger argument for letting us use GPS.
The Practice
- Clearly identify which part of your solution needs regulatory approval and assess how you might simulate it instead
- Determine what kind of evidence would be useful to generate to influence regulation down the line
- Don’t do anything illegal — in this case we pretended GPS was ON, when it was OFF. Doing it the other way around is unacceptable
Get in Touch
Email wyson@onyx-international.co.za to find out more!
