This document discusses digital business models in sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on Southern, Eastern, and Western Africa. It finds that mobile technology is driving digital transformation across the continent. Digital businesses are emerging that are native to Africa and solve local problems. While opportunities are large, infrastructure challenges like bandwidth and skills shortages remain. The future of African digital markets depends on understanding local contexts and adjusting offerings accordingly.
Many African governments speak highly about role of innovation and SMEs as necessities to take Africa forward. High unemployment levels and lack of corporate employment opportunities also force people look opportunities in becoming entrepreneurs. Many NGOs and funds have invested a lot in creating a wide variety of actions around “innovation” yet concrete results – besides bunch of seminars, events and programmes – seem to be lacking.
Digital Asia – ASEAN in ascendence. Team Finland Future Watch Report, May 2016Didar Kaitasalo
In Asia, three trends are driving digitalisation: mobile commerce, business intelligence and smart infrastructures. These will have a significant short- to midterm impact on companies and customers, and ways of doing business. See how digital transformation is shaping the future business landscape in Singapore, Vietnam and Philippines. Areas covered: Fintech: New lending models, mobile payments, blockchain
The Future of Digital Business Models in sub-Saharan Africa, Team Finland Fut...Team Finland Future Watch
From the perspective of the African future, digital business models have a vital role in influencing the development of African societies. For the first time African economies are able to create equal economic links with Western economies and are able to attract interest from all over the world. Growth numbers in digital market are staggering, although the future is not as straightforward as one could expect. Now it is great moment to look at what are the successful digital business models in Africa and how does the future looks like for African digitalization.
ASEAN is increasingly becoming a vital economic force in Asia and a driver of global growth with a young, abundant workforce. Simultaneously, the region is witnessing significant productivity improvement in sectors such as manufacturing, retail, telecommunications and transportation.
Philippine Roadmap for Digital Startups 2015 and BeyondJanette Toral
Document was launched at Geeks on a Beach (August 20, 2015) for public discussion. An initiative led by the Department of Science and Technology - Information and Communications Technology Office (DOST-ICTO).
Its action areas include:
1. Intellectual Property Rights
2. Internet Infrastructure
3. Science Parks and Innovation Hubs 4. Legislation/Policy
5. Grassroots Activities
6. Funding and Investment
7. Umbrella Organization
8. Research and Development
9. Education
10. Open-sourced Information
11. Collaboration
12. Government Role
A Rainbow Technology for a Rainbow People: E-Business Capacity Development fo...Alwyn Didar Singh
Why does the CARICOM need capacity development in E-Business?
As e-Commerce growth becomes more and more significant, the CARICOM countries will need not just to understand, but in fact to actively engage in it. Not only for realizing it’s potential of growth for their trade and industry but also as a means of survival in the new world of e-Commerce-based trade and business. Their ability to do so will depend on several factors, such as their infrastructure, both physical (the telecommunication network), as well as the financial and legal framework, including the business and trade environment conducive to e-Business. It will also depend on the availability and price of hardware (computers, routers, switches etc.) and software, as well as the human resource and education standards of the country.
As in the case of several developing countries, these essential ‘factors of eproduction’, so to speak are not necessarily in place or are in limited supply. In order to take active part in the new economy as well as be prepared for the adaptation and use of e-Business for old economy transactions especially for international trade and commerce, these countries and their enterprises need to come up to speed and become e-enabled. Section I of this report outlines the objectives, methodology and rationale for the study and also places in perspective the importance of e-Business for developing countries such as those of the Caribbean. The CARICOM member states also need to prepare for discussions on e-Commerce in the international arena, especially the WTO and FTAA. They need to understand, and assess carefully from their perspective, the pros and cons of the different proposals and issues in this connection that could emerge at these forums. They will thus need to appreciate the possible impact of this new phenomenon on their economies and work out appropriate strategies and responses to it. This section also summarizes these issues.
In order therefore to develop an e-Business capacity development strategy, this CFTC Mission, was so designed as to first carry out a diagnostic analysis to assess how e-Ready the CARICOM member states are and then make recommendations towards a possible blueprint for the future.
Keynote presentation on the launch of ASEAN Vision 2040, ERIA’s project in support of the Government of Thailand who is ASEAN Chair in 2019. The event was held in Jakarta on 30 August 2019 with the theme ‘Integration, Transformation and ASEAN Centrality’.
The presentation was made and delivered by Dr Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Senior Energy Economist of ERIA.
Dr Anbumozhi's profile can be found here: http://www.eria.org/experts/venkatachalam-anbumozhi/
Many African governments speak highly about role of innovation and SMEs as necessities to take Africa forward. High unemployment levels and lack of corporate employment opportunities also force people look opportunities in becoming entrepreneurs. Many NGOs and funds have invested a lot in creating a wide variety of actions around “innovation” yet concrete results – besides bunch of seminars, events and programmes – seem to be lacking.
Digital Asia – ASEAN in ascendence. Team Finland Future Watch Report, May 2016Didar Kaitasalo
In Asia, three trends are driving digitalisation: mobile commerce, business intelligence and smart infrastructures. These will have a significant short- to midterm impact on companies and customers, and ways of doing business. See how digital transformation is shaping the future business landscape in Singapore, Vietnam and Philippines. Areas covered: Fintech: New lending models, mobile payments, blockchain
The Future of Digital Business Models in sub-Saharan Africa, Team Finland Fut...Team Finland Future Watch
From the perspective of the African future, digital business models have a vital role in influencing the development of African societies. For the first time African economies are able to create equal economic links with Western economies and are able to attract interest from all over the world. Growth numbers in digital market are staggering, although the future is not as straightforward as one could expect. Now it is great moment to look at what are the successful digital business models in Africa and how does the future looks like for African digitalization.
ASEAN is increasingly becoming a vital economic force in Asia and a driver of global growth with a young, abundant workforce. Simultaneously, the region is witnessing significant productivity improvement in sectors such as manufacturing, retail, telecommunications and transportation.
Philippine Roadmap for Digital Startups 2015 and BeyondJanette Toral
Document was launched at Geeks on a Beach (August 20, 2015) for public discussion. An initiative led by the Department of Science and Technology - Information and Communications Technology Office (DOST-ICTO).
Its action areas include:
1. Intellectual Property Rights
2. Internet Infrastructure
3. Science Parks and Innovation Hubs 4. Legislation/Policy
5. Grassroots Activities
6. Funding and Investment
7. Umbrella Organization
8. Research and Development
9. Education
10. Open-sourced Information
11. Collaboration
12. Government Role
A Rainbow Technology for a Rainbow People: E-Business Capacity Development fo...Alwyn Didar Singh
Why does the CARICOM need capacity development in E-Business?
As e-Commerce growth becomes more and more significant, the CARICOM countries will need not just to understand, but in fact to actively engage in it. Not only for realizing it’s potential of growth for their trade and industry but also as a means of survival in the new world of e-Commerce-based trade and business. Their ability to do so will depend on several factors, such as their infrastructure, both physical (the telecommunication network), as well as the financial and legal framework, including the business and trade environment conducive to e-Business. It will also depend on the availability and price of hardware (computers, routers, switches etc.) and software, as well as the human resource and education standards of the country.
As in the case of several developing countries, these essential ‘factors of eproduction’, so to speak are not necessarily in place or are in limited supply. In order to take active part in the new economy as well as be prepared for the adaptation and use of e-Business for old economy transactions especially for international trade and commerce, these countries and their enterprises need to come up to speed and become e-enabled. Section I of this report outlines the objectives, methodology and rationale for the study and also places in perspective the importance of e-Business for developing countries such as those of the Caribbean. The CARICOM member states also need to prepare for discussions on e-Commerce in the international arena, especially the WTO and FTAA. They need to understand, and assess carefully from their perspective, the pros and cons of the different proposals and issues in this connection that could emerge at these forums. They will thus need to appreciate the possible impact of this new phenomenon on their economies and work out appropriate strategies and responses to it. This section also summarizes these issues.
