Andragogy & AI Agents for Analog MSMEs
The average Bodega owner is in their 50s, so thinking about entrepreneurial training in this sector is not about pedagogy, it is about andragogy: self-directed learning for adults. And a big difference in andragogy vs pedagogy is the importance of relevant, contextualized learning. Adult learners don't have the same interest in (or patience for) abstract, theoretical explorations. Learning for adults is more effecive when it is problem-centered, immediately relevant, and experiential.
This is clearly an advantage of continuous AI-driven entrepreneurial training versus up-front classroom-based training. Tools like MYPE AsesorIA can serve up knowledge in an interactive way that is immediately relevant to whatever problem the entrepreneur is facing in that moment, incorporating context. This is much more in tune with how adults learn.
I also happen to be an adult (even moreso than 25 years ago) and the same applies to me: understanding comes through quickly moving from theoretical ideas to practical examples immediately relevant to what I am working on and most interested in. Which brings me to AI Agents. Like most people working with AI, I've heard talk and excitement about AI Agents for over a year now, but didn't pay so much attention. But I've been thinking about them more now, because of conversations like this:
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Paraphrased chat between Celinda (a small-scale coffee grower in Peru) and Maia (Mype AsesorIA)
Celinda: my coffee is real good, and I get a lot of good feedback about its odor and flavor. Right now we sell whole-bean to aggregators but want to sell packaged, ground coffee, because I could earn a lot more.
Maia: that's a great idea. With ground coffee, maintaining that odor and flavor has to be maintained with the right kind of hermeticlaly sealed packaging. How are you packaging your ground coffee right now?
(Maia and Celinda have a back-and-forth about current packaging, the impacts of light and humidity on freshness, etc. and figure out the detail of exactly what packaging Celinda wants)
Maia: to find packaging that meets these criteria at a good cost, you can talk with some of your fellow cafetaleros, co-ops, and suppliers, and search online. Here are the steps to search online (gives steps for contacting suppliers, giving requirements, collecting and negoating prices).
Celinda: thanks. But what I would like is for you to do that for me. Can you?
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The step-by-step detailed advice offered here was great, and is surely a boost to the productivity of MSME owners like Celinda. But she wants more than just detailed, step-by-step advice. She wants the system to actually get out there into her real world do some work for her. Most AI agent discussions are about things like autonomous programming tools and virtual travel agents, working away in the digital world. But what would AI agents look like for the hundreds of millions of analog MSMEs in developing countries? What is a solution for Celinda where the AI doesn't just give detailed advice, but could operate on her behalf, collect specs from a variety of suppliers, and negotiate prices for her (which in Peru would require not only web serches and emails, but phone calls)?