Frugal Innovation at the Intersection of Formal and Informal Sectors: Insights from Moroccan Entrepreneurial Practices

Issam Ourrai () and Mohamed Rahmou
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Issam Ourrai: GRANEM - Groupe de Recherche Angevin en Economie et Management - UA - Université d'Angers - Institut Agro Rennes Angers - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement

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Abstract: Frugal innovation has become a vital approach to fostering sustainable entrepreneurship and societal transformation in resource-constrained environments. This paper investigates how Moroccan entrepreneurs navigate the intersection of formal and informal sectors to drive business growth, social impact, and digital transformation. Through three qualitative case studies—MadNess (a social innovation incubator), NexTronix (a tech firm that adapted to crises like COVID-19 and the Al Haouz earthquake), and Aboulfeth Hamza (a digital entrepreneur)—we explore how frugal innovation strategies emerge from grassroots realities. Guided by sensemaking theory (Weick 1995) and frugal innovation principles (Radjou & Prabhu 2012), we combine ethnographic methods with NLP and machine learning techniques to analyze entrepreneurial resilience. Findings reveal the strategic use of informal networks, digital tools, and lean models to overcome institutional and financial constraints. The study contributes to the discourse on frugal innovation by showing how hybrid ecosystems fuel inclusive entrepreneurship in the Global South.

Keywords: Sustainability; Entrepreneurship; business models; Frugal innovation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-08-08
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Published in IAMOT 2025, Jun 2025, Montreal, Canada. Springer Nature Switzerland, pp.447-455, 2026, Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, 978-3-032-23123-9. ⟨10.1007/978-3-032-23124-6_54⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05726282

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-23124-6_54

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