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Paper short abstract

This paper explores how Global South entrepreneurs re-engineer digital tools through frugal innovation. It shifts the focus from "top-down adoption" to "bottom-up adaptation," showing how SMEs build unique capabilities to bypass infrastructure gaps and assert power in the global digital economy.

Paper long abstract

Innovation in the Global South is frequently characterized by "resource-constrained" or "frugal" approaches, yet the digital dimension of this phenomenon remains under-theorized. This paper investigates how informal entrepreneurs in Nigeria engage in frugal digital innovation. While mainstream discourse often frames digital transformation as a top-down adoption of Western software, this study highlights a bottom-up pathway where entrepreneurs utilize "good enough" technologies to overcome high costs and poor infrastructure.

Using a qualitative case study approach, the research examines the capabilities developed by small business owners as they blend traditional business logic with digital affordances. The paper argues that these practices are not merely survival tactics but are strategic exercises of power. By creating localized digital workarounds, informal firms resist the "standardisation" imposed by global tech giants and build sovereign innovation ecosystems that are resilient to local economic shocks.

Findings from this paper will offer a new perspective on building digital technologies by showing that for the Global South, the act of "building" often resides in the creative adaptation of the "already built."