Zimbabwe Internet Facilities Needed

Zimbabwe does not have sufficient numbers of the following facilities, capable of securing consumer confidence:

Online Transaction Processing Systems. By this I refer to a simple software application that allows web consumers to purchase goods or services over the Internet, without the use of bank notes. These are more transaction oriented than credit rating oriented. I know of one such innovation, through the Zimbabwe Association of Inventors. One of our members developed an electronic wallet, which is currently going under scrutiny with our Reserve Bank. This product is not a duplication of western technology, but a literal new innovation. When it passes the test, it will transform eCommerce in Zimbabwe.

Online Credit Rating. We are one of the few Literate countries which have not been affected or bulldozed by Visa or Master Card, in our credit rating systems. I believe that this is a good thing because it enables the birthing of our own credit rating processing Systems.
The good news is that Credit Rating will not be difficult to implement in Zimbabwe because many banks, offer some form of credit rating. Howbeit Uniswitch or Zimswitch take this further to become our own versions of VISA and MasterCard. Believe me, we poised for great heights as a nation. Insurance companies may also venture into this business, in partnership with banks, and Uniswitch.

Information Portals. Does it not strike you that we are very educated, yet do not have many information portals in our Cyberspace. Out of the existing portals, many have foreign styles, not necessarily relevant to the Zimbabwean Web Consumers. Zimbabweans behave differently from Tswanas, Zulus, English, Portuguese, French, or Chinese. Do we not have Behavioral Marketing Consultants in our midst, which are able to advise us as we build these portals?
I believe we have the potential to do greater than what we have done, only if we look within ourselves, and around us. A very simple allegory for an Information Portal is our very own Waterholes in the wild. An Information Portal can be likened unto a Waterhole in the wilderness of Zimbabwe. All animals throng to it at specific hours. They come to drink, quenching their thirst. It is a place for interaction with other creatures. At the Waterhole, there are Predators and Prey, there are Parents and Children, and there are Critics and Supporters. This is what you can create your Information portal to be, a place where you can contain all such people, and make money.

Free Services. Thanks to websites like Ygm.co.zw, yo.co.zw, and fbnet.co.zw one of the cries of my heart has been answered. Zimbabwe now has its own answer to Yahoo.com I believe, with enormous potential. Free services, especially email are very beneficial for a nation in Cyberspace, because they provide a reference point for the physical businesses, where enquirers can visit when offline. The more we have free services, the greater chance we have of establishing in consumers’ minds this wonderful world of technology. Free service websites provide alternatives for consumers as they browse the Internet. The more alternatives, the healthier competition is, and results in increased Internet usage. There are businesses which need platforms to market themselves, and free services websites offer a good platform.