In order therefore to develop an e-Business capacity development strategy, this CFTC Mission, was so designed as to first carry out a diagnostic analysis to assess how e-Ready the CARICOM member states are and then make recommendations towards a possible blueprint for the future.
Keynote presentation on the launch of ASEAN Vision 2040, ERIA’s project in support of the Government of Thailand who is ASEAN Chair in 2019. The event was held in Jakarta on 30 August 2019 with the theme ‘Integration, Transformation and ASEAN Centrality’.
The presentation was made and delivered by Dr Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Senior Energy Economist of ERIA.
Dr Anbumozhi's profile can be found here: http://www.eria.org/experts/venkatachalam-anbumozhi/
As in the real world, the digital economy has also thrown up its share of shifting buzzwords. From ‘e-Commerce’ and ‘dot.com’ at the turn of the century, the last couple of years have thrown up ‘ICT’ as the all encompassing technology and for business the newest buzz is undoubtedly ‘outsourcing’. Rarely has a single trend impacted global business and industry these last few years as much as outsourcing or ‘off-shoring’ as it is referred to in the US. Coming along with the compulsions of globalisation mandated by the WTO agreements it has helped develop new markets, improved bottom lines, expanded the range of goods and services and pulled the planet together into a tighter-knit community. This opportunity of outsourcing from the perspective of developing economies is ICT services export.
In 2021, the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) – together with Curated Connectors, a Singapore based start-up – hosted a webinar series to discuss how innovation, start-up creation, and entrepreneurship at large are contributing to shape the post-pandemic recovery. The discussions in each episode of the webinar series brought in innovators, ‘start-uppers’, and entrepreneurs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its Dialogue Partners as well as experts from international organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), foundations, and policymakers. This report summarises the key messages and trends that arose from the first half of the webinar series.
This Corporate Innovation Hubs (CIH) report is for Finnish companies considering a San Francisco Bay area presence, or other main innovation clusters, as a part of their innovation strategy.
What are the ingredients that have made India’s ‘Silicon Valley’ as successful as a technology cluster with national and global impact? Can these be replicated? What collective role can industry, workforces, educators and government policymakers play in creating such successful clusters in their own countries?
Digital Transformation in Pakistan - Ecomm, Freelancing & Entrepreneurship.Mudassir Malik
Discussion & Statistics on the E-commerce, Freelancing and Entrepreneurship in Pakistan. Discussing the emerging startups; GharPar, DentalConnect & CodeWorking.
This report summarises the key messages that emerged during the first five episodes of the ERIA MSME Talks, a series of webinars designed to discuss key issues, challenges, and opportunities for ASEAN MSMEs in the COVID-19 world, with a diverse group of stakeholders including entrepreneurs, policymakers, academics, and experts from the region. This report details some of the building blocks for the development of more sustainable and inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystems during the post-pandemic economic recovery in ASEAN.
Explores the investment opportunities, growth, and business markets of Africa. Offers a look at the diversity of African startups, as well as companies that are valued at over $100 million or earning over $100 million annually.
As in the real world, the digital economy has also thrown up its share of shifting buzzwords. From ‘e-Commerce’ and ‘dot.com’ at the turn of the century, the last couple of years have thrown up ‘ICT’ as the all encompassing technology and for business the newest buzz is undoubtedly ‘outsourcing’. Rarely has a single trend impacted global business and industry these last few years as much as outsourcing or ‘off-shoring’ as it is referred to in the US. Coming along with the compulsions of globalisation mandated by the WTO agreements it has helped develop new markets, improved bottom lines, expanded the range of goods and services and pulled the planet together into a tighter-knit community. This opportunity of outsourcing from the perspective of developing economies is ICT services export.
In 2021, the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) – together with Curated Connectors, a Singapore based start-up – hosted a webinar series to discuss how innovation, start-up creation, and entrepreneurship at large are contributing to shape the post-pandemic recovery. The discussions in each episode of the webinar series brought in innovators, ‘start-uppers’, and entrepreneurs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its Dialogue Partners as well as experts from international organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), foundations, and policymakers. This report summarises the key messages and trends that arose from the first half of the webinar series.
This Corporate Innovation Hubs (CIH) report is for Finnish companies considering a San Francisco Bay area presence, or other main innovation clusters, as a part of their innovation strategy.
What are the ingredients that have made India’s ‘Silicon Valley’ as successful as a technology cluster with national and global impact? Can these be replicated? What collective role can industry, workforces, educators and government policymakers play in creating such successful clusters in their own countries?
Digital Transformation in Pakistan - Ecomm, Freelancing & Entrepreneurship.Mudassir Malik
Discussion & Statistics on the E-commerce, Freelancing and Entrepreneurship in Pakistan. Discussing the emerging startups; GharPar, DentalConnect & CodeWorking.
This report summarises the key messages that emerged during the first five episodes of the ERIA MSME Talks, a series of webinars designed to discuss key issues, challenges, and opportunities for ASEAN MSMEs in the COVID-19 world, with a diverse group of stakeholders including entrepreneurs, policymakers, academics, and experts from the region. This report details some of the building blocks for the development of more sustainable and inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystems during the post-pandemic economic recovery in ASEAN.
Explores the investment opportunities, growth, and business markets of Africa. Offers a look at the diversity of African startups, as well as companies that are valued at over $100 million or earning over $100 million annually.
Reasons Why You Can’t Ignore Doing Business in Africa
1.Business Attractiveness on the Rise
2.Growth of consumer groups, target markets:
3.Growth of African mega cities
4.Ultra Mobile Connected
5.Young Population
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Akinkunmi Akindiji is a property investor, technology consultant, and avid F1 fan, Kunmi has a diverse range of interests and expertise. With a background in delivering projects across a variety of industries, including insurance, banking, telecoms, and automotive, Kunmi has a wealth of experience supporting enterprise scale digital transformation projects.
Nigeria... Yes, it's big, ugly, dangerous, poor, too big, too hot, too rainy. And it's Africa's biggest country and economy, so the potential for startups and entrepreneurs is huge.
During our trip to Lagos to attend the Mobile West Africa 2014 conference, we listened to the speakers, met the key players of the local tech ecosystem, and were amazed, just like all the other emerging markets we explore, by the creativity, the will, and the startups we saw.
Take the trip with us to dive into Nigeria's startup scene. As usual, we love to look back in time to see what are the milestones explaining why the country is where it is today. Oddly enough, Nigeria has long been a very isolated country, with few exports else than natural resources.
Since Nollywood and the most creative movie industry of the continent, it's changing.
Despite the kilometric list of challenges the country is facing, a lot of spots and startups are to be discussed. Wecyclers, BudgIT are among the secret gems we discovered in Lagos, and for sure, there's more than that.
Africa will have about 500 million young people by 2030. 157 of the world’s 310 mobile money services in 2021 were in Sub-Saharan Africa. Africa had a US$495bn share of the US$767bn handled by mobile money worldwide. Mobile
phones account for about 75% of all online traffic in Africa. Africa has potential to unlock more than $3 trillion in consumer spending. In the five largest consumer markets alone—Nigeria Egypt, South Africa, Morocco,
and Algeria—the African Development Bank estimates that there will be 56 million middle-class households with disposable incomes of nearly $680 billion.
Analysis Group estimates that the Metaverse could contribute $40 billion to Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP by 2031.
Future Watch summary: Future growth opportunities in global biobanks marketTeam Finland Future Watch
This Future Watch report compares the current status of forerunning biobanks in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, UK and USA, analyze the needs and views of key biobank customer segments as well as offer key recommendations for Finnish biobank to gain a larger footprint in the biobank market.
