Here at Techzim we believe in the power of the internet.Our about section communicates that we obsess “about the opportunity of tech particularly the internet for individuals and businesses in Zimbabwe and the greater African region.”
So, it was with keen interest we looked at the results of a survey conducted by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) in partnership with the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstats). It was called the 2023/24 Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Access and Use by Businesses Survey.
The survey was on the use of ICT in Zimbabwe and was supposed to run from 20 February to 1 March 2024. The major objective was to determine the levels of access and use of ICTs by businesses.
We have not looked at the actual report but are working with the highlights as reported by The Standard. They got ‘exclusive’ access to the report.
Key findings from the survey include:
Internet Usage: Overall, 94.2% of institutions utilised the internet.
Internet Activities:
- 94.8% used it for sending or receiving emails.
- 88.4% engaged in social media activities.
- 73% sought information about goods, services, customers, or suppliers.
- 62.1% received orders online.
- 59.8% placed orders online.
Sector-Specific Internet Usage:
- Finance and insurance services, ICT, and utilities sectors reported 100% internet usage.
- Transportation and storage sectors had a 99.4% usage rate.
- Construction industry reported 98.6% usage.
- Professional, scientific, and technical services recorded 97.1% usage.
- Public administration stood at 96.3%.
- Manufacturing sector reported 95.3% usage.
- Support services and other activities were at 93.4%.
- Wholesale and retail trade – repair of vehicles were at 92.9%.
- Real estate activities reported 88.5% usage.
- Accommodation and food services had a 87.5% usage.
- Mining and quarrying reported 81.8% usage.
Gut reaction
If someone were to ask about the opportunity of the internet for business operations, you would have to narrow it down to improved communication, cost savings, increased productivity and efficiency, better marketing and customer engagement, access to information and analytics for informed decision-making and access to global markets. There are other advantages but these could be considered the most important.
We find from the report that most businesses (94.8%) are using the internet to improve communication which is easier via email. I would like to imagine that those not using email are using other online communication tools like WhatsApp. I refuse to believe its phone calls and printed out memos doing the rounds.
The power of social media is now clear for everyone to see as indicated by the fact that 88.4% engaged in social media activities. It should have been 100% but maybe we’ll get there by the next such survey.
I find the fact that only 73% of businesses use the internet to seek information about goods, services, customers, or suppliers surprising. It should be much higher than that. It’s information that should improve operational efficiency.
Companies are leveraging the internet to stay informed about market trends, competitors, and customer preferences, enabling them to make data-driven decisions. Why weren’t 27% of surveyed businesses doing the same? It might boil down to arrogance (we already know what we need to know to thrive) or ignorance (we don’t know how to use the internet for that).
E-commerce
Then there is the e-commerce bit. It appears we still have ways to go. However, considering where we are coming from, it is impressive that more than half of the businesses (62.1%) receive orders online, reflecting a shift towards e-commerce and digital sales channels.
While this is a promising figure, it suggests room for growth in adopting online sales systems, particularly for smaller or traditional businesses that may still rely on offline channels.
Slightly fewer businesses use the internet for placing orders compared to receiving them, possibly due to supplier limitations or the nature of their procurement processes. This gap suggests potential for growth in Business-to-Business (B2B) e-commerce platforms and the digitization of procurement processes.
For business to consumer e-commerce, we cannot pin it all on the businesses. There still is apprehension in the public about placing orders online. So, it is quite impressive that 62.1% of businesses reported receiving orders online. One of the major things that helped this figure grow is the tweak to allow cash on delivery even for online orders.
That said, the fact that when businesses are dealing with each other, they place even less orders shows that the bottleneck might not be the consumers but the businesses themselves. Which could be understandable when you consider that B2B transactions often involve complex procurement processes, requiring more formal negotiations, contracts, and approvals compared to B2C.
Sector specific usage
There wasn’t much to talk about on the sector specific usage except that it would have been embarrassing if the ones for ICT companies and financial institutions were not 100%.
I was surprised by the Utilities one (100%) if I’m being honest even though I’m aware that the internet supports billing, customer communication, smart infrastructure management, and operational monitoring for them.
Finance and Insurance heavily dependent on the internet for online banking, customer management systems, payment processing, and cybersecurity. For ICT companies, the internet is the backbone of operatiions making 100% usage expected.
At first glance, you would be surprised to see Transport and Storage at 99.4% usage but it makes sense if you think about it. Adoption of technologies like GPS, online booking systems, and supply chain management tools is driving this high percentage.
Ww won’t get into all sectors but the last one we will touch on is the Public Administration 93.6% usage. I would not have guessed it would be that high. The government has been talking about the digitisation of government services and public sector operations and it appears they are making progress.
E-governance initiatives, online service delivery, and internal administrative efficiency are driving this usage
That’s it
We shall talk more about this survey when we get the full thing. We would like to know what kind of institutions they surveyed. I would imagine smaller businesses were underrepresented. We shall dig into it later.
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