- Cases
- Nigeria
Design Sprint with 5 Social Enterprises: How Can Digital Jobs Work Better for Women?
- Commissioned by Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE)
01 Situation
Across Nigeria, social enterprises enabling digital employment faced a shared challenge: strong initial interest from women did not translate into sustained participation or job placement. Financial constraints, unclear pathways, and competing responsibilities led to drop-offs across the journey, from application to employment.
02 Assignment
CFYE engaged Proportion to support five social enterprises in redesigning how digital opportunities are communicated, accessed, and experienced by women, grounded in real user needs across diverse contexts.
03 Approach
An in-person, centrally guided design sprint in Lagos, Nigeria brought five social enterprises into a shared process. Each team worked on its own challenge while engaging in continuous cross-sharing and peer inspiration. Qualitative research with women, spouses, and stakeholders informed insights across the full user journey. Over five days, teams moved from insight to prototype, rapidly iterating while learning from parallel experiences across organizations.
04 Result
The sprint generated user-validated solutions, from flexible payment models and realistic job previews to localized tools and trust-building campaigns. Beyond individual outputs, the cross-learning dynamic accelerated adoption of insights across all teams. A clear shift emerged: designing for affordability, clarity, and lived realities unlocks stronger pathways for women to access and thrive in digital work.
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