The presentation is a summary presentation from a study Situational Awareness Solutions which collects together use cases for situational awareness capabilities and prioritizes these in context of user perception and readiness, availability and accessibility of technology, ease and likelihood of adoption, as well as regulations and competing substitutes. Finally it analyzes the relevance of assessed use cases to United States, Germany and Japan. The application areas discussed cover, amongst other, ecology and environment, disaster management, logistics and transport as well as critical infrastructure management.
Recent technology developments in the information technology space have opened new horizons for the maritime industry. "Digital ports" refers to application of digital technologies of digital technologies such as machine learning, data analytics, visualization, cloud and advanced wireless communications technology to the Port Ecosystem that are driving innovations and enabling business efficiency.
A recent Future Watch study on consumer trends in South Korea explores and analyzes key consumer trends that are shaping South Korean society and how these trends are likely to evolve over the next three to five years. The study is echoing future consumer trends not only in Asia but also in Europe. It is now clear that mobile and online shopping will become the main retail channel, and technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI) and big data are changing the retail landscape.
Healthcare as an industry is transforming. The concept of wellbeing is increasing in importance. Living environments are evolving, including smart homes, assisted living and robotics. Technologies and innovations are having major impacts to individual’s life. Individuals are taking more control and recognizing also their responsibility.
Business Finland and Future Watch commissioned a study on the landscape of developments that will impact the delivery of Health & Wellbeing, to better understand the anticipated transformations, impacts and opportunities to support its strategy for ensuring Finland is well positioned to take advantage of such trends and to help drive better decision making for all stakeholders in Finland. Results of the study are published and discussed with stakeholders and companies in Business Finland’s Smart Life Finland program webinars.
The Hong Kong government supports smart city operations and smart lamp post related actions. Smart lamp posts together with 5G can encompass various industries and thus can offer opportunities also for Finnish companies. Hong Kong aims to become a “world class smart city”. In ”Hong Kong Smart City Blueprint” smart lamp posts are mentioned as one action point and 50 smart lamp posts should be in use by the summer of 2019. The figure is set to rise to 400, and during 2019, a tender will likely be opened for the remaining 350 smart lamp posts. Smart lamp posts can serve several different functions and these are currently experimented in Science Park and the Smart City Pilot Area.
Japan is the second-largest retail market globally. For decades Japanese consumer’s preferences and cultural trends have been influential trend setting phenomenona. To understand how global consumer trends are transforming, it is important to look Japanese consumers behavior and attitudes towards consuming. Today we see behavior shifting. The change of Japanese consumers is not only about what people in Tokyo buy, but also how and what they think when they make decisions for purchases.
Future Watch report and analysis of consumer trends and lifestyles in Japan was done in collaboration with Euromonitor International’s Tokyo office researchers.
A new policy on energy transition was commenced in Taiwan to phase out nuclear power and to introduce substantial power generation capacity from renewable sources by 2025. This transition of energy source and structure represents not only great challenges for Taiwan but also immense business opportunities for industrial developed countries.
A recent Future Watch study identifies and describes future consumer trends in Mainland China and Hong Kong over the next 2-10 years. These trends are likely to impact the products and services these consumers buy and the marketing they respond to. It aims to identify significant trends that are specific to China’s unique market.
Central to the forecasting is identifying 12 consumer roles that represent key China trends. Each role has an accompanying case study which explains how brands are starting /planning to tap into these nascent trends.
Both India's Space and Cyber Defence areas contain gaps to keep up with global development. India’s space defence program is guided by policies to counter the capabilities of China and Pakistan. While India has made long strides with cost effective mission to Mars and a successfully launching record number of satellites, there are several gaps in its space defence. While in the space communication arena, at present, India has extremely limited space-based COMINT (Communications Intelligence) capabilities. Cyber security of satellite communications is another arena for potential collaboration between countries. Also, to achieve complete control of satellite communications & intelligence C4ISR, India needs to have a constellation of satellites in the space with extreme communication technology at disposal. In the Space Situational Awareness area India needs radar-independent tracking methods such as lasers, coherent infrared sensors and space systems with a sole purpose of tracking the functional capabilities of suspected/rogue satellites with military connect.
In cyber-security area, according to Gartner, cyber-security in India is growing to be a $1.5 bn market by 2019 & forecasted to grow over 19% during 2018-2023. Average spend on cyber security is currently at ~3% compared to a global average of 10-15% of the IT budget. India would need a trained pool of million professionals in cyber-security by 2025.
India is expected to be one of the key markets where future growth will emerge. The growth will be primarily driven by a favourable population composition and increasing disposable incomes. India is expected to reach USD 2374 GDP per capita by 2023. Consumer spending will increase in food, housing, transport and communication as well as consumer durables. Some interesting future sectors will benefit, such as sports and electric vehicles. The attached material takes a look also in such consumer related trends as cashless payments, data privacy and AI and technology in consumer businesses.
Putting the SPARK into Virtual Training.pptxCynthia Clay
This 60-minute webinar, sponsored by Adobe, was delivered for the Training Mag Network. It explored the five elements of SPARK: Storytelling, Purpose, Action, Relationships, and Kudos. Knowing how to tell a well-structured story is key to building long-term memory. Stating a clear purpose that doesn't take away from the discovery learning process is critical. Ensuring that people move from theory to practical application is imperative. Creating strong social learning is the key to commitment and engagement. Validating and affirming participants' comments is the way to create a positive learning environment.
Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit and TemplatesAurelien Domont, MBA
This Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit was created by ex-McKinsey, Deloitte and BCG Management Consultants, after more than 5,000 hours of work. It is considered the world's best & most comprehensive Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit. It includes all the Frameworks, Best Practices & Templates required to successfully undertake the Digital Transformation of your organization and define a robust IT Strategy.
Editable Toolkit to help you reuse our content: 700 Powerpoint slides | 35 Excel sheets | 84 minutes of Video training
This PowerPoint presentation is only a small preview of our Toolkits. For more details, visit www.domontconsulting.com
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Implicitly or explicitly all competing businesses employ a strategy to select a mix
of marketing resources. Formulating such competitive strategies fundamentally
involves recognizing relationships between elements of the marketing mix (e.g.,
price and product quality), as well as assessing competitive and market conditions
(i.e., industry structure in the language of economics).
[Note: This is a partial preview. To download this presentation, visit:
https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations]
Sustainability has become an increasingly critical topic as the world recognizes the need to protect our planet and its resources for future generations. Sustainability means meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It involves long-term planning and consideration of the consequences of our actions. The goal is to create strategies that ensure the long-term viability of People, Planet, and Profit.
Leading companies such as Nike, Toyota, and Siemens are prioritizing sustainable innovation in their business models, setting an example for others to follow. In this Sustainability training presentation, you will learn key concepts, principles, and practices of sustainability applicable across industries. This training aims to create awareness and educate employees, senior executives, consultants, and other key stakeholders, including investors, policymakers, and supply chain partners, on the importance and implementation of sustainability.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Develop a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles and concepts that form the foundation of sustainability within corporate environments.
2. Explore the sustainability implementation model, focusing on effective measures and reporting strategies to track and communicate sustainability efforts.
3. Identify and define best practices and critical success factors essential for achieving sustainability goals within organizations.
CONTENTS
1. Introduction and Key Concepts of Sustainability
2. Principles and Practices of Sustainability
3. Measures and Reporting in Sustainability
4. Sustainability Implementation & Best Practices
To download the complete presentation, visit: https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations
Unveiling the Secrets How Does Generative AI Work.pdfSam H
At its core, generative artificial intelligence relies on the concept of generative models, which serve as engines that churn out entirely new data resembling their training data. It is like a sculptor who has studied so many forms found in nature and then uses this knowledge to create sculptures from his imagination that have never been seen before anywhere else. If taken to cyberspace, gans work almost the same way.
