COVID19 has been a digital accelerant globally for business seeking to stay afloat in turbulent times given supply chain disruptions and the need for human capital to socially distance which had an adverse impact on operating models for many. Zambia was not spared from the effects of disease pandemic in business ecosystem.
Speaking during panel one discussion of the recently ended eCommerce Expo and Conference 2020, Stanbic Bank Head Data Office Francis Mumbi highlighted an improved trust gap in adoption of digital commerce compared to 3 years ago with immense work to be done nonethless. Mumbi attributed increased technology adoption in the quest for most commercial banks to engage and support clients in respective service delivery and client experience journeys. Adjacent industries such as logistics have experienced an uptick in demand for services use of enabling technology especially in disease pandemic era where supply and delivery of products was critical for consumers.
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Technology as a factor of production remains cardinal in the business efficiency discussion through cost leaning and building scale for all entities at a time costs have significantly widened from both endogenous and exogenous factors.
As a bank we are committed to helping both our corporate and retail clients to achieve their business and life goals. We have continued to invest in platforms that support digital commerce from mobile to digital banking platforms to gateways for digital storefronts.
In as much a some business entities shut down while others continue to limp in COVID19 era, payments have still been running behind the scenes driving the economy. This is attributed in part to eCommerce, Mumbi said.
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There exists a high information and education gap on how eCommerce is structured and as such awareness is key.
The future is here but is still not evenly distributed. Digital commerce will going forward more social, chat based, data driven and predictive. Amazon is already running experiments based on peoples shopping patterns to inform them offer clients product offerings they like the most, Mumbi said.
There is a lot of work to be done as it is evident that there exists a high information and education gap on how eCommerce is structured but therein lies the opportunity.
The Kwacha Arbitrageur