Training with Technology - Lessons from a Field Experiment with Kenyan MSMEs

Last registered on February 09, 2023

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Training with Technology - Lessons from a Field Experiment with Kenyan MSMEs
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007265
Initial registration date
December 02, 2022

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
December 14, 2022, 2:10 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
February 09, 2023, 4:33 PM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of California Berkeley

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-01-01
End date
2023-12-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Trainings encouraging adoption of best business practices are vital for strengthening small businesses in low-income countries. However, conventional in-person classroom-style business trainings are expensive, not easily scalable, and can exclude entrepreneurs that are harder to reach or are unable to take out time to attend in-person sessions - which can disproportionately affect female business owners. Moreover, these trainings are usually provided to entrepreneurs free of cost, which requires external funding and creates sustainability concerns. With extensive proliferation of mobile phones in low-income countries, there is now a growing focus on SMS-based trainings. These trainings are cheap, scalable and could be crucial for targeting support to female entrepreneurs. Yet little evidence exists on (i) the effectiveness of SMS-based business trainings, (ii) entrepreneurs' willingness to pay for such trainings, and (iii) their interactions with gender. This study addresses these gaps by evaluating the effectiveness of an SMS-based business training program for small business owners in Kenya. Access to an SMS-based training module was randomized across approximately 5000 small business owners. Treatment individuals were further offered the opportunity to purchase a second training module at a randomly selected price, in order to estimate demand for business trainings. Short and medium-run effects will be estimated using data collected via phone-based surveys.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Mehmood, Muhammad Zia. 2023. "Training with Technology - Lessons from a Field Experiment with Kenyan MSMEs." AEA RCT Registry. February 09. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7265-2.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2022-01-01
Intervention End Date
2023-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
knowledge and adoption of best business practices, credit outcomes, savings and investments, employment outcomes, business labor input, business sales and profits
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Access to an SMS-based training module was randomized across 4701 small business owners with an embedded willingness to pay elicitation for the trainings. Stratifying by gender, the primary sample was randomized into a treatment and control group such that the former received SMS-based business trainings while the latter received placebo content over SMS.

Business owners in the treatment group received access to two training modules – the first was free and the price of the second module was randomized across three arms: (i) Free, (ii) Low price (below marginal cost of training), and (iii) High price (above marginal cost of training).
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization via computer.
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
4701 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
4701 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
(1) Total control individuals: 1881
(2) Total treatment individuals: 2820
(2a) Total Free arm: 1419
(2b) Total Low price arm: 697
(2c) Total High price arm: 704
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
UC Berkeley Committee for Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS)
IRB Approval Date
2022-06-06
IRB Approval Number
2021-07-14466
IRB Name
Strathmore University Institutional Ethics Review Committee (SU-IERC)
IRB Approval Date
2022-07-14
IRB Approval Number
SU-IERC1391/22
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials