Networked Micro-Services: Empowering Local Micro-Enterprises in a South African Township through Community Wireless Networks

Internet and cloud resources are a growing resource for microenterprises. However, small businesses in low-income communities struggle to use these resources due to the cost of access and the perceived cost of producing digital applications. In this paper, we draw on interviews with residents and small business owners from a South African township to inform the design of services to support microservices through locally hosted infrastructure. We present design implications for the architecture of these services, discussing the merits of internet-based versus community-based architectures, and present four prototypes to demonstrate possible designs of local-centred e-commerce applications. This paper extends insights about local micro-enterprises' feature requirements and no-code local content creation services in remote communities. It also illustrates some factors that hinder the success of e-commerce in remote areas and how CWNs mitigate those factors. This work aims to contribute to both Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Goal 8, which focuses on promoting economic growth, and Goal 11, which aims to build sustainable communities