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Appropriate technology – is it right for small business?
01.12.1993
Improved technologies for small businesses have the potential to increase productivity, improve product quality and develop local skills. 'Appropriate technology' has generally been considered to be cheap, robust and simple; usually able to be manufactured locally and generating products with a local market. This article asks the question whether technology that satisfies these criteria necessarily satisfies small business requirements. If more attention is paid to the market demand for the product, rather than to the technology used in its manufacture, would the choice of technology be any different?