Infratel says it appreciates the fundamental role that local companies that make up the majority of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play in the development agenda of the country and is aware of the great benefits that come with digital transformation with regards to businesses regardless of the size.
Company Chief Executive Officer Freelance Bwalya said when Infratel noticed the slow adoption of digital services or solutions by MSMEs, they got concerned and thus embarked on a research to understand why MSMEs were not integrating digital technologies in their businesses.
Speaking during the Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises ICT Open Day, Bwalya said some of the reasons provided were that digital transformation is only for big corporates with elaborate IT departments, which is not true.
He said the other reason for slow adoption is that most of the SMEs believe that going digital requires huge sums of money which is not true as there are options that enterprises can take advantage of which are very affordable and then scale up with other services that may be priced much higher.
The Infratel CEO added that the other reason for slow adoption is that not knowing where to start from creates inertia for SMEs to adopt digital technologies even though they may be fully convinced about the need to go digital as there is no specific framework to help them with where to start from and the task can be daunting noting that the technical jargon used by the service providers can also be a barrier to appreciating the options available.
He noted that the ICT Open Day was formulated to address such barriers by bringing together digital solution providers and financiers and SMEs to network and interact with the end view of closing the gaps in terms of information about going digital adding that it is clear that there is huge knowledge gap on digital transformation and relevant ICT solutions available in the country.
Bwalya reaffirmed that MSMEs are the driving force for economic development of the country and leaving them behind in the digital transformation journey will only slow down the pace at which the economy will grow and it is for that reason that Infratel working together with ICT and digital solutions services providers organized the event to kickstart the conversation between MSMEs and the ICT sector.
He noted that the future of all businesses irrespective of size is dependent on integration of digital technologies into operations and MSMEs are in better positions to transform quicker,grow exponentially and adapt the status quo in the market.
Bwalya mentioned that Zambia Industrial Commercial Bank (ZICB) offers affordable financing options that MSMEs should take advantage of in harnessing their pace in the integration of digital technologies in their business operations.
He added that local MSMEs are taking advantage of these digital solutions to get ahead of competition. Infratel currently commands 70% of the Zambian market share for the data centre services adding that its partners for the ICT Open Day event which include Liquid Intelligent Telecom,Zamtel,SamAfrica and ZICB are also well established and provide ICT and financing services in the market.
The Infratel CEO said these services provide a platform to support digital transformation for government, large corporates and most importantly for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
Speaking at the same event, Ministry of Technology and Science Permanent Secretary Brilliant Habeenzu said the ICT Open Day was a timely initiative by Infratel as it draws together two themes that are central to the new dawn government and are joined for the economic and social development of the country.
Habeenzu said these are Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector and the Informaion and Communication Technology (ICT) sector.
He said MSMEs are the backbone of the economy and account for a significant percentage of the county’s GDP and the importance of the sector to the economy policy of the government has warranted the creation of a ministry solely dedicated to the advancement of the sector.
He further said the SME sector is also the largest generator of employment in Zambia. He noted that there is a common misconception that digital transformation is only available to large corporations which is not the case as it has been proven globally that MSMEs are the best place to adopt a digital strategy.
The new PS stated that government is committed to ensuring that it creates an enabling environment to foster the growth of the ICT sector and facilitate adoption of digital solutions by local businesses.
