tech Archives - Leads 2 Business Blog

22 Mar 2022

Staff Spotlight: Andile Shange

by Andile Shange | posted in: Staff Spotlight | 1

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About Andile Shange

I'm a Software Developer at Leads 2 Business since 02 June 2014.

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19 Oct 2021

Technology for Small Businesses

by Michelle Crosby | posted in: General | 12

The best thing about technology is that we are able to connect and communicate with people from all over the world, right at our fingertips. Not only do we use this for ourselves but our business as well. Technology is an easy and great way to touch base with employees and clients. This gives your company a competitive edge and puts you in the lead. It is convenient, simple, cost-effective and economical for all companies.

Even something as simple as sending a company newsletter or email to customers can lead to the growth of your business.

Small businesses rely on technology to help them operate on a daily basis. This includes computers, printers, online storage and web-based applications.

10 Ways to Enhance a Small Business using Technology

1) Marketing Tactics

Small businesses would need to look at and compile some marketing techniques for their new business. Technology can assist you in honing in on those techniques/skills and help your company grow.

Simple and easy marketing ideas include the creation of a company website, reviewing and mastering your email skills, use of social media to promote your company etc.

Building your own company website will provide prospective and current clients with an idea of what your company does, where to locate you and how to contact you. A website makes your company look reputable, creditable and well established.

2) Social Media

In my opinion, using social media and digital marketing is the BEST way to grow a small business. Businesses are no longer physically advertised as there is no longer a need. It is more cost-effective and easier to use online technology.

Social media not only allows you to connect with people in your area but the whole world. Anyone is able to easily locate your company online and make contact with you at the click of a button.

With social media platforms, you can advertise and promote your business online. A new small business should create pages on various platforms whereby people can like, share, follow and interact with you. The most used platforms are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin and Google +

Whatsapp is also fast becoming a way of communication for a small business. Whatsapp has come up with a Business Whatsapp especially for this. Small businesses can track clients queries, orders and payments. You can also have your product list available for viewing or downloading.

Start a Company Blog, like us here at Leads 2 Business, where we relate to our business and clients.

Link all your apps and use your mobile to stay connected while on the go.

3) Remote Working

Thanks to the internet and technology, we are able to work from home and connect with like-minded people. With a new emerging small business, this is fantastic news as you are able to keep your start-up costs down as there is no need to rent a separate office space for you and your team.

The COVID-19 pandemic has added to the working remotely trend which has a range of pros including lowered costs, increased flexibility, greater productivity and increased wellbeing.

Technology allows you to connect with your team via Zoom or Teams or any other online platform where you can touch base or assist where need be. Not only with employees but clients and customers as well. You could also make use of a virtual phone number.

4) Productivity Techniques

Time management has always come into play when it comes to a business. There are many tools and apps available for time management/time tracking for small businesses. You can also make use of to-do lists, reminders and online calendars.

5) Technology Security

There are many benefits for a small business owner using technology to benefit and grow their company. One of the other benefits is improved security. The technology could be used to prevent hacking or any breach of security with active passwords and firewalls. It protects small businesses valuable and private information.

6) Cloud features.

A very beneficial tool of technology is the Cloud and Cloud features. This can reduce the number of software and computer applications your company needs in the long run. The Cloud is essential for data storage, backups, collection of documents, spreadsheets and images not only for the individual but for team collaborations/projects as well.

It is easily accessible by a shareable link which can be accessed by yourself and your team at any location on any device such as your mobile, laptop, PC or tablet.

7) Customer Service

I believe that customer service is a lifeline of any business. Clients are the ones who are investing their energy, time and money into your business. It is essential to take care of these clients and make them a priority and follow up with them making sure they are happy with the products and service they are receiving.

You can make contact with your clients via telephone or achieve this by using technology and social media. With Facebook, Linkedin other platforms there is an inbox messaging system that customers can use to enquire about your product. Facebook also is linked to your WhatsApp, so the customer can choose to whatsapp your business directly.

You can also set up a feedback or ticket system to handle customer concerns. Some features allow clients to request appointments online. You can also compile questionnaires & surveys to obtain customer feedback.

8) Emailing

An email is an ongoing form of communication that everyone uses. We need to look at how to control the influx of emails and work on improving our productivity. How to organise, tag, flag and reply to emails. Create a system that is tailor-made to your needs and suits you.

8.1. Turn off email notifications, on both your computer and mobile, after office hours to avoid disruptions and distractions.

8.2. Decide how to use your inbox. Using personalised colour coded tags works for me.

8.3. Update your Whitelists & Blacklists frequently. You can blacklist or block spam addresses as well as list safe addresses to ensure all important messages come through.

8.4. Unsubscribe to unwanted emails. Limit newsletters and automated messages that flood or take up your inbox.

8.5. Set up your email signature. Having a company email signature is super important and makes your company stand out. Start with the basics by including your full name, job title, company address, phone number and link to your website. In here you can add the social media icons of which platforms your company is on. You could also add an image, banner or GIF.

8.6. Email Etiquette can set you apart from the rest. It is simple yet effective.

– Use a simple catchy subject line.

– Use a standard font.

– Address your new customer formally

– Structure your message clearly.

– Always proofread your email carefully and use spell check

– Include your signature

9) Financial

There are many tools that you can use in your small business from helping you to identify wasteful spending within the company as well as provide diverse payment options.

– Credit cards are a great way of conducting money transactions. They are not connected to your bank accounts, making them very safe to use. A small business can apply for a Business Credit Card from their Bank or a preferred credit provider. FNB offers a great Business Credit Card solution with benefits and rewards. If there are any disputed transactions, your card issuer can freeze these transactions. If your card has been compromised, you will be notified via a fraud alert however, chip technology makes it harder to steal your credit card information.

– Online invoice service. This can reduce the costs incurred when collecting payment from customers

– Online budget app. Can help you keep onto of your expenses and see where all your money is going.

– File your taxes online and on time

– Create a new income stream by selling your products online on your website, Facebook and other platforms previously mentioned.

– Download accounting software to streamline your business finances. You can also share digital files with your accountant or bookkeeper.

– Offer your customers an online payment option for ease of payment.

– Use your phone to make payments. FNB offers a Virtual Card option whereby you tap your phone at places of business to make payments.

Close up hand of customer paying with a smartphone. Cashier hand holding credit card reader machine and wearing protective disposable gloves at the bar counter, while client holding the phone for NFC payment. Women wearing a face mask while paying bills with mobile phones during the Covid-19 pandemic.

10) Influencer Marketing

Consumer habits are moving away from the more traditional media like TV and Radio towards online content. The methods of promotion have also shifted and modernised. There are loads of influencers are on Facebook small businesses should take advantage of this opportunity and collaborate with these influencers to promote their company online. Like the comedian Kevin Fraser who promotes Westpack Lifestyle on Facebook.

Conclusion

While some people may not like change and find that this can confuse or be difficult, it also creates opportunities. Small businesses that use new technology have achieved a lot of positive outcomes such as happier clients and employees, efficient and streamlined processes, and lower costs and higher quality content.

Get with the times 😉

Sources
Finsmes
The Balance MB
Small Business
Industry Today
WW2

About Michelle Crosby

I started my journey at Leads 2 Business in the Directory Department in 2012. I was then promoted to the Private Projects Department in 2014 and was recently promoted to Projects HOD this year.

14 Sep 2021

What happens when Your Computer connects to the Internet?

by Mark Meyer | posted in: General | 0

What happens Your Computer connects to the Internet?

Your PC needs to be connected to an AP via WIFI, CAT, or UTP cable to the WLAN or LAN.

DHCP will assign an IP to the PC using the MAC of the NIC which allows access to the LAN and, using NAT via the CGI, to the WAN.

