Testing product trust in underserved markets

Building Trust, Not Just Features: A Product Mandate for Africa’s Informal Economy. #WeeklyInsights As product managers that building for farmers, traders and last-mile users in Africa, we often get obsessed with making things users love. But in these markets, building trust is more fundamental. The truth is many users in the informal sector, like a chili farmer like Christiana in Sogakope or an aggregator like Kudus in Northern Ghana, don’t care how “delightful” your UI is if they’re unsure: • If they’ll get paid on time. • If the weather alert is accurate. • If their data will be safe from misuse. • If the promised fertilizer will arrive before planting season. In markets where formal institutions have failed and digital literacy is uneven, product trust is the entire value proposition. You are not just designing a tool. You are designing belief in a system that often hasn’t earned it yet. So what does it take to build software users trust? This framework by @Rich Diviney is incredibly helpful — the 4 elements of trust: 1. Competency – Are you capable of delivering what you say? 2. Consistency – Do you show up the same way every time? 3. Reliability – Can users count on you, especially when things go wrong? 4. Integrity – Do you honor your word, even when it’s inconvenient? These aren’t just philosophical ideals, they’re design and product management mandates. At Complete Farmer, this is how we build trust with our users: 1. Competency: Investing in research to develop crop cultivation protocols for farmers to ensure they meet international buyer demands requires lots agronomic competency and data. 2. Consistency: We learned to publish input delivery schedules publicly in community WhatsApp groups (not just in the app) because consistency builds trust in informal ecosystems. 3. Reliability: We realized showing weather forecasts wasn’t enough. We added local-language voice alerts because some farmers couldn’t read the app but still needed to trust when to plant. 4. Integrity: When a logistics delay happened, we didn’t spin it. We owned the error and called each lead farmer. Integrity meant more than shipping. For product managers in Africa, this is our challenge: Don’t just chase “delight.” Build trust through transparency, humility, and usefulness. That’s what unlocks adoption. That’s what scales. Because in the informal sector, trust is the bridge between intention and impact. Let’s build it. Thanks to Maya Horgan Famodu for inspiring this insight by introducing this framework to the Complete Farmer team today in our team meeting. #ProductManagement #TrustByDesign #Agritech #LastMileInnovation #startups #CompleteFarmer #TechForGood #UserResearch #DigitalInclusion #ProductStrategy #TechinAfrica

The ‘Make I Try First’ Economy: Why Free Trials Matter in Nigeria In Nigeria, we don’t just buy into the hype—we buy into the experience. If we can’t test it, we don’t trust it. 🚀 Take my suya guy on my street in Lagos for example. Every time we show up before we even say a word, he’s already slicing off a small piece, rolling it in pepper, and handing it over with a smile. “Customer, how much you wan buy customer?” That free taste? It’s his hook. And it works—every time. 🔥 Same thing with apps and digital products. I once watched a friend download an app, burn megabytes, open it… and delete it immediately. Why? No free trial. No chance to “make I see first.” Nigerians want proof before commitment. Lesson for Product & Business Owners 🎯 - Let users experience value first: Whether you’re selling software or a service, a free trial builds trust. - A little taste drives big sales: Just like suya, small previews can turn hesitant buyers into loyal customers. - Trust is the currency of the Nigerian market: People won’t just take your word for it—they want to see and feel it. The reality? If your product doesn’t give people a way to test-drive it, you’re leaving money on the table. Nigerians want proof before commitment. Give them a taste, and watch them come back for more. What’s one product you refused to pay for because there was no trial? 👇🏽 📌 I'm Ikram Abdulsalam, a keen observer of user behavior. I love understanding what makes people stick—or switch—and how businesses can respond effectively. #ProductManagement #ProductMarketing #GrowthHacking #UserExperience #CustomerRetention #NigeriaBusiness #AfricanStartups #NaijaMarketing #TrustMatters

🧶 Why underserved communities hesitate to adopt new technology — and what that reveals. One of the most striking patterns I’ve observed in my fieldwork is how cautious underserved communities are when introduced to new tech tools. They don’t jump to adopt — not because they lack curiosity or capability, but because they can’t afford failure. When you live with tight margins — of time, money, or mental bandwidth — every decision carries weight. A tool that promises to help can also cost you: time you don’t get back, money you can’t waste, outcomes you can’t risk. So people test the tools. They try to break them. They give imperfect inputs — a blurry photo, adding foreign elements like soil — to see how the system responds. They're not being difficult. They're being risk-averse. Because for them, adoption isn’t about convenience — it’s about survival. This changed how I think about “innovation.” Trust is not built on claims of accuracy or sleek user interfaces. It’s earned through resilience — the tool that works when the input is messy, when the context is harsh, when the user is unsure. The real test of tech for social good isn’t whether it can perform in ideal settings — but whether it can stand up to real ones. #TechForGood #SocialImpact #TrustInTech #DesignWithEmpathy #BehavioralDesign #AIforSocialImpact #UserInsights #FieldNotes #InnovationThatMatters

💡 Can Businesses Really Thrive at the Base of the Pyramid? When we talk about BoP (Base of Pyramid) markets, it’s tempting to lump all underserved communities into a single category. But conflict zones, urban slums, and deep rural areas present very different realities-and require entirely different strategies. 🌍 conflict Zones Trust deficit is high. Institutions are often weak or absent. Safety and continuity become unpredictable. 📌 Doing business here isn't just about logistics-it's about legitimacy. 🏙️ Urban Slums Cash flow exists, but infrastructure is fragile. High density means word-of-mouth travels fast-good or bad. Price sensitivity is critical, but so is aspiration. 📌 The informal economy is vibrant, but so is volatility. 🌾 Deep Rural Areas Connectivity (physical & digital) is low. Traditions and community influence behavior strongly. Distribution costs are high, but loyalty is deep when trust is built. 📌 Success depends on patience and embedded presence. So, can companies actually build a business in these markets? ✅ Yes-but only when they’re willing to listen before they launch, build trust before transactions, and adapt business models to the unique rhythm of each community. 🤔 Which of these zones do you think is the hardest to build trust in and why? #InclusiveBusiness #BoP #RuralMarkets #SocialImpact #EmergingMarkets #TrustBuilding #InnovationAtTheEdges #Leadership #BusinessStrategy #iit #iim