What Does MVP Stand For? It’s Not What You Think.
October 7, 2024
Article
This course is part of Fintech Startups in Emerging Markets Specialization
Instructor: Co-Pierre Georg
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(39 reviews)
(39 reviews)
Entrepreneurship opportunities arise out of necessity, being driven to solve a real need or a social problem.
Emerging markets offer huge opportunities for disruptive innovation.
Adopting design thinking methodologies encourages a focus on user-centric products and services.
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Starting a small business can be very rewarding. This course starts by asking “What is entrepreneurship?” to then begin applying commonly used business planning tools, such as design thinking and business model canvas. Design thinking is a methodology that encourages startups to focus on user-centric products and services. Topics like regulation, intellectual property, funding, and growth are covered as they relate to building startups.
Many of the entrepreneurship opportunities and especially those in emerging markets arise out of necessity, driven to solve a real need or a social problem. Thus emerging markets are often seen as offering huge opportunities for disruptive innovation. Entrepreneurship has contributed to economic growth and has been able to respond to social problems, helping some communities prosper. With the rise of fintech, financial solutions using technologies such as the cloud, blockchain, and machine learning have bypassed or partnered with established financial institutions to serve new markets. We invited some really interesting people in various stages of building their startups to explain their business development. We will be talking with Zlto (a digital currency), Yoco (mobile payments), Proof of Steak (alternative asset investment), and Kuba (a digital ‘middleman’ for small businesses) to name a few. As we will learn, there is no such thing as being ‘ready’ or, choosing the ‘perfect time’ to become an entrepreneur. You are already one, so let’s take the next steps on your entrepreneurial journey by joining your peers around the world on this course. This course is for everyone anywhere, not only those inspired by fintech in emerging markets.
Welcome to week 1 of building fintech startups! We begin with the basics by discussing: What is entrepreneurship? What does it mean to be an entrepreneur? What is an emerging market? Then we discuss the typical stages of a startup. To make this more practical, we also introduce you to real fintech startups and their journeys that will help you on your journey. Don’t worry if you don’t have a fintech background, this course is for anyone and everyone interested in entrepreneurship.
16 videos7 readings5 assignments2 discussion prompts3 plugins
Welcome to week 2! We’re glad you’ve continued your entrepreneurial journey. This week gets into ideation and the design thinking process. We respond to questions on: How do people tackle their problems and find solutions? What tools can we use to figure this out? Rael, Kungela and Sarah-Anne share their insights and experiences. You will also hear from Jacques (Kuba), Allan (Zlto) and Katlego (Yoco) speaking about their products and how they learnt to keep the customers in mind.
17 videos3 readings4 assignments1 peer review1 discussion prompt
You’ve reached week 3 when we will see how startups are built. Congratulations for keeping going! This week we look at the legal foundations, regulatory environment and startup funding. These questions can have significant consequences for a startup: How to ensure you’re complying with your countries laws? Do you understand the implications of giving equity away? You’ll hear from experts and entrepreneurs as to how they approached these questions. From our case studies, we share some practical experiences and considerations.
18 videos2 readings4 assignments2 discussion prompts
You’re in the final stretch. Congratulations on reaching week 4 which is about support opportunities for entrepreneurs. To start, we'll introduce you to the types of support entrepreneurs need to be successful and grow. In the Peer Review assignment, you will need to ask an entrepreneur about their journey creating a startup. To interview someone it’s best to check the assignment ahead of time in order to have enough opportunity to complete this task. We also have a few bonus case studies (Aerobotics and Custos) who we interviewed about their journeys growing startups.
18 videos1 reading2 assignments1 peer review3 discussion prompts
We asked all learners to give feedback on our instructors based on the quality of their teaching style.
The University of Cape Town is the oldest university in South Africa and is one of the leading research universities on the African continent. UCT has over 28 000 students, of whom 30% are postgraduate students. We offer degrees in six faculties: Commerce, Engineering & the Built Environment, Health Sciences, Humanities, Law, and Science. We pride ourself on our diverse student body, which reflects the many cultures and backgrounds of the region. We welcome international students and are currently home to thousands of international students from over 100 countries. UCT has a tradition of academic excellence that is respected world-wide and is privileged to have more than 30 A-rated researchers on our staff, all of whom are recognised as world leaders in their field. Our aim is to ensure that our research contributes to the public good through sharing knowledge for the benefit of society. Past students include five Nobel Laureates – Max Theiler, Alan Cormack, Sir Aaron Klug, Ralph Bunche and, J M Coetzee.
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Reviewed on Nov 20, 2020
Good structure and example of Fintech startup journey
Reviewed on Oct 20, 2020
Thanks and Regards,Sachin Shekhar R, AppBootUp.com, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachinshekharr/
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