TCP or UDP are core protocols of the Internet protocol suite. However, UDP does not provide the reliability and ordering guarantees that TCP does

For IP resolution; WWW, VPN, MX, AAAA, FTP, and HTTP/S also require a TXT entry in the DNS which is a requirement of the IETF and ISOC.

This is referred to as a DNS-SD unless a No TXT record has been specified then it is known as an NXDOMAIN.

Connecting to the WWW the DNS will resolve the IP using a TXT looking for an A record using HTTP or SSL enabled HTTPS.

When searching the WWW the website with the best SEO will display at the top of the SERP.

A website may be HTML or PHP or a standard WP, which may use JS, CSS, or JSON. Some even display CCTV.

A SQL or MySQL server will store the data usually hosted on a DMZ.

What happens when I send an email?

When you send an email, which may contain ASCII, DNS checks the NS and resolves using the MX record which looks for a PTR and will validate using SSL and TLS

which both require a valid DKIM in order for the DMARC to verify. Once verified, SMTP, POP, APOP, or IMAP protocols will retrieve or send your email where they are stored in a PST file on your local PC.

What happens when I make an internet telephone call?

This type of call is known as VOIP.

VOIP requires DNS SRV which specifies a unique host and port when signaling SIP or IAX protocols. The SRV record is named in the PTR.

This is important when using NAT from within a corporate LAN which forwards to the WAN using a public IP. QoS along with either a G729,

uLAW or aLaw codec is used to avoid JITTER. Remote extensions should connect using PPTP over VPN.

Essential IT Acronyms

AP – Access Point

CAT – Computer-aided translation

UTP – Unshielded Twisted Pair

MAC – Media Access Control

NAT – Network Address Translation

CGI – Computer-generated Imagery

UDP – User Datagram Protocol

AAAA – Authentication, Authorization, Accounting, and Address (Internet infrastructure)

IETF – Internet Engineering Task Force

ISOC – Information Security Operations Center

DNS-SD – DNS-Based Service Discovery

NXDOMAIN – Non-Existent Domain

DMZ – Demilitarized Zone

PTR – Public Test Realm

SRV – Service Record

AWS – Amazon Web Services

GCP – Google Cloud Platform

IG – Internet Gateway

SEO – Search Engine Optimization

SCM – Search Content Marketing

SEM – Search Engine Marketing

WP – WordPress

PPC – Pay Per Click

CPC – Cost Per Click

SERP – Search Engine Results Page

CTS – Click-Through Rate

CR – Conversion Rate

CPM – Cost Per Thousand Impressions

SVG – Scalable Vector Graphics

DMCA – Digital Millennium Copyright Act

CMS – Content Management System

CRO – Conversion Rate Optimization

CTA – Call to Action

CTR – Click Through Rate

PR – PageRank

ROI – Return on Investment

UI/UX – User Interface/User Experience

SEA – Search Engine Advertising

SMO – Social Media Optimization

SMM – Social Media Marketing

SERM – Search Engine Reputation Management

AMA – Ask Me Anything

B2B – Business to Business

B2C – Business to Consumer

CX – Customer Experience

GA – Google Analytics

SMP – Social Media Platform

ToS – Terms of Service

UA – Universal Analytics

CPL – Cost Per Lead

NPS – Net Promoter Score

QDD – Query Deserves Diversity

QDF – Query Deserves Freshness

HITS – Hyperlink-Induced Topic Search

LSI – Latent Semantic Indexing

PBN – Private Blog Network

AI – Artificial Intelligence

IMS – Intelligent Maintenance Systems

ML – Machine Learning

NI – Natural Intelligence

MI – Machine Intelligence

SR – Speech Recognition

M2M – Machine to Machine

SQL – Structured Query Language

DQL – Data Query Language

DDL – Data Definition Language

DML – Data Manipulation Language

PHP – Hypertext Preprocessor

HTML – Hypertext Markup Language

JS – JavaScript

CSS – Cascading Style Sheets

API – Application Programming Interface

XML – Extensible Markup Language

XHTML – Extensible Hypertext Markup Language

JSON – JavaScript Object Notation

EOF – End Of File

ASCII – American Standard Code for Information Interchange

I/0 – Input & Output

IPSec – Internet Protocol Security

SSE – Server-Side Encryption

SSL – Secure Socket Layer

WAF – Web Application Firewall

DMARC – Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance

OSS – Open Source Software

SSD – Solid-state Drive

RAM – Random-access Memory

SLA – Service Level Agreement

OLA – Operational-level Agreement

SSO – Single Sign-On

UPS – Uninterruptible Power Supply

DC – Data Center

GUI – Graphical User Interface

BI – Business Intelligence

IT – Information Technology

DW – Data Warehouse

DNS – Domain Name System

HTTP – HyperText Transport Protocol

HTTPS – HyperText Transport Protocol Secure

LAN – Local Area Network

WAN – Wide Area Network

DHCP – Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

TCP – Transmission Control Protocol

IP – Internet Protocol

WWW – World Wide Web

IoT – Internet Of Things

D2D – Device to Device

VPN – Virtual Private Network

BGP – Border Gateway Protocol

VLAN – Virtual Local Area Network

ICMP – Internet Control Message Protocol

LB – Load Balancer

SMTP – Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

FTP – File Transfer Protocol

RDP – Remote Desktop Protocol

NIC – Network Interface Card

ISP – Internet Service Provider

URL – Uniform Resource Locator

PDF – Portable Document Format

IE – Internet Explorer

DM – Direct Message

FB – Facebook

PM – Private Message

QoS – Quality of Service

MIME – Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions

POP – Post Office Protocol

IMAP – Internet Message Access Protocol

MX – Mail Exchange

PPTP – Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol

WPAN – Wireless Personal Area Network

WLAN – Wireless Local Area Network

About Mark Meyer

I joined Leads 2 Business in February 2009 and serve as IT Director.

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26 Feb 2021

Construction Technology

by Sasha Anderson | posted in: Construction Chat, Did You Know, Recommended Reading | 0

Posted by Brett Long

If it’s not broken don’t fix it, right? Despite technological progress, it’s not uncommon for construction companies to still rely on spreadsheets, manual data entry, and paperwork. Low IT budgets and lack of time for training have contributed to a hesitancy around adopting new methods and technology.

Emerging construction technology isn’t just a fad or a fun new toy. There are real, practical applications and benefits to modernizing your current processes. And if your construction company wants to remain competitive and not be left behind, you’ll need to find ways to integrate new approaches into your strategy and workflows.

These cutting-edge technologies are drastically changing how the industry operates and how future projects will be completed.

Types of Construction Technology Impacting the Industry:

Mobile Technology
Drones
Building Information Monitoring (BIM)
Virtual Reality and Wearables
3D Printing
Artificial Intelligence

1. Mobile Technology

Mobile technology isn’t just for games anymore. Apps are becoming more of the norm in construction and for good reason. The increased portability of tablets and smartphones allows for greater communication and the ability to work from anywhere. Integrating this type of technology into your current processes can be much simpler and require a smaller upfront investment while still providing major benefits and boosting productivity in your day-to-day operations. So if you want to start implementing technology, this is a good place to start.

Mobile technology can help to save time and keep your project moving forward faster by providing real-time updates and making information available between the job site and the office. You can easily access the latest revisions to plans or report a problem to the project manager off-site.

2. Drones

Drones are the most widely used emerging construction technology. They can conduct site surveys more quickly and accurately than a crew on the ground and are cheaper than aerial imaging. Their high-resolution cameras and the data collected can create interactive 3D or topographical maps and models and take volume measurements.

Another benefit of using drones is the ability to inspect hard-to-reach places such as bridges or around tall buildings, and to do it safely. You can also use them to monitor progress on a job site and see how people are working.

3. Building Information Modeling (BIM)

BIM is similar to CAD (computer-aided design), but not exactly the same. It is software for 3D design to digitally model what will be built. But its capabilities don’t stop there: “It doesn’t just create a visually appealing 3D model of your building—it creates numerous layers of metadata and renders them within a collaborative workflow,” writes Engineering.com. It captures things in a way that paper just can’t.

32.7% of builders are currently using BIM/CAD software, JBKnowledge reports in their 2016 survey. The use of BIM has even been mandated in the UK for government construction projects.

The use of BIM provides space for better collaboration because each person and expertise area can add their piece to the same model, instead of breaking out onto multiple versions of a 2D paper drawing. This way, the model evolves immediately as people contribute, streamlining the process and increasing efficiency. BIM also helps with problem-solving in the design and planning stages of a project, by automating clash detection and providing a more complete picture of the project.

4. Virtual Reality and Wearables

Virtual reality technology is often used in conjunction with BIM to help better understand complex projects. Think of the potential: you create a building design with BIM and can then use VR to actually walk around it. Pretty cool, right? This will give your team, or the client an even more realistic idea of what the project will look like once completed. Having a more complete grasp on the project before it begins allows you to avoid big changes and expensive change orders mid-way through.

Wearables are a construction technology that will have an impact on job site safety and risk management. The Daqri smart glasses, though still in the early stages, are one example. The glasses have an augmented reality display, wide-angle camera, depth sensor, and other features that allow workers to collect and see data based on their environment. The glasses give workers the information and instructions they need to complete a task right on the display, getting the job done faster and with less room for error.

5. 3D Printing

3D printing as a construction technology has the potential to change material sourcing. For prefabrication, materials for a project can be printed and then transported to the job site, ready for use immediately. This can allow you to get materials faster and streamline the process by removing extra steps in the middle.

According to the U.K. Green Building Council, around 15% of materials delivered to construction sites end up in landfills, and the American Institute of Architects believes that building-related waste makes up between 25% to 40% of America’s solid-waste stream, reports Fortune. With 3D printing it will even be possible to print materials right on site, reducing waste and further saving on transportation and storage costs.

One of the current challenges with the adoption of this technology is limitations with mass production. Although some 3D printers can produce on a larger scale, they are expensive.

6. Artificial Intelligence

The construction industry is already seeing the implementation of artificial intelligence on the job site with the use of robotics for tasks like bricklaying and autonomous equipment that can operate and complete tasks without the need for human interaction.

AI can benefit construction projects through increased safety, improving workflows, and getting jobs done faster and better. “AI can replicate the judgments, decisions, and actions of humans without getting fatigued,” said Dan Kara of ABI Research. It can also identify when information or pieces are missing and ask questions, and use the data it collects.

Sources
Device Magic
UK Connect

About Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

27 Nov 2019

Fitness Secrets from a Tech Junkie

by Andile Shange | posted in: General | 0

Fitness Secrets from a Tech Junkie

For those of you that are looking for hacks, quick fixes aren’t a thing when it comes to Fitness. You have to put in cash and consistent hard work. Yes, cash plays a huge role in this Algorithm. From paying for Gym Fee (public use), Gym Equipment (private use), Nutrition and Gadgets that give you a slight advantage.

Gym Fee

Many of us keep Gym Memberships for guilt purposes, in the hope that someday we will use these premises. As we all know this could be a costly exercise. But for those who are in it for all the right reasons, exercising within a public audience can increase work-rate. Affordability and location is something that one needs to evaluate before committing.

Gym Equipment

I find that having gym equipment at home works best for intermediate and advanced fitness junkies, as they have already been exposed to this broad world. Whereas, public facilities (such as gyms) could be more beneficial to beginners. An example of this would be, someone who wants to start the gym but doesn’t necessarily know where to start or what to buy. Fitness junkies already know what works best out there and seldom make the mistake of overspending on excessive fitness equipment and nutrition.

