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.

Who’s eCommercing 2007: Online Transactions?

Featured Companies
FoodWorld, OK, DST, eTranzact, PayPal and CABS Online

Zimbabwe eCommerce in 2007
This year has brought in some improvement on the .CO.ZW cyberspace, as a few companies are now offering Online Transactions from their websites. Food World and OK, the chain supermarkets, both have online shopping facilities. eTranzact, PayPal, and CABS Online are strong on the Backbone of Zimbabwean Online Transaction Processing Systems. Despite being over politicized, eCommerce has taken off on a good note this year, because the most popular banks now have eBanking facilities, and the Zimbabwean Consumer now has external funds stored in banks outside our borders.

Food to the Zimbabwean eWorld – www.foodworldzim.com
Food World Chain Supermarkets has two mirrored websites that it uses for eCommerce purposes. They have a local .CO.ZW website and the above .COM website. The .COM website is the one that is connected to PayPal.com, one of the leading Online Payment Systems in the World, which is able to process transactions in any currency except Z$. On the FoodWorldzim.com website, you are able to choose the items you so desire, adding them to your basket, and paying for them with the PayPal facility.

Everything is OK in ZIM Online – www.zimland.com
Zimland.com has made a deal with OK Zimbabwe to provide online grocery shopping for those families in the Diaspora. Families in the UK, US, or AU can visit this .COM and buy goods for family members who are in Zimbabwe, who then collect them from OK Zimbabwe. This facility is processed through PayPal.com, just as the FoodWorld.com website.

Do you want Some Timber for your Building Online – www.dst.co.zw
DST, the hardware and building supplies company has an eCommerce website launched early this year, where families and companies can buy building material through the eTranzact payment system. Shoppers can browse through their website adding items to a shopping cart, which will be processed as and when the shopper requires.

Pay anyone with CABS Online – www.cabsonline.co.zw
eCommerce in cannot be a success without the efforts and brilliance of CABS Online, the first company, and Bank to offer Online Transaction Processing through their website. With a CABS account a consumer is able to signup for the eBanking facility and start to pay “Anyone” or “Any Organisation” using CABS Online’s simple website. I have paid for my rates, done inter bank transfers, and other interesting transactions using this facility. Without a doubt CABS Online has more users than any other payment system in Zimbabwe. They have the largest POS network, and are also Mobile Online.

Zimbabwe Websites Misconceptions

The following are some of the many marketing misconceptions that I would like to address in this book:

Websites are Marketing Expenses. This is false, because a website is an investment. We live in the days of the Google Economy, where you even earn US$ for just reserving a portion of your website for Google AdSense, and in the days of Advertising Synergies.

Not many people use the Internet. This is false, because Zimbabwean urban consumers are very technology oriented. There are more literate consumers in urban centers now, who have equal access to Internet – through Internet Cafes. The Computer Population is Zimbabwe is growing, especially the Laptops, whose owners want Internet access as soon as they buy them.

Websites are for Internet presence only, because we cannot implement eCommerce in Zimbabwe. This is false, because websites are for consumers not your company, hence can be used for more than just your business card. eCommerce in Zimbabwe is transforming, with a few hiccups though. Nonetheless, it is growing – CABS Online, eTranzact, NMB-Direct, and CBZ Online, just to name a few.

Websites are for technical people only. This is false, because websites are nothing close to being technical only. In fact less than 20% of a website is technical. The rest is Marketing and business genes.