Falcon stands out as a top-tier P2P Invoice Discounting platform in India, bridging esteemed blue-chip companies and eager investors. Our goal is to transform the investment landscape in India by establishing a comprehensive destination for borrowers and investors with diverse profiles and needs, all while minimizing risk. What sets Falcon apart is the elimination of intermediaries such as commercial banks and depository institutions, allowing investors to enjoy higher yields.
Personal Brand Statement:
As an Army veteran dedicated to lifelong learning, I bring a disciplined, strategic mindset to my pursuits. I am constantly expanding my knowledge to innovate and lead effectively. My journey is driven by a commitment to excellence, and to make a meaningful impact in the world.
VAT Registration Outlined In UAE: Benefits and Requirementsuae taxgpt
Vat Registration is a legal obligation for businesses meeting the threshold requirement, helping companies avoid fines and ramifications. Contact now!
https://viralsocialtrends.com/vat-registration-outlined-in-uae/
"𝑩𝑬𝑮𝑼𝑵 𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑯 𝑻𝑱 𝑰𝑺 𝑯𝑨𝑳𝑭 𝑫𝑶𝑵𝑬"
𝐓𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐬 (𝐓𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬) is a professional event agency that includes experts in the event-organizing market in Vietnam, Korea, and ASEAN countries. We provide unlimited types of events from Music concerts, Fan meetings, and Culture festivals to Corporate events, Internal company events, Golf tournaments, MICE events, and Exhibitions.
𝐓𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐬 provides unlimited package services including such as Event organizing, Event planning, Event production, Manpower, PR marketing, Design 2D/3D, VIP protocols, Interpreter agency, etc.
Sports events - Golf competitions/billiards competitions/company sports events: dynamic and challenging
⭐ 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬:
➢ 2024 BAEKHYUN [Lonsdaleite] IN HO CHI MINH
➢ SUPER JUNIOR-L.S.S. THE SHOW : Th3ee Guys in HO CHI MINH
➢FreenBecky 1st Fan Meeting in Vietnam
➢CHILDREN ART EXHIBITION 2024: BEYOND BARRIERS
➢ WOW K-Music Festival 2023
➢ Winner [CROSS] Tour in HCM
➢ Super Show 9 in HCM with Super Junior
➢ HCMC - Gyeongsangbuk-do Culture and Tourism Festival
➢ Korean Vietnam Partnership - Fair with LG
➢ Korean President visits Samsung Electronics R&D Center
➢ Vietnam Food Expo with Lotte Wellfood
"𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬."
3.0 Project 2_ Developing My Brand Identity Kit.pptxtanyjahb
A personal brand exploration presentation summarizes an individual's unique qualities and goals, covering strengths, values, passions, and target audience. It helps individuals understand what makes them stand out, their desired image, and how they aim to achieve it.
Premium MEAN Stack Development Solutions for Modern BusinessesSynapseIndia
Stay ahead of the curve with our premium MEAN Stack Development Solutions. Our expert developers utilize MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS, and Node.js to create modern and responsive web applications. Trust us for cutting-edge solutions that drive your business growth and success.
Know more: https://www.synapseindia.com/technology/mean-stack-development-company.html
Discover the innovative and creative projects that highlight my journey throu...dylandmeas
Discover the innovative and creative projects that highlight my journey through Full Sail University. Below, you’ll find a collection of my work showcasing my skills and expertise in digital marketing, event planning, and media production.
The world of search engine optimization (SEO) is buzzing with discussions after Google confirmed that around 2,500 leaked internal documents related to its Search feature are indeed authentic. The revelation has sparked significant concerns within the SEO community. The leaked documents were initially reported by SEO experts Rand Fishkin and Mike King, igniting widespread analysis and discourse. For More Info:- https://news.arihantwebtech.com/search-disrupted-googles-leaked-documents-rock-the-seo-world/
Search Disrupted Google’s Leaked Documents Rock the SEO World.pdf
Africa digital business_models_2016_final
1. The Future of Digital Business
Models in sub-Saharan Africa
September 2016
2. Contact information
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Amatka (Pty) Ltd
www.amatka.com
info@amatka.com
+27 (0)79 618 6570
Unit 608, 6th Floor
76 Regent Road (The Point Tower)
Sea Point 8060
Cape Town, South Africa
Amatka (Pty) Ltd is a South African company founded and owned by Finnish entrepreneurs based in
Cape Town. Amatka provides insight into business opportunities in Africa with focus on Southern and
Eastern Africa. Insight Africa also supports networking in these countries.
Tekes – the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation
Tekes is the main public funding organisation for research, development and innovation in Finland.
Tekes funds wide-ranging innovation activities in research communities, industry and service sectors
and especially promotes cooperative and risk-intensive projects. Tekes’ current strategy puts strong
emphasis on growth seeking SMEs.
3. 2
Contents
Executive summary................................................................................................... 3
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 4
1.1 Background ..................................................................................................... 4
1.2 Defintions ........................................................................................................ 4
1.3 Recommended Use and Liability Disclaimer .................................................. 5
2 Different African Digital Markets in Focus.............................................................. 7
2.1 Overview: Digital Context in Africa.................................................................. 7
2.2 Southern Africa: Promising Future or Digital Business as Usual.................... 8
2.3 Eastern Africa: Booming Economies and Mobile Money Bonanza................. 9
2.4 Western Africa: Rise of the New Global E-commerce Unicorns................... 10
3 Cases................................................................................................................... 11
3.1 Southern Africa.............................................................................................. 11
3.2 Eastern Africa................................................................................................ 14
3.3 Western Africa............................................................................................... 17
4 Scenarios for the Future of digitalization markets in Africa ................................. 20
5 Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................... 23
4. 3
Executive
summary
This report is all about digital business models and the future of digital business in
Africa. In the report it is presented one of the most exciting digital business models
currently found in Africa and more specifically in three geographical markets in Africa:
Southern, Eastern and Western Africa. The report is based on relevant statistics,
recent articles, publications and publicly available information. For the purpose of
analysis, also company and expert interviews were conducted in the respective
markets during the year 2016. The report is part of Team Finland’s Future Watch
Service in Africa. Future Watch service is part of TF Market Opportunities services
and coordinated by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation
One thing is for sure: the main driver for the digital business models in Africa is the
on-going mobile revolution. There are currently around 900 million mobile phone
subscriptions and around 400 million smart phones in Africa - and people really are
using those phones. The growth numbers in tech space are staggering but can also
be misleading as there are also major challenges that need to be overcome.
Bandwidth problems, unavailability of skilled workforce and poor infrastructure create
challenges for digital business models to materialise at its full.
Another thing is also sure already now: African digital business models are emerging
and the context of Africa is dominant in those models. Models are home born and
focusing on solving specific African problems and often also arising from African
culture. Whether it is solving agriculture related logistics problems in Kenya or
creating “African Netflix” in Nigeria, it is important to understand the African context.
And this is the key message of this analysis, if you want to succeed in digital
business in Africa, you need to understand how culturally changeable and different
Africa is. That requires that you need to be able to adjust your offering to the local
environment. This all has its own implications for success in digital business in Africa.
This analysis wants also to give predictions about the future of digital business in
Africa by understanding current digital business models and making bold conclusions
about the development paths for the future.
5. 4
1 Introduction
1.1 Background
Africa is a vast continent containing 54 countries, of which 48 exist in sub-Saharan
Africa. Africa is the most heterogeneous continent in the world – linguistically,
culturally, and ethnically. It has more than one billion people, and over 3,000 ethnic
groups speaking more than 1,000 languages.
Most economic activity in Sub-Saharan Africa still happens in the informal sector,
which accounts for more than 50% of GDP and employs more than 80% of the
population. In all African countries GDP is considerably lower than in more developed
world, as well as unequally distributed between and within economies.
There are also big challenges facing African economies that are related to water,
food, electricity, healthcare and education related shortages. Other side of the story
is that many areas are rapidly developing; internet and mobile phone usage are
growing, some urban areas look the same as in Europe, and foreign direct
investments are diversifying.
From trade perspective the biggest implication of the development is in the first place
growing demand for consumer goods, financial services and infrastructure from
energy grids to housing. At the same time b-to-b markets are immature and apart
from small and micro businesses controlled by large foreign companies. Only finance
and telecommunications sector are to a large degree in hands of Africans.
Government monopolies are more of a rule than an exception in energy, parts of
transportation, and even parts of telecommunications.
From the perspective of digitalization it is important to remember that there is no one
Digital Africa. The common denominator is increasing mobile internet penetration but
apart from that each and every country faces unique opportunities and challenges.
Life in a wealthy suburb in Johannesburg is very different from life in a village in rural
Kenya, yet both are realities happening in today’s Africa.
Reflections of Digital Africa are also different across Africa. In Nigeria local
ecommerce and entertainment are big. In Kenya, fintech has been booming for some
years and NGOs have been active in healthcare, agriculture and education. In South
Africa, the only African country with Western type legacy systems, innovative digital
companies are looking for markets outside Africa. South Africa also so far is the only
African country with significant, and highly competed, b-to-b digital market.
1.2 Defintions
Digital business models can vary from many different services and products in digital
marketplace. In this analysis digital business models have been defined in a very
broad sense, including e-commerce, collaborative economy in digital channels or
business delivered in various digital touchpoints. When it comes to African digital
business models it is important to remember the African context. Digital business
models have always an African flavour arising from cultural and economic realities.
Amatka has used well known business model analysing and describing tool Business
Model Canvas in analysing and understanding the characteristics of African digital
business models through cases. Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur are the
main authors of the book called Business Model Generation and there it is introduced
what is called Business Model Canvas. Canvas can be described as “shared
6. 5
language to describe, visualise and assess changing business models”. Canvas is
made up of nine building blocks that describe the key elements of every business
model – regardless of whether model is digital or physical. The key elements are:
1. Key partners
2. Key activities
3. Key resources
4. Value propositions
5. Customer relationship
6. Channels
7. Customer segments
8. Cost structure
9. Revenue streams
This analysis highlights especially African characteristics of digital business models
and showcase business models that possibly could not have born outside Africa.
Digital business models chosen represent existing and already well-functioning
models. This choice has been made in order to showcase what kind of models have
made breakthroughs in Africa illustrating what it takes to build sustainable digital
business in Africa.
On the other hand, it is important to bear in mind that digital business models are
global and same characteristics of digital business models relate to wherever
business is originating from. The list below shows the main business models that
have flourished during the digital business model age starting from late 1990’s. All
these digital business models can also be found in Africa – with an African flavour.
Traditional retailer business model is model where retailer is selling products and
services directly to buyers at a mark-up from the actual cost. Usually there are three
types of cost model in relation traditional retail business model in e-commerce: low
cost, cost plus and premium models.
Non-Traditional retailer business model at first looks like traditional retailer but goes
beyond by maximizing customer lifetime value. Three common variations to the non-
traditional retail model are commonly described as: freemium, long tail and razors &
blades.
All you can eat business model is about offering unlimited use of assets over a fixed
period of time. Good examples for this business model are Netflix (video streaming)
and Spotify (music streaming).
Subscription business model is about offering a product or service on a continual
basis for a fixed charge, usually weekly, monthly or yearly. Subscriptions are
common business model especially in non-material assets like media content and
other services.
Landlord business model has a key player who owns the asset and makes it profit
by charging others for the use of asset. Assets can vary from physical to virtual
assets.
Broker business model is about transactions between sellers and buyers, usually
broker not even owning what is being sold and profiting from a charge on top of
selling price.
1.3 Recommended Use and Liability Disclaimer
It is strongly recommended that the readers always check the latest information;
situations in Africa can change overnight.
7. 6
Amatka has made every attempt to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the
information provided in this report. However, the information is provided "as is"
without warranty of any kind. Amatka does not accept any responsibility or liability for
the accuracy, content, completeness, or reliability of the information contained in this
report. No warranties, promises and/or representations of any kind, expressed or
implied, are given as to the nature, standard, accuracy or otherwise of the information
provided in this report nor to the suitability or otherwise of the information to any
particular circumstances. Amatka shall not be liable for any loss or damage of
whatever nature (direct, indirect, consequential, or other), which may arise as a result
the use of this report, or from use of the information in this report.
8. 7
2 Different African Digital Markets in
Focus
2.1 Overview: Digital Context in Africa
Africa is on the rise – this is what we hear from various sources. From economic
growth rates perspective this is completely true and undeniable. Africa’s consumer
market is expanding parallel with increasing size of middle class. At the same time,
infrastructure related investments are booming and contributing to the growth of the
one of the fastest growing areas in the world. There are high hopes that finally some
African nations would be able to roll out their manufacturing capabilities, which would
mark a major transformation from “Africa consuming” to “Africa producing”.
Despite problems of mismanagement and bad governance, corruption, crime, poverty
and inequality, continent’s progress will continue. One of the main contributor and
enabler to this progress is digital transformation. A transformation connecting Africa
to rest of the world, and connecting rest of the world to Africa. These real-time
connections enable Africa to change for good.
Various statistics tell about the rise of the internet economy through faster networks,
increasing internet penetration, increasing internet contribution to GDP, amount of
Facebook users, just few to mention. Positive outlooks for growth of digital
capabilities and key elements of internet economy prevail. Based on estimations it is
possible to draw only one conclusion – business potential is huge and most likely
even underestimated in many areas. Many African governments have woken up and
defined strategies to capture the potential for change. In many cases the big picture
is in place and now it is time to execute.
On the other hand, journey has just started but already now we are able to see the
possibilities for digital transformation in many sectors that define the future of Africa:
healthcare, agriculture, retail, education, transportation and even the government
sector. In the heart of this transformation are the new digital business models and
bold entrepreneurs and companies that are able to capture the essence of the
transformative power of African change.
One additional actor is important to brought up that has a vital role to play. That is the
network of incubators and accelerators funded by donors, corporations, and
governments. Various programmes and competitions are in place to identify
transformational businesses and ideas. Currently there are more than 300
accelerators and/or incubators that operate in the field of “tech”.
With this as a background, in order to understand the future of digital markets in
Africa, it is vitally important to understand the challenges the up and coming as well
as established digital businesses intend to solve. Another objective of this analysis is
to describe digital needs of three different African regions. At the same time it is
important to understand the characteristics of specific digital business models in
order to capture the African flavour of digital business in various distinctively different
African geographical markets.
From the perspective of the African future, digital business models have a vital role in
influencing the development of African societies. For the first time African economies
are able to create equal economic links with Western economies and are able to
attract interest from all over the world. There is also possibility that with the help
digital solutions African societies are able to find tools to dismantle corruption by
increasing transparency and getting rid of non-existent or inefficient management
processes. It is also possible that Africa becomes a testing ground for up-and-coming
9. 8
digital businesses that are not able to move forward as regulative environment in
their home countries is more prohibitive. It is yet to be seen what kind of a digital
future Africa has in front of herself. However, possibilities are great as foundation for
a digital revolution do exist.
In many cases markets in Africa are digital from birth as mobile technology has made
completely new services available for almost all of the continent’s one billion
individuals without any legacies. This offers new collaboration and business
opportunities for a huge amount of people. Through digital channels, Africa will
become for the first time equal player in global market place and redeem its role as
major contributor to the global economy.
However, before starting co-operation with the last frontier market in the world,
understanding what it takes to be fully operational in African digital market is crucial.
Partly that requires understanding about digital business models.
The final objective of this analysis is to share the understanding and knowledge of
digital economy in Africa in the future.
Figure 1. Digital Africa – Facts
2.2 Southern Africa: Promising Future or Digital Business as
Usual
Southern African digital business is at the same time most advanced and most
unequal in Africa. As a large market with 55 million people and the second largest
GDP in sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa clearly is the power house of Southern
Africa and drawing the biggest portion of the investments also in digital economy.
