Developing entrepreneurship in a digital economy

As consumers move away from physical commerce to take their daily activities online, new opportunities are emerging for digital entrepreneurs to reap the dividends from digital and grow in the digital economy. 

The digital economy is driven by digital technologies that connect people, businesses, and processes. It is the hyper-connectiveness of this economy that allows the ecosystem to grow and redefines how typical businesses are structured.

Technologies like the Internet, the cloud, mobile technology, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are disrupting traditional business models and changing how businesses and customers interact. Being able to thrive in a digital economy will be key to ensuring a competitive edge and business sustainability.  

The role of connectivity and cloud solutions in the digital economy

Customer expectations are not only changing around the world, but in Africa too. Whether your customers are businesses or consumers, everyone is becoming more reliant on Internet connectivity to make purchases and drive business outcomes. This is why reliable connectivity is essential for joining the digital economy.

Enabled by connectivity, cloud technologies allow businesses to streamline their processes in cost-effective, reliable ways, and they offer the flexibility required to scale operations and adjust to demand. 

For aspiring digital entrepreneurs in particular, connectivity and cloud solutions are critical as they enable collaboration and access to resources from any location with a secure network. Working effectively without having to invest in a physical office space also reduces start-up costs, allowing small businesses to compete with larger companies that have bigger budgets. 

Emerging digital trends and opportunities

The digital economy creates new business models while also enabling more traditional companies to improve productivity and customer experience. Social media, mobile computing, data analytics, the cloud, IoT, and cyber solutions can lead to new market opportunities, remote service provision, faster time-to-market, higher revenue streams, and streamlined processes.  

Customers desire engagements with brands that are seamless, omnichannel, and personalised. Social media, for instance, can help entrepreneurs connect with audiences more authentically and gives access to instant consumer feedback. When combined with data analytics tools, companies can also predict exactly what consumers want, when they want it, based on online activity. 

It is critical that more aspiring entrepreneurs are exposed to emerging digital tools and trends as it can help change the way products and services are managed, optimised, and deployed, as well as how customers perceive brands.

Thriving in the digital economy

Entrepreneurs can join the digital economy by starting with moving past traditional business structures and re-aligning value creation. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean rethinking all aspects of your offering, but rather focusing on switching from physical to digital interactions and operations to enable new business. 

What’s needed is an integration strategy that takes existing physical structures and processes and integrates them with digital systems. Omnichannel customer engagement, for example, allows entrepreneurs to visualise the actual lifecycle of their customers, identify opportunities, and respond quickly.  

It’s this level of agility that will help entrepreneurs offer services and goods more in tune with their customers’ wants and needs, helping to grow the digital economy – and Kenya’s wider economy along with it.  

In this new, highly competitive digital world, entrepreneurs need to assess whether they are offering their services in the most efficient way possible. As the digital economy grows, more entrants will be using digital tools to bring more services and goods to market faster.

Differentiating your business will require connectivity, innovative thinking, and smart partnerships. As a market leader in innovation and connectivity, SEACOM is an ideal partner for seizing these unprecedented opportunities. Contact us and find out how we can help connect you to the digital economy – and all the opportunities it presents.