speed and agility rather than perfection.
Companies that will emerge stronger
from the pandemic are those that are
experimenting, improving, and adapting
as they go along.
The explosion of e-commerce exemplifies
how adopting an open mindset in trying
out new ways can make a big difference.
Thinking flexibly also allows businesses to
address current and emerging consumer
needs by coming up with products and
services that address these needs.
Keep It Simple
Jugaad innovators are not obsessed with
perfection. Offering a good enough
product to use is better than taking a long
time to perfect the offering. In the Jugaad
world, practice makes for improvement,
not perfect. Companies looking to survive
must not only think and act flexibly, but
they must also offer solutions that are easy
to use.
It is argued that creativity is what makes
the complicated simple. Leverage the
creative genius to simplify your offerings
and make it easier for consumers to
choose you. The Do It Yourself (DYI)
concept is an excellent example of
simplifying complex concepts. With the
bulk of the population locked up because
of the pandemic, consumers are open to
trying out new recipes such as baking and
making cocktails at home.
Include the Marginalized
Uber attributes its success to going
after the underserved market. Large
corporates almost always miss out on this
portion of the population, leaving out an
enormous market of potential consumers.
In the current crisis, companies must
continuously ask themselves how they
can better serve the consumers who
are looking for affordable products or
services. The sweet spot is striking a
balance between quality and affordability.
On the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic
in Kenya, Safaricom took some steps
that ensured that it serves the marginal
segment of the society. The telco waived
fees on its mobile money transfer service
M-Pesa for transactions below Ksh1,000
($10) to allow customers to use cashless
modes of payment as part of the measures
to prevent the transmission of Covid-19.
Follow Your Heart
Most CEOs attribute some of the best
decisions to gut intelligence, a creative
intuition honed by years of experience.
Beyond logical thinking, businesses must
think of how they can empathize with
consumers. Keeping the customers and
consumers close allows companies to really
understand the needs beyond what formal
research or focus groups could indicate.
A great example is Steve Job’s philosophy
of ‘customer-minded innovation,’ which
relies on intuition instead of ‘customerdriven
innovation.’
Bringing it all together
In the current VUCA world, viewing
adversity as an opportunity is the best
way to cope. Companies are experiencing
rapid changes, scarcity of resources, and
increased connectivity. Adopting a Jugaad
mindset will allow organizations to cope
and emerge stronger from the crisis. The
six principles of Jugaad innovation don’t
have to be adapted at once. Different
companies can prioritize what is relevant
to them and adjust as they go.
Senorine Wasike is an innovation
catalyst with over 10 years’
experience in FMCG, currently
working as the Senior Innovations
Manager at Kenya Breweries
Limited. You can commune with
her on this or related matters via
email at: Senorine.Wasike@
gmail.com.