As active investors, our market role keeps us deeply in the know—helping us make sense of the private sector and deliver research that matters.

Filters
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Featured research
July 25, 2025
DFS Lab (Team)
DFS Lab (Team)

Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) Onboarding Programs for Online Selling: Insights & Best Practices

Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) need more than just digital tools to succeed online. Effective onboarding programs combine business skills training, tailored support for different platforms, and ongoing assistance. Despite these efforts, many programs are hard to find, often exclude women-led businesses, and there’s no unified national database for MSEs.

Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) Onboarding Programs for Online Selling: Insights & Best Practices
December 8, 2023
Leila Haroon
Leila Haroon

Beyond the City Limits: Platform livelihood in Rural Indonesia

In collaboration with RISE Indonesia and sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we present detailed data on the rising platform economy in rural Indonesia.

Beyond the City Limits: Platform livelihood in Rural Indonesia
All research
July 25, 2025
DFS Lab (Team)
DFS Lab (Team)

Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) Onboarding Programs for Online Selling: Insights & Best Practices

Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) need more than just digital tools to succeed online. Effective onboarding programs combine business skills training, tailored support for different platforms, and ongoing assistance. Despite these efforts, many programs are hard to find, often exclude women-led businesses, and there’s no unified national database for MSEs.

Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) Onboarding Programs for Online Selling: Insights & Best Practices
/
Gates Indonesia
Surveys
Indonesia
2025
Gates Foundation
No items found.
No items found.
December 8, 2023
Leila Haroon
Leila Haroon

Beyond the City Limits: Platform livelihood in Rural Indonesia

In collaboration with RISE Indonesia and sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we present detailed data on the rising platform economy in rural Indonesia.

Beyond the City Limits: Platform livelihood in Rural Indonesia
/
Gates Indonesia
Indonesia
2023
Gates Foundation
No items found.
No items found.
November 17, 2023
DFS LAB
DFS LAB

Rural Sellers Report in Indonesia

This publication highlights initial findings from our study of rural platform participants in social commerce, ecommerce, digital agriculture and digital fisheries marketplaces in Indonesia.

Rural Sellers Report in Indonesia
/
Gates Indonesia
Indonesia
2023
No items found.
No items found.
November 17, 2023
Chernay Johnson
Chernay Johnson

Livelihoods Pathways Report

The Pathways through Platform Livelihoods report in Indonesia highlights a broader set of models of the platform economy which encompasses not just the gig economy via digital platforms but trading and selling but...

Livelihoods Pathways Report
/
Gates Indonesia
Indonesia
2023
No items found.
No items found.
November 17, 2023
DFS LAB
DFS LAB

Opportunities to expand financial inclusion within Indonesia's Platform Economy

This landscape report highlights our initial research efforts in Indonesia across different platform models and their potential to expand financial inclusion.

Opportunities to expand financial inclusion within Indonesia's Platform Economy
/
Gates Indonesia
Indonesia
2023
No items found.
No items found.
November 17, 2023
Chernay Johnson
Chernay Johnson

Indonesia Literature Review

The Contribution of Platform Livelihoods to an Inclusive Digital Economy in Indonesia: Literature Review and Stakeholder Consultations.

Indonesia Literature Review
/
Gates Indonesia
Merchant Payments
2023
Gates Foundation
No items found.
No items found.
November 15, 2023
Stephen Deng
Stephen Deng

Trains, Trust, and Card Networks(Invested Infrastructure Part 1)

This is Sufficient Balance One — a five-part content series about the opportunities in African Fintech. Brought to you by DFS Lab and The Subtext.

Trains, Trust, and Card Networks(Invested Infrastructure Part 1)
/
Sufficient Balance
PISP
2023
DFS Lab
No items found.
No items found.
November 15, 2023
Stephen Deng
Stephen Deng

The B-Side of African Tech

The tech scene in Africa is rapidly evolving, with record-setting valuations and increased capital inflows into the continent's ecosystems, especially in Nigeria's fintech sector.

The B-Side of African Tech
/
Sufficient Balance
PISP
2023
DFS Lab
No items found.
No items found.
November 15, 2023
Stephen Deng
Stephen Deng

The Frontier Blindspot

“This disconnect between the conditions that drove the growth of the digital economies in high income countries and on-the-ground reality in frontier markets creates what we call the Frontier Blindspot.

The Frontier Blindspot
/
Sufficient Balance
PISP
2023
DFS Lab
No items found.
No items found.
November 15, 2023
DFS LAB
DFS LAB

Physical Ubiquity Redux

This post discusses the concept of "Physical Ubiquity," where physical distribution becomes accessible, creating new markets.

Physical Ubiquity Redux
/
Sufficient Balance
PISP
2023
DFS Lab
No items found.
No items found.
November 15, 2023
Stephen Deng
Stephen Deng

Physical Ubiquity

African startups find themselves in a paradox of being both overhyped and underhyped, navigating challenging markets with vast opportunities.

Physical Ubiquity
/
Sufficient Balance
PISP
2023
No items found.
No items found.
November 15, 2023
Stephen Deng
Stephen Deng

Quality Capital

The African venture capital market appears to be at a stage reminiscent of Southeast Asia's situation five or six years ago before it experienced rapid growth.

Quality Capital
/
Sufficient Balance
PISP
2023
No items found.
No items found.
November 15, 2023
Jake Kendall
Jake Kendall

Fortune at the middle of the pyramid

This post is a deep dive into two areas we think are often deeply misunderstood — market size and consumer purchasing power in Africa.

Fortune at the middle of the pyramid
/
Sufficient Balance
PISP
2023
DFS Lab
No items found.
No items found.
November 15, 2023
Stephen Deng
Stephen Deng

Lights, Loans, and Beyond (Invested Infrastructure Pt. 2)

This post explores the transformative power of mobile money and its influence on fintech innovations in African markets.

Lights, Loans, and Beyond (Invested Infrastructure Pt. 2)
/
Sufficient Balance
PISP
2023
No items found.
No items found.
November 15, 2023
Stephen Deng
Stephen Deng

A lay of the land

This is the first chapter of a five-part content series on African Fintech, presented by DFS Lab and The Subtext.

A lay of the land
/
Sufficient Balance
PISP
2023
DFS Lab
No items found.
No items found.
October 15, 2023
Chernay Johnson
Chernay Johnson

The hard limits of retail digitalization in Africa

This paper explores the ability to use Natural Language Processing to create conversational interfaces for digital products and services used by low-income people.

The hard limits of retail digitalization in Africa
/
Sufficient Balance
PISP
2023
DFS Lab
No items found.
No items found.
October 15, 2023
Jake Kendall
Jake Kendall

Build Cyborgs not Androids in Africa

This paper takes a critical look at the potential for digital platforms to be partners in expanding financial inclusion in Africa.

Build Cyborgs not Androids in Africa
/
Sufficient Balance
Merchant Payments
2023
DFS Lab
No items found.
No items found.
December 15, 2020
DFS Lab (Team)
DFS Lab (Team)

Who is ‘The African Consumer’?

In Fortune at the middle of the pyramid, we argue, among other things, that the most significant opportunity for African B2C startups lies with consumers who earn between $4 — $8 per day.

Who is ‘The African Consumer’?
/
Sufficient Balance
PISP
2023
DFS Lab
No items found.
No items found.