Additionally, South Africa is the home of best African universities and network of
accelerators and incubators.
The most important reason for South Africa being the powerhouse of also digital
business in the region is that the largest corporations in African continent are South
10. 9
African. The largest banks, telcos, IT service providers, media houses, retailers,
mining companies and manufacturing companies in Africa are all coming from the tip
of Africa. This all has an effect how Southern African digital market looks like.
Although there are many interesting technology start-ups in South Africa, the
volumes in digital business are coming from start-ups that are spin-offs from
traditional businesses coming from traditionally strong and established companies.
Financial institutions are innovating and accelerating their customer processes with
digital solutions, media companies are creating new business models that are based
on new channels to consume content and services are finding new ways to create
value to customers. Digital business in South Africa is business as usual as many
corporations are involved in accelerating business by focusing on digital businesses.
Is this a blessing or curse for completely new and differentiated digital business
models is yet to be seen. Whatever happens, one thing is certain: digital business
and digitalization are transforming South Africa in all sectors as infrastructure
develops and technology becomes more and more easy to use. On the other hand
there are some bottlenecks that are related to relatively advanced usage of ICT and
legacy systems that are in place in many companies. Although saying that, South
Africa is currently the most obvious choice for digital business landing to Africa from
abroad.
2.3 Eastern Africa: Booming Economies and Mobile Money
Bonanza
Eastern Africa is in special focus as many of the fastest growing economies in the
world are coming from that area. Although the starting point for the growth is low and
partly infrastructure driven, numbers are staggering. Also the market size of 250
million people gives lot of promise for future growth in the region. Especially Ethiopia,
Rwanda and Kenya have transformed themselves into regional powerbrokers and
are attracting interest of investors in various sectors, including digital ecosystem.
If Africa is a mobile continent, Eastern Africa is its brightest star. One of the areas
Eastern Africa is championing the world is mobile money usage. Altogether, at least
six different major mobile money platforms exists, M-Pesa being the biggest and
most beautiful of them all. These platforms make Eastern Africa the most advanced
mobile money region in the world. In Kenya only there are almost 40 million mobile
money subscribers and estimated 80 % of all transactions are done by using mobile
money platforms.
Mobile money infrastructure has created also something bigger around itself.
Ecosystems draw attention from all over the world and have created new innovations
that could become the big success stories also internationally. Currently fintech is the
single biggest area to draw investments in digital sector.
As elsewhere in Africa, also in Eastern Africa access to market is controlled by
monopolies and to operate in the market one has to accept a lot of inefficiencies and
bottlenecks. To solve that problem, digital solutions have a role to play. Digital
solutions and technologies could help creating transparency in processes thus
making it faster and cheaper for companies and consumers gain access to services
previously controlled by a few actors.
Digital solutions might also help bypassing corruption, a problem that still exists in
many Eastern African countries. Generally speaking, digital business models that cut
down the role of middle men and ease the pain of mismanagement are one of the
most exciting digital business models one can find in Africa.
11. 10
2.4 Western Africa: Rise of the New Global E-commerce Unicorns
The size of Western Africa and especially Nigeria as largest economy in Africa is
huge. Around 450 million people living in Western Africa makes it a most populous
region in the Africa. The population is growing placing a huge stress on infrastructure
as well as ability of societies to deliver basic services to the citizens. These
conditions have a large impact on how digital landscape in the region looks like and
how these models are build.
Everyday problems people have with transportation and physical movement has
created impressive e-commerce platforms. Not surprisingly these e-commerce
platforms have become extremely popular and already now have grown into world
class e-commerce innovations. One of the best examples is the all-in e-commerce
platform Jumia that sells basically everything West Africa wants to consume and has
grown into the unicorn class. E-commerce platforms have also created ecosystems
around them that attract investors and innovators that make e-commerce one of the
brightest stars of digital business in Western Africa. Especially well represented in
these ecosystems are home-grown innovations that make electronic payments
possible and secure.
As practical challenges people are facing in their everyday life are getting worse,
people want to stay home and consume entertainment from home. Parallel with e-
commerce platforms, entertainment and film industries are gaining momentum.
Already now, huge growth and funding has been seen in film industry and especially
through online streaming which has already seen its own mega successes like iRoko
which has become the biggest online platform for African entertainment. In
entertainment business, growth rates are staggering. In Nigeria alone entertainment
industry revenue grows 25% annually. This means that a lot is expected from new
innovations around entertainment industry. What is even more important, West
African entertainment industry tells African stories by Africans. Increasingly these
stories are produced and consumed in digital format.
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3 Cases
3.1 Southern Africa
Discovery health and Vitality program
Every individual has its own perception what a healthy lifestyle is. Diet, sleep,
exercise and mind-set are normally considered as the building blocks of healthy
lifestyle. In South Africa, a company called Discovery Health has conceptualized this
healthy lifestyle with great international success. Although the concept includes many
non-digital elements, it is a great example how digitalization nowadays is an integral
part of great business successes also in Africa. Figure 2 presents main elements of
the business.
Figure 2. Main elements of Vitality business
Discovery Health is South Africa’s largest health insurer and has launched Vitality
program already in 1997. Vitality program is a fully integrated wellness program to
engage people to maintain and improve their wellbeing. Foundation of Vitality
programme is Discovery Health Medical Scheme (i.e. health insurance) which gives
people an opportunity to join Vitality. Vitality is currently one of world’s leading
science-based wellness programs, where healthy life choices are encouraged and
incentivized. Currently the programme has over 6 million customers.
Programme is built on three steps: 1) understanding your own health situation, 2)
improving and tracking it and 3) enjoying rewards about healthy choices. Vitality
points are the corner stone of the rewarding scheme and the motivator to do healthy
choices when buying nutrition, preventive health care products and exercising.
Choices are motivated by cash as well as leisure and travel benefits. Digitalization is
supporting the whole business all along the path to gain healthy lifestyle.
Vitality has partnered with the main gym chains and created device called Gym
Tracker that collect the data of gym visits by the members. Also partnerships are
created with the main supermarket chains and members get cash backs from healthy
food they buy. Same applies to the main sport gear shops that are incentivizing
members by sport gear purchases. The heart of the vitality is the data that tracks the
path to wellbeing and is able to motivate further improvement of the health of the
members. Everything delivered and shared in MyData context digitally.
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The following Figure shows the Vitality digital business model that can be described
as a hybrid of All you can eat and Non-traditional retailer business model.
Figure 3. Vitality business model
Hepstar
Hepstar is South African travel insurance broker distributing travel insurance services
digitally with footprint across the globe. Service is targeted to insurance companies,
travel suppliers and cost conscious travellers alike. Customer value is related to
proving new revenue streams to suppliers and insurance companies as well as cost
savings to travellers. Figure 4 shows main elements of Hepstar business.
Figure 4. Main elements of Hepstar business
For that purpose, company has developed online platform that connects insurance
providers, travel organisers and customers. Hepstar technology is built around
processing engine that integrates various online systems and delivers value to
stakeholder by analysing relevant data and giving recommendations on best travel
insurance options available. Hepstar API is a practical technology tool providing the
14. 13
connections needed for the platform. Through integration it is possible to automate
the process of receiving and delivering travel insurance services.
Different travel related insurances are digitally available from expanding network of
suppliers ranging from traditional travel baggage and health insurances to sport and
gadget insurances combined with car rental insurances.
Value proposition of Hepstar is simple and easy to understand. For customers
platform search and find the best possible insurance with best possible price, bring
travel insurance companies more customers and for travel organisers additional
revenue – all done with the help digital platform that connects the main players in the
marketplace.
Figure 5 presents the Hepstar digital business model that can be described as a pure
broker platform business model.
