ICT competence ought to worry SME community

Embracing ICT is a pivotal aspect in this pandemic and in the future by SMEs. FILE PHOTO | NMG

By NANCY MARANGU
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Summary

• It is imperative that SMEs cluster and take advantage of big data and create data banks that can inform their digital economy uptake/transition rate.

Dynamism in technological trends will unravel limitless opportunities within the digital economy to benefit youth and women within the small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) sector.

To embrace transition, youth and women ought to seek opportunities to sharpen their ICT competences to be better placed to navigate through tech-world.

Players within in the SMEs fraternity ought to ensure they gain the mastery that the internet economy requires constant innovation.

As such, the internet economy provides services and products that were previously not accessible, reframes marketing and incorporates both business and public sectors to stimulate trade.

It is essential for SMEs to delve and grasp the understanding that well-developed innovation-driven entrepreneurship ecosystems provide the bedrock for sustainable business models, which propel the circular economy.

This implies that, a successful innovation-driven entrepreneurship ecosystem, will support the realisation of digital transformation, entrepreneurial experimentation, and re-allocate human capital and resources. In the long-run, start-ups, SMEs and high-growth technology companies thrive and create jobs.

Consequently, digital transformation of SMEs will bring sector-specific benefits such as digital commoditisation which will result in low production costs for both local and international competitiveness.

The intangible components within the final value chain of goods and services will transform the understanding of the production and distribution of wealth and cross-border trade on a global scale.

In fact, technologies such as internet of things and big data will provide quick access to markets via e-commerce.

Essentially, digitisation will enable businesses to reach out to a broader customer base or tap into new markets such as those provided by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to actualise the creation of a single continental market.

To complete the chain, empowered consumers drive innovation, productivity and competition by means of education, access to relevant information and capacity to assess information to make optimal decisions as buyers.

Significantly, research and development allows SMEs to gain a competitive edge, support multi-sectoral digital transformation, and achieve digitisation potential through research, design and development.

To achieve this, SME specific strategies and action plans ought to focus on evidence based frameworks. This creates room for collaboration with institutions of learning to translate research into policy papers that can be adopted for implementation.

It is imperative that SMEs cluster and take advantage of big data and create data banks that can inform their digital economy uptake/transition rate.

Favourably, SMEs systematic approach to technology uptake and transfer will foster knowledge sharing, co-creation and adaptation of new products. This will result in improved commercial services including green innovations supported by open data, creation of new sectors, and jobs.