Nutrition

Just as all conventional concepts of computing employ the IPO (Input, Process, Output) System. Your diet plays a huge role when exercising, from your stamina to your overall outcome. This starts with your first meal to your last meal of the day and of course not neglecting snacks in between. Firstly you have to identify your goal; may it be Losing Fat, Building Muscle, Improving Endurance or Increasing Flexibility. You need a diet plan.

Gadgets

It is 2019 after all, so much has changed with how the modern world does things. Keeping track of your progress is essential and this where these gadgets come into play. There are some impressive fitness gadgets out there namely: Ozmo Active Smart Bottle, Tangran Smartrope, Bose Soundsport Free wireless headphone, Garmin Forerunner 235, JaxJox KettlebellConnect, Powerdot Pain Reliever, Vyper 2 Vibrating Fitness Roller and Withings Boady Cardio. Don’t be afraid to spend on a good gadget. The results can be very rewarding.

Hard-work

Catching up with your mates whilst exercising can be a distraction, you have to stay focused and make every second count. Many fitness junkies would rather train alone than with a friend and even go to the extreme of changing gyms just to maintain focus. This is something you’d need to monitor because you have to keep your break intervals short to get maximum results from your exercise. Challenge yourself. Don’t be afraid to go that 1 km extra or to add an extra 5 kg on that last set. If you never try it, you’ll never know what it feels like to do it.

Consistency

With the festive season approaching, many of us are looking forward to vacationing more than anything and the gym will be taking a back seat during this season for most of us. Maybe what you could do is to shorten your workout period instead of cutting it out completely because complete absence is not an option. This way you won’t feel guilty when having that ice-cream.

Many fitness junkies use this time best, as they know that public facilities are less congested and residential roads are a little quieter than usual. This is a great opportunity for beginners to start exercising because they don’t need to wait to make the infamous New Year’s Resolution pledge to start.

Sources:
Self
Breaking Muscle
Matador Network

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit Leads 2 Business.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit Leads 2 Business Wiki.
To view more Articles, please visit our Leads 2 Business Blog.

About Andile Shange

I'm a Software Developer at Leads 2 Business since 02 June 2014.

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21 Nov 2019

5G Technology: Is Africa Ready For It?

by Malik Singh | posted in: Did You Know, General | 8

Communication is a vital part of our everyday lives, and with the advancements in technology, we have seen it become so much easier to incorporate into our daily lives. With those advancements came the integration of other parts of our lives to these technological platforms. Our entertainment, our work, everything we hold dear, all of this data accessible on the go. We have gone from being amazed by making phone calls to another person, to nonchalantly video-chatting with other people on the other side of the globe. It just keeps getting easier. With new mobile devices coming out every other week, we realise just how these platforms have transformed. But are these platforms quick enough? Now we are more interested in how quickly we can access everything. In steps 5G Technology. What is this mysterious thing of the future?

What is 5G Technology?

5G is the latest in cellular networks, it is 5^th Generation technology. Meaning that it is the successor of the 4^th Generation cellular network technology(4G). Using 4G technology we get substantial speeds, allowing us to download large files, even as large as Gigabytes, in minutes. Being the next generation, we will be able to download Gigabytes of data in seconds. Check out Spectrum for more info on the more on the technologies required for 5G. There is a recognised standard for the network to have to follow for it to be considered 5G meaning that we could be looking at speeds like 2.5 GB/s(gigabytes per second which also equates to 20 gigabits per second, bits being an eighth of a byte) for downloads and 1.25 GB/s(gigabytes per second which also equates to 10 gigabits per second) for uploads. Further details can be found at Life Wire.

What is so special about 5G Technology?

Because 5G is substantially faster than its predecessor it is definitely worth taking a look at as it makes real-world uses incredibly exciting. It can enhance the usability of existing technologies and perhaps even open doors to newer ones at the same time. Considering that the speeds, capacity and latency(which is the delay) of such a connection has potential to be, it would alter the way we perceive the internet as a whole, giving light to endless possibility. Such improvements could aid in the experience in self-driving cars, virtual reality simulations, air traffic control, movie downloads, and many other uses that would require downloading large files.