Figure 5. Hepstar business model
15. 14
3.2 Eastern Africa
M-Pesa and Other Mobile Money Platforms
When talking about digital business in Eastern Africa, it is not possible to forget to
mention the mobile money platforms. These platforms that have disrupted money
transferring market have made East Africa as a frontrunner in mobile money market
in the whole world. Altogether, there are currently six different mobile money
platforms but the biggest of the all is M-Pesa owned by Vodafone. Kenya is the
biggest market for the service and it is run by Kenya’s biggest telecom operator
Safaricom. In the figure 6 it is presented main elements of M-Pesa business.
Figure 6. Main elements of M-Pesa business
M-Pesa has digitalized the wallet of the people in Kenya. Kenyans are able to send
and receive money as well as pay for bills and transact easily and safely when buying
and selling goods. Core service is mobile money transfer but it has grown payment
platform as well personal bank account.
M-Pesa was launched in 2007 by Vodafone to Safaricom and Vodacom for Kenya
and Tanzania. M-Pesa soon became a success in Kenya (but not that much in
Tanzania) and spread quickly currently having over 20 million active accounts in
Kenya alone. It has also expanded to other geographical locations: Afghanistan,
South Africa (from where it withdrew in 2016), India, Romania and Albania. M-Pesa
operates with PIN-secured SMS text messages. Users are charged small amount of
fee for transferring the money. M-Pesa also acts as a branchless banking service as
money could be deposited and withdrawn from the agents selling airtime or acting as
micro retailers.
M-Pesa has had a significant impact on the whole fintech ecosystem that now
includes various mobile money actors and software companies in addition other
mobile money platforms. In addition to creating whole industry of mobile money,
these platforms have given “bank account” to people who previously had no
possibility to have one. Interestingly M-Pesa’s business model has not succeeded
everywhere where it is launched.
The following Figure presents M-Pesa’s digital business model that can be described
as a landlord type of business model.
16. 15
Figure 7. M-Pesa business model
iProcure
iProcure is trying to solve a large scale economic and social problem by trying to re-
invent agricultural supply chain in rural Africa. Starting with Kenyan agriculture,
dominated by small farms and supply chain inefficiencies creating hardships for the
farmers by low quality corps and high transaction costs. With this in mind, digital
platform that iProcure has developed come to play a role. Figure 8 presents main
elements of iProcure business.
Figure 8. Main elements of iProcure’s business
iProcure is one of the largest agricultural supply chain platforms for rural Africa. It
provides complete procurement (fertilizers, chemicals, and other goods needed in
agriculture) service combined with last mile distribution services of goods. Farmers
can create clusters to in order to increase their negotiation power and iProcure helps
them by providing service to facilitate price negotiations as well as handles deliveries.
Additionally, the platform provides business intelligence and data-driven stock
management across the supply chain. Data has become the key differentiator by
delivering quantifiable value to both suppliers and farmers alike.
Value proposition is clear for the farmers: with the help of platform you will receive
buying power for the vital goods needed in farming in addition to in-time deliveries for
those goods.
17. 16
Figure 9 presents iProcure’s digital business model that can be described as a hybrid
of broker and non-traditional retailer business model.
Figure 9. iProcure business model
18. 17
3.3 Western Africa
Jumia and e-commerce
Jumia is a great example of Western African business opportunities in e-commerce
market. When things go right, things really go big in Western Africa, as the market for
retail and e-commerce is so huge. Jumia is number one online retailer operating with
very traditional e-commerce business model and working with mark-up prices. The
business was founded as recently as 2012 by copying Amazon’s business model.
Figure 10 shows main elements of Jumia’s business.
Figure 10. Main elements of Jumia’s business
The secret of the success is the speed of operations. Shortly after the start of the
business in Nigeria, Jumia launched warehouses in other growing countries in Africa
including Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire and Uganda; received $ 35 million
series B funding from Millicom and showed how the race of becoming the African
online retail champion had just started.
Competition in e-commerce market is fierce and the road has also been rocky for
Jumia as new e-commerce giants like Konga in Nigeria have arrived. One of the key
differentiator for Jumia has been its close relationship with telecom industry and
mobile technology (especially mobile applications) as key leverage for its
engagement with customers. Furthermore, Jumia has expanded its brand to various
areas including online property and online car retail. Path to all in digital e-commerce
market is set for Jumia.
Figure 11 shows Jumia’s digital business model that can be described as a
traditional online retailer business model.
19. 18
Figure 11. Jumia business model
iRoko and Nollywood Made Online
iRoko is the fastest growing digital company currently in Nigeria. The company is
estimated to have 10 million subscribers and is funded by hedge fund that once was
an early investor in Facebook and game studio Zynga. Hopes are high for iRoko
which is globally the largest licensor and streaming service for African movies and
entertainment content. Figure 12 presents main elements of iRoko’s business.
Figure 12. Main elements of iRoko’s business
iRoko believes strongly in partnerships and has become Africa’s biggest partner for
Youtube and has distribution deals with Dailymotion, iTunes, Amazon and Vimeo.
The company was founded to fill in a simple gap in the market: the founder was not
find Nigerian Nollywood films online himself and decided to develop a platform for
those films by himself. As always with successful digital business models in Africa,
the speed of development has been fast and steady.
iRoko’s main brand is iRokoTV which currently gives access to over 5000 Nollywood
film titles. iRoko has also expanded its already well-known brand into new brands like
IROKING which is music streaming service for Nigerian music. Mobile applications
have been foundation for IRoko success. Currently film content can be consumed via
an Android App in Africa and via app or online in Europe and US.
20. 19
iRoko has moved to offline distribution and supplies a number of airlines with
Nigerian entertainment content. It is currently one of the best funded digital
companies in Western Africa. The company has raised altogether $25 million
investment up today. Customer value proposition is targeted to provide Nigerian and
African entertainment content easily to everyone in everywhere in the world.
The following Figure presents iRoko’s digital business model that could be described
as subscription based business model.
Figure 13. iRoko business model
21. 20
4 Scenarios for the Future of digitalization
markets in Africa
“Any useful statement about the future should seem to be ridiculous”
--Dator’s Axiom
Scenarios are the tool for strategic thinking and one of the key methodologies used in
future studies in understanding potential futures. One of the key lessons future
studies have expressed in relation to scenarios is that futures are created actively. If
that is the case then there could be described at least three different futures:
possible, probable and desirable futures. In this analysis it is used this future study
methodology to extrapolate alternative scenarios for future of digitalization markets in
Africa.
It is important to bear also in mind that reality is a non-linear and sometimes chaotic
set of trends, innovations and even small scale revolutions from time to time.
Especially true this is in Africa where societies are in the move and under a fierce
political and cultural transformation. However, the value we are able to get out of
different scenarios is that it is possible to give predictions about the specific futures
that are justified based on clear justifications. These justifications will take into
consideration technological, economic, political and social trends that are all relevant
to digital business models and markets.
Finally it is important to bear in mind, scenarios are the tools to build different futures
and one of the sign of effective scenarios is that it provokes ideas. Following
scenarios for future of digitalization markets in Africa are built on this principle in
mind. In the following it is presented three most probable or possible scenarios that
are based on trends and emerging issues and which present both opportunities and
threats for the main players in the market (also companies coming from outside
Africa). Timeframe of possible scenarios is approximately 5 years. In the scenarios it
is described what has happened during the next 5 year time in corresponding
scenarios, what has been the outcome and what are the reasons behind the change.
Scenario 1: Africa as digital powerhouse
- Africa is on driver’s seat to decide its own destiny – also in terms of digital
business.
- Africa has a clear digital business leader and its voice.
- Current digital business models cover already almost all areas of businesses
and life of the people.
- Africa is finally connected to the world and global economy in equal terms.
- Digital innovation is a two-way lane. World class innovations have started to
flow from Africa to the world that creates wealth to African people.
- Rapid expansion of smart phones and apps that African’s have always been
used to use have made Africa mobile powerhouse. New mobile related
business models are born in Africa.
- Educational institutions are focusing on nurturing African born talent and top
African universities are attracting talent to study all over the world. Links of
the educational institutions are strong.
- High tech companies have started to establish development centres in the
main growth areas in the Africa. This has further accelerated the growth of
talent pool in High tech industry in Africa.
- Also mobile and internet infrastructure has seen big improvements during the
last five years and the quality of internet is approaching developed countries
quality.
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- Venture capitalists and business angels have found Africa big time. Funding
has started to flow to African start-ups and this has given a huge boost to the
start-up ecosystem in Africa.
- Governments have understood that with the help of digital solutions and
services it is possible to tackle social and economic challenges and create
economical value to citizens. First examples of real value exist.
- Africa is considered as testing ground for new digital innovations e.g. Maas,
AI, My data etc.
Scenario 2: African digital business as business as usual
- Digital business models are the continuation of established businesses.
- Many of the digital business models are borrowed from somewhere else and
not born out of African context.
- Completely new digital business models that revolutionize businesses and
societies have not had breakthrough as established power structures have
been able to maintain the grip.
- Often digital businesses are owned and managed from outside of Africa e.g.
from Middle East and Europe
- Infrastructure needed in digital business is still not adequate to connect
people to the digital ecosystems.
- Digital business is integral part of almost all businesses but in conventional
way. Digital tools are in supportive role.
- Digital businesses have not been able to deliver big social and economic
advantages to people of Africa.
- Proper funding channels for digital business are still missing.
- Ambitious government initiatives to digitalize societies have failed and have
only worked in conference speech level.
Scenario 3: Bubble burst in African digital market
- Despite the good intentions infrastructure needed in digital business is still
immature and quality of internet connection and access to mobile services
has not improved. Infrastructure becomes real bottleneck.
- Accelerators and incubators are not able to produce success stories which
further cut down the financial abilities of the start-ups to operate
- African governments have not been able to create sustainable operating
environment for digital business models that challenge the existing power
structures.
- Mismanagement and corruption still exist and makes it difficult for start-up
companies to exist.
- High hopes of digital business to uplift Africa have faded and actually the gap
between Africa and rest of the world is widening.
- Africa is still ruled by the global corporates and donors alike that consider
Africa as a backyard of their activities. Africa is still missing its own voice and
equal co-operation is non-existing.
-
Scenario
Role of digitalization Characteristics of
digital business model
champion
Role of governments
Digital
Powerhouse
Core of the
development of the
business and
societies- makes a
difference
African born,
solving African
problems, creating
wealth to the
people of Africa
Early innovators
find Africa
Strong facilitator
and enabler of
change – on
driver’s seat
creating
opportunities for
business
23. 22
Business as
usual
Important but still
only contributing
role to existing
business models,
not revolutionary
and not
contributing to
change
Champions are
existing
corporations that
are cashing in with
already existing
business models
Inactive and
passive role, works
only in conference
speech level, not
creating the change
Bubble burst
Minor –
development gap
between Africa and
rest of the world
has widened
No champions as
purely home born
digital businesses
do not have
preconditions to
operate
Weak and
corrupted, not even
interested to
execute the change
24. 23
5 Conclusions and Recommendations
Mental agility is essential to understanding Africa today and in the future. Africa is not
one place at one time. It is third world and first world. Change in Africa is fast and
deep but above all uneven.
Africa is on the rise and digital business and African born digital business models
have role to play. There are already good examples available that Africa as a whole
is ready for digital business and capable of producing purely digital business models
that contribute to the development of societies and economies in Africa. Also global
and international digital business are proven to be successful in Africa, even much
more successful than in some parts of developed world because of existing legal
frameworks (e.g. Uber).
Road to the success is not easy though in digital business. Poverty, infrastructure
problems and inequality are still clear bottlenecks for digital business to fly high - big
time. Opportunities are there and potential for growth is huge. There it is needed also
co-operation between African and developing countries in order to materialize the
possibilities of digital business for all parties and to get Africa linked to the world and
opposite around. Important question arises: What are the preconditions for
companies coming abroad to create sustainable digital business in Africa?
One distinctive feature of the African successful digital business models is that all are
based on extensive use of partners and ecosystems. Quite often the core of the
digital business is either platform or well defined concept. Around this companies in
charge of digital business model have created partnerships that are vital to delivering
the service. This teaches us an important lesson: in order to succeed in digital
business you need to trust on partners and ecosystems and be able to work through
them.
Another important conclusion that we are able to draw in terms of successful digital
business models is that it needs to be adjusted to African context. What Discovery
has done with Vitality concept is related to the fact that public healthcare is not
working as efficiently as in the developed world and people need to take
responsibility on their own health. Same is true with iProcure which has created total
service concept to solve challenges Kenyan agriculture is facing. The service concept
is revolutionary and extremely advanced business process outsourcing concept that
probably would not have been able to be developed anywhere else in the world.
Based on business models presented in this analysis, preconditions for foreign
companies to create successful and sustainable digital business in Africa include:
Extensive use of partners (not resellers) and being part of ecosystems that
are based on clear business logic
Working with people who understand both cultures: Western and African.
Being able to find an African challenge and address that challenge with
locals.
Taking local partners as equals and appreciating their skills even if they
differ from your own.
Variety in customer base, not relying on a single source of income stream.
Solution must be a solution, not part of a solution.
Nice-to-haves have extremely limited opportunities.
“Get more money” is way more useful argument than “save more money”.
Digital business growth in Africa is almost with 100% certainty the fact. Middle class
is growing and all the time more and more people will get access to digital networks.
This will create in principal terms business opportunities. Question that will remain is
25. 24
to whom this growth will materialise and create business benefits? Scenarios for the
future of digital business will teach us all yet another important lesson: as continent is
developing rapidly also the risks to operate in the market are big and needs to be
acknowledged. There is always a possibility that Africa is not able to get rid of long
tradition of mismanagement and what in developed world is called corruption. Of
course the optimistic development path is also possible that would lead Africa to co-
operate in equal terms with rest of the world. This would lead certain African born
digital business models to become global success stories.
Africa is a vast continent with 54 different countries with culturally diverse
businesses. It is vitally important to “choose your battle” in Africa and know the
market area you are addressing. It is not possible to address the whole continent at
the same time. After you have chosen the market, one thing remains the same
everywhere in Africa: business culture is built on relationships and companies also in
digital business need to spend time (and money) to create relationships opening
doors to success. More and more often that success has digital context.
Below is a list of recommendations for companies that are considering Africa as a
market place for digital business:
Invest in value propositions - customer value proposition needs to be even
more well defined in Africa than elsewhere
Understand the African context - digital business model requires good local
understanding of the challenges it is solving
Focus on local partners - digital business in Africa takes place in ecosystems
and with partners
Localise your services - use of locals is needed
Be patient and prepare for delays
Consider Africa as a place to test your business - in certain digital markets
Africa could be great testing ground for new ideas and innovations
Finally, in the below it is presented some success factors and remarks for Finnish
SME’s planning to operate in the digital business in Africa
Success factors in the field of digital solutions include:
Value, necessity, individual benefit matter
Simplicity even when things are complex (simplexity)
Clearly stated business outcomes is what will sell
Recognition of local needs, values and hierarchies both at organisational and
individual level
Solutions for a sector specific challenge, with a fintech link and a link to real
world (with physical products also a link to logistics needed)
Solutions that help avoiding, or at least decrease number of, a) middle-men
b) dealing with government agencies face-to-face or by phone
Take advantage of:
Privacy policies not as strict as in Western countries, experimenting and
piloting opportunities.
Africans are used to high degree of insecurities, “it doesn’t need to be
perfect”.
Learn from Africans: they are used to live with high degree of uncertainty
about the future. That is quite possible close to what future looks like.