Slum-Driven Design: Inclusion and Incursion Around Essential Entrepreneurship in Brazil’s Urban Favelas

Abstract

Understanding the complexity and potential of favelas around the world has been a challenge for entrepreneurs. Many have realized the potential for wealth generation in peripheral communities in cities like São Paulo or Mumbai. Startups based on design-based communication strategies quickly flourished. Such strategies are decisive for the success of these innovative business models, which overcome the difficulties and infrastructure impasses of these regions outside the cities. In this article, we present examples developed in Brazil, as part of collaborative research between FAUUSP and the School of Design at the University of Leeds.