AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE COVID-19 has brought forth opportunities in e-commerce, which have significantly scaled down the cost of doing business by automating manual office operations and reducing human interaction hence increasing productivity and efficiency.
Running e-commerce businesses overwhelmed cities can be a thankless task due to the basic infrastructure gaps and a reluctant customer base. But it turns out the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic may yet ease one of the lingering challenges faced by e-commerce businesses in African markets.
Digital transformation is changing the way businesses operate successfully, especially in the age of Coronavirus. It has not only allowed companies to continue operating when hit with unexpected circumstances as with the pandemic, but also to reach new heights of production and efficiency.
Even though Africa has had a billion-dollar IPO for an ecommerce company and smartphone penetration is growing, the reality is that shopping online is still a fanciful prospect for most ordinary Africans. Speaking during the opening session of the training, EABC CEO Dr. Peter Mathuki urged East African companies to adopt digital business models to improve business resilience and continuity amid the pandemic.
He said Business Membership Organizations (BMOs) in the East African region are adopting Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software technologies, in a bid to improve service provision to businesses amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
This follows a two-day training by the East African Business Council (EABC) in partnership with GIZ- Business Scouts for Development and the Federation of German Industries (BDI), on using a CRM software set to improve the capacity of BMOs in processing data and communicating effectively with members of the business community.
Dr. Mathuki also noted that the pandemic demands BMOs to be more proactive in giving feedback and analyzing data from members to inform policy advocacy initiatives such as the elimination of COVID-19 related Non-Tariff Barriers, among others.
In his remarks, Mr Hamad Hamad, Executive Director of Zanzibar National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) said, “It is critical for businesses to adopt digital tools to improve efficiency and maximize on returns. EAC Partner States Governments also need to adopt e-government solutions to give value to citizens.” This happens as the African Development Bank projects that the region is set to recover to 3.7 percent in the baseline scenario and 2.8 percent in the worst-case scenario, under the assumption that Covid-19 would be contained in the short-to medium term.
Although the current pandemic has had a severe impact on the global economy, but the digital economy has proven instrumental in the battle against Covid-19. The pandemic has disrupted the global supply chain impacting trade in goods and services in the EAC.
EABC in partnership with the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and GIZ Business Scouts for Development is committed to take lead in managing the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to support BMOs in the EAC region to improve communication with their members and stakeholder.
The pandemic has accelerated the process of digital transformation across almost all sectors. The digital economy represents a departure from the traditional zero-sum-game business model with its focus on shared value creation.
It is a wake-up call for organizations that have placed too much focus on daily operational needs at the expense of investing in digital business and long-term resilience. Businesses that can shift technology capacity and investments to digital platforms will mitigate the impact of the outbreak and keep their companies running smoothly now, and over the long term.
The digital transformation should not only be welcomed but looked at as an exciting opportunity to view your business through a new lens. It’s the chance to think about new possibilities, examine how you deliver products and services, and leverage technologies in new ways.
It’s also about creating a mindset of innovation and resiliency throughout the organization, opening the door for employees, partners, and advisors to help develop better processes, better products, and