Does anyone have as yet in Africa?

At the moment there are a few places in Africa that have access to 5G technology. Vodacom has launched Africa’s first commercial 5G services as of August of 2018 in Lesotho. Other companies also have taken to 5G, such as MTN; having launched a customer trial in Midrand back in November 2018. South African company Rain offers a 5G for home service to Johannesburg and Tshwane. Although Rain is currently the only one of these companies with the necessary licensing that will allow for the use of the newer 5G spectrum (IOL).

Changes needed to be made to support 5G?

As great as the prospects are for this technology, there are some issues that companies looking to implement this technology, may face. The more technical stuff aside, there would need to be newer towers, or at least upgrades to the older towers so that they can support the 5G spectrum. And there would need to be widely available devices that can support this technology. Here’s a list of 5G supported devices from Gihosoft. For these to be put into place, even before all of these changes are even plausible, there would need to be the discussion of whether or not the spectrum necessary for the network, is even available. For more detail on what spectrum is as it relates to communication networks check out GSMA.

Is Africa ready for 5G?

As great as this technology seems, is it really something that could be implemented in Africa? Yes and no. It has already been implemented in certain areas. Which certainly gives us hope that it is possible, and given the right location, plausible. But there already exists technology that is available in Africa that has barely been used to its fullest. 4G being 5G’s predecessor, is yet to be fully realised across the continent, with some places still using 2G (IT Web). Considering that there are places that can support the newer technology, there are also places that cannot. Although we are playing catch up, I do believe that once the older generations are more widely utilised, for all that it is and all that it is worth, then there should certainly be more backing of this technology. But until then, implementing it in smaller proportions, at least as is feasible, is the best way forward.

About Malik Singh

Software Engineer At L2B

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2 Sep 2015

Trends in Africa

by Sasha Anderson | posted in: Frequently Asked Questions, General | 1

What’s trending?

You might take a sneaky glance at twitter’s ‘trending’ timeline to answer or perhaps Google. What about Africa? [tweetthis]Do you know what the Trends in Africa are?[/tweetthis] Many may answer with, “no clue”.

I doubt that this will be your answer for much longer. The narrative on Africa is evolving, there are more individuals and companies joining in the conversation and rightly so. Previously known as ‘Deepest Darkest Africa’ and most recently dubbed ‘Silicon Safari’, Africa is not only becoming an interest but a Trend in itself.

According to numerous sources the biggest Trend in Africa at the moment is Technology. Frost & Sullivan report that Africa could evolve into a $50 billion e-commerce market within the next three years. Kenya and Nigeria are leading in terms of fundraising and start-ups, other countries include Tanzania and South Africa. Africa has had explosive increases in internet usage and economic growth. In fact Internet usage is now growing faster in Africa than in any other continent and mobile subscriptions in Africa have eclipsed those in the Asian Pacific region. Companies like Safaricom, IBM and Facebook have all realised the significant opportunities for investment and innovation on the continent.

Technology is a major driving force of progress in every industry. This is particularly evident in Education in Africa. Tony Bates highlights the boom in online higher education enrollments in Africa, with many countries using eLearning as a way to meet the increased demand for higher education that traditional programs cannot. South Africa is the dominant country but will be overtaken by Nigeria by 2016 in terms of the volume of revenues from eLearning.

The population in Africa is projected to grow to 2 billion by 2050 resulting in the largest workforce according to the Harvard Business Review. Africa is also rich in natural resources, 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land in fact. Additionally, Africa has a USD$2 trillion economy with approximately a third of its countries obtaining annual GDP growths of more than six percent. [tweetthis]Of the top ten fastest growing economies in the world, six are in #Africa.[/tweetthis]

To end here is a quote to illustrate the Trends in Africa from the 2014 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos: