Soromfe Uzomah, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Microsoft 4Afrika, shares on how SMEs can leverage cloud computing during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Global Pandemic
The global impact occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic not only on public health but on business, cannot be underestimated. Policymakers and stakeholders must thus consider the impact such global disruption of trade poses especially to small and medium businesses (SMEs). Anticipating and mitigating for the impact of unforeseen global events on supply chain management is crucial if SMEs, who are reliant on goods from an affected area, are to survive.
Due to their size and lack of resources, SMEs are often the most vulnerable to unforeseen events and threats. These SMEs also often do not have a plan in place to deal with supply chain disruptions. Yet, in Africa, SMEs are important drivers of economic growth. Accounting for up to 90 percent of businesses in sub-Saharan Africa, an SME Initiatives advisory by the International Finance Corporation reports.
Regrettably, one thing clearly emerging from the global Covid-19 pandemic is that SMEs’ supply chains from hub regions across the globe have been severely disrupted on an unprecedented level, and with an unpredictable timeframe for resolution as the virus continues to impact industrial production. Companies that would usually import items to sell, particularly SMEs, are unable to continue with business as usual because of trade disruptions. So, the question we must ask is, how do these SMEs make their supply chain anti-fragile?
Cloud computing solutions
Digital commerce platforms and advances in fields like digital analytics and artificial intelligence can significantly help to mitigate the risks of supply chain fragility. Flexible cloud computing solutions, data collection and analysis and automation software can all contribute to the success of SMEs in the digital era. Cloud computing also gives businesses the ability to scale, cost-effectively, to new markets. This is particularly beneficial for SMEs, who often lacked the resources or infrastructure to expand before. Partnerships with companies like Jumia in Kenya and Nigeria has, for instance, made Microsoft products available to SMEs in local currency.
The challenge now is to establish new supply chain avenues within Africa. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) can play the role of unlocking innovation, growth and productivity on the continent, especially for its SME segment, by translating spending power into economic development.
To date, intra-African trade is relatively limited; UNCTAD, the main UN body dealing with trade, said it made up only 10.2 percent of the continent’s total trade in 2010. Between 2010 and 2015, fuels represented more than half of Africa’s exports to non-African countries, while manufactured goods made up only 18 percent of exports to the rest of the world.
By creating a single continental market for goods and services, the member states of the African Union hope to boost trade between African countries. Some studies have shown that by creating a pan-African market, intra-Africa trade could increase by about 52% by 2022, although these predictions will likely be revised downwards due to the pandemic’s influence on the local and global economy. Regardless, better market access creates economies of scale. Combined with appropriate industrial policies, this contributes to a diversified industrial sector and growth in manufacturing value added.
Digital Platforms
Digital platforms and the adoption of mobile technology act as effective conduits for the exchange of value, and by aggregating demand across the continent, these platforms give small and medium businesses opportunities to access new markets, and to offer or identify goods and services previously limited by location constraints and marketing costs. These platforms create a diversification effect that boosts the robustness of supply chains.
Start-ups like CoinAfrique, which is based in Dakar, Senegal provide access to markets for SMEs through their free classifieds platform for new and used products. Which allows users to make money selling what they do not use and find bargains. The app currently has over one million downloads – and the team are now looking to scale to 10 million active users across francophone Africa. Other platforms, including Biz4Afrika, provide entrepreneurs and SMEs alike with access to valuable business information and resources, finance and markets, providing a boost to small business growth.
A powerful force expediting cross-border trade is the accelerating progress of digital technology in areas spanning from trade logistics, automated processing and e-payments to immediate access and exchange of trade information and documentation.
Cash flow is always a challenge for SMEs, no more so than when trade is constrained due to external factors. It’s always tricky for SMEs to balance working capital requirements with inventory availability. The growth of the fintech sector effectively simplifies any transaction challenges by creating multiple payment channels.
Microsoft 4Afrika
Many fintech start-ups across Africa aim to promote access for SMEs to financing options that were previously not available to them, which also opens opportunities for trade on a larger scale than was previously possible. As an example, Microsoft 4Afrika has partnered with African fintech start-ups, including Flutterwave in Nigeria and the MoVAS Group in East Africa, to open access to financing for SMEs. Diversifying and strengthening supply chains is crucial for SMEs to survive and flourish. When we consider that by 2035, the International Monetary Fund forecasts that Africa will have added more working-age people to our workforce than the rest of the world’s regions combined, it’s essential that we have a thriving SME sector to absorb these workers and help grow economies across the continent.
Amazon is bringing its Amazon Web Service (AWS) summit virtually to Africa on July 9. The multinational technology company will host a one-day virtual summit to help developers and technology enthusiasts take advantage of its recently launched AWS Africa region.
The event dubbed AWS Africa Region Virtual Day hopes to bring together the cloud computing community in Africa to connect, collaborate, and learn about AWS Cloud. It is targeted at both new and experienced cloud users with technical sessions available for all levels.
The event invitation reads, “Kick-start your journey to the AWS Cloud. Join us for a day of learning how to build on AWS!”
Keynote sessions will be led by Amazon CTO, Dr. Werner Vogels, and Sub-Saharan Africa General Manager, Michael Kogeler. Amazon shares there will be “14 breakout sessions across 3 tracks. A business executive track and 2 technical tracks“.
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Check out other stories from across the Middle East Africa region.
Microsoft’s Director of Operations and Marketing for the Middle East and Africa, Jaime Galviz, is taking up a new role in the company. He is now going to head the company’s operations in Colombia.
Starting July 1st Jamie will steer affairs as General Manager for Microsoft in Colombia.
“It is a pleasure and honor to be back home and join our talented team in Colombia. To continue Microsoft’s mission to empower organizations and individuals to achieve more. Our country has enormous potential and at this critical moment, our work in partnership with our partners, government, educational entities and the private sector is even more important to drive and sustain digital transformation in our key industries, foster our great local talent and strengthen Microsoft’s commitment to environmental sustainability.”
He spent about eight year in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region in various roles. First serving as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for Microsoft Gulf. Then moving on to become the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for the MEA region.
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Microsoft is looking to bring back the concept of NexTech Africa but in an ongoing way. The company is introducing the Power Africa Community for African developers. Dona Sakar, Microsoft Principal Advocate, shared this during the welcome to Microsoft Build 2020 session.
We will like to bring back the concept of NexTech but ongoing. This year we want to engage with you (African developers) so much better through a series of virtual events. Events focused on Power platform, Azure, M365, etc..
Dona Sarkar
Power Africa tech community will be a closed group on the Microsoft Tech Community. Where African developers will be able to learn, share, connect and grow with events and opportunities from Power Platform, M365 and Azure.
Virtual events designed specifically for the continent will take place this summer and fall, Dona notes. The company also hopes it can host an in-person Dev Tour this winter as part of the initiative.
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Microsoft Build 2020 is taking a new format this year. One of the many features of this year’s digital event is the Community Connections experience. Through these experiences, Microsoft will be hosting small group discussions that relate to the local developer community in Africa. The Microsoft Build Africa community connections experience sessions will discuss opportunities, details of upcoming events and the Microsoft Africa Development Center for African developers.
There will be three related Microsoft Build Africa community connections experience sessions.
Connect with Microsoft in Africa and your local dev community Join your local Microsoft team for a fun-filled community meeting as we talk about hot tech, opportunities for developers on the continent and some spicy details on upcoming events for African devs. Thursday, May 21, 2:00 AM – 4:00 AM GMT
Expert Q&A: The Road to Power Africa Join Microsoft’s Africa Development Centre Engineers to learn more about what it’s like to be part of the ADC team. Join them as they chat about what it takes to be a Microsoft Engineer, their day-to-day life and what you can do to get started. They are joined by Microsoft’s Developer team who will cover some amazing developer events coming up and what you can do to improve your skills as a developer. Be sure to join!! Thursday, May 21, 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM GMT
Global Social Entrepreneurship Program Learn how Microsoft Global Social Entrepreneurship is enabling social entrepreneurs via technology, access to Grants and customers. Celina Lee, CEO, Zindi will share how she is mobilizing data scientists in Africa on Azure, creating job opportunities and bringing the community together. Wednesday, May 20, 7:30 PM – 8:00 PM GMT
To participate in the Microsoft Build Africa community connections experience, register for Microsoft Build 2020, for free. Then RSVP to the sessions.
Let’s know if you are excited for Microsoft Build and Microsoft’s focus on Africa.
