Technology and business in Kenyan economy
Technology and business coexists bringing up the proof that the survival of the other depends on the other. The painful yet irrefutable truth is that the two fields have proved to be dependent on one another and practically inseparable particularly in the realm of entrepreneurship.
This article covers various technological trends that provide great opportunities to tap into and how technology coexists in the Kenyan business.
The advent and development of internet has changed the way gearing system of the business world runs and has not only enabled an entrepreneur to achieve his/her life goals but also solve complex societal challenges.
Coexistence of technology in the context of Kenyan business
Though the pace has not been as fast as we expect it to be, it is true that Kenya has at least made some valuable steps in recognizing that Technology and business are detrimental fields in the economic boost. A major step is the introduction of the Ministry of ICT under the reign of President Mwai Kibaki.
Below are some of the ways of how businesses have employed technology into their workflow:
Betterment of communication
Businesses have employed techniques to pull customers closer simulating a scenario that the two parties are interacting in a village like space.
Safaricom PLC and telecommunication agents have introduced customer care services via their social media platforms and proceeded in engineering chat bots to instantly address customers’ needs in real time example being Safaricom PLC chatbot Zuri.
Businesses going online means products and services can be delivered to a wider market. This has been taken advantage of by the ecommerce moguls Jumia, Kilimall…
Business efficiency
Online transactions have really revolutionized the concept of cashless transactions. Mobile money and payment by credit cards, that is to say.
The introduction of the mobile money transfer agents such as Pesapal, MPESA, Airtelmoney and T-Kash, mobile banking, MPESA PayPal has made it easier for business to track their expenditure and easily accept payments from customers.
Security in businesses
Technological tools such as the biometrical authentication have been applied to business systems to ensure both the security of customers and the business are guaranteed, thanks to the advent of data encryption algorithms and authentication protocols.
Businesses have defaulted to the use of OTP (One Time Passcode), secure PINs and passwords to initiate online transactions with their customers. Recently Safaricom PLC rolled out their new MPESA application that allows authentication via biometrics (fingerprint identity) and is working on a one-tap payment mechanism.
Technological trends for juicy business ideas
Distributed ledger technology
Imagine performing a cashless transaction without a third party intermediary between, Cool , sending money to a friend without the need of having mobile money agent like MPESA , Airtelmoney or a bank to process the transaction. The advantage of this is that with the implementation of the distributed ledger technology the transaction costs are highly reduced, security of data is at peak and the management cost is cut down.
This has been implemented using the blockchain technology, which enforces immutable copies of data to be stored in different nodes therefore reducing the expense of a distributed database.
Blockchain technology is common to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin but its application is not only limited to cryptocurrencies.
It is a good opportunity to realize the Big 4 Agenda using the blockchain technology in collaboration with other advanced technologies like the Artificial Intelligence and reduce corruption to achieve the transparency goals set by 2022.
Advent of the mobile money transfer
This has made it an easy thing to perform transactions over the internet swiftly and securely. This presents myriads of opportunities through the sale of products and services over the internet.
In Kenya, this is a field still under development and still subject to improvement. I imagine sending money online with the same logic of sending a WhatsApp message.
Cybersecurity and computer cryptography
With several business relocating to online markets, security is a factor, and this justifies the need for businesses to employ cutting-edge technologies to protect both the business data and the data of stakeholders from unauthorized access and malicious use. This is because large market generated by the internet possess the business to the public for possible attacks.
Conclusion
The list that may be long and subject to modifications has been given a 21st century point of view to solve the challenges in our Kenyan economy and above all cite business hotspots that an entrepreneur can tap into. Business as a pillar of the planet craves for innovation and invention to survive in the competitive market of globally competitive array of conglomerates.
This makes a business products be continuously relevant on the market place. Innovation in what Safaricom PLC keeps as a secret.
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