GUEST BLOG: The power of m-commence in Africa

There has been a huge amount of focus on mobile commence (m-commence) in Africa over the last decade. Businesses can now expect that most people will be surfing the internet through a mobile browser on their mobile phone, rather than simply sitting at home on a computer or laptop. So the potential for reaching audiences continues to grow, with the wider trend already being entrenched into consumer behaviour.

In the past decade, this trend has become more noticeable especially in countries like Nigeria, which has seen mobile phone usage surpass 70%, to just over 110 million people. As of 2015, worldwide mobile phone internet user usage was 52.7 percent, meaning over half of all internet browsing was over a mobile phone.

When comparing the use of internet on a computer, which lags behind by 30%, it is clear that use of internet through mobile phones has the bigger potential. There are now 650 million mobile users in Africa, which has made it one of the most fast growing markets, after Asia.

In order for businesses in Africa to make use of m-commence and meet the rising interest, the most important aspect is accessibility. For a long time, people in the West have been enjoying the benefits of using services easily online. African consumers have also quickly caught up on the trend and therefore businesses need to cater to this.

This rise in interest from a business point of view has been largely spurred by the expensive costs of using broadband across the continent, which has suffered through a lack of investment and therefore less availability for people to sit at home using a computer. The answer to this, has been to introduce higher speeds for mobile connections, although this has not arrived across the whole of Africa at the moment.

The expense of broadcast, alongside the fact that people have a much more intimate connection with their mobile phones, and love browsing on the go means that there is a huge gap for businesses to reach consumers and sell their services all day, every day.  

Nigeria remains to be one of the places in Africa developing and investing more than most in the m-commence world, and is certainly leading the way for other businesses across the continent. However, Nigeria has seen a huge amount of support through Government initiatives aimed specifically at developing m-commence. This has also recently been backed by high economic growth as the growing middle class in this country has been demanding more from businesses and what they can offer through technology.

To stay on top of the ever growing digital market, businesses need to constantly innovate. Perhaps in Africa some of the businesses may need to look towards more advanced markets in the West for inspiration and guidance. This is particularly important when considering secured facilities such as payment facilitations, which is a whole different subject in itself, best left to the experts. Where this world of m-commence takes us next, time will only tell. In short, it remains an exciting challenge and unique adventure with endless opportunities for all businesses in Africa.

This post was written by Stephanie Howel, International Marketing & Communications Manager, Arik Air. Arik Air (www.arikair.com) is Nigeria and West Africa’s largest airline and operates mainly from two hubs at Murtala Mohammed Airport Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja.

Arik Air is looking forward to exhibiting at the Business Travel Show, to meet old and new customers, partners and other innovators in the industry. Connect with them via http://www.arikair.com/uk or LinkedIn (https://uk.linkedin.com/in/stephaniehowel) and meet at the Business Travel Show - register now at www.businesstravelshow.com

Stephanie Howell, marketing manager, Arik Air 

GUEST BLOG: Insight Led and Data Driven: Three Reasons to Revamp Your Decision-Making Process

Big data and accessibility to improved analytics are transforming what it means to have a competitive edge. The ability to collect, store, and analyse massive amounts of data has become ubiquitous. Data scientists have become one of the most sought after professionals.  That should mean that companies are making decisions that are better founded in real-world data than ever before.

Yet that’s not what is happening in many organisations. Managers are not certain how to utilise data, don’t trust advanced analytics enough to use it as a basis for decision making, or are simply used to making decisions based on gut feel. Similarly in business travel, a great deal of data is collected by organisations on an ongoing basis, from transportation costs to lodging to client entertainment expenses. However, this data often does not play its due part in informing the strategy and the choices made.

What differentiates smarter decision makers from the rest is how they make sense of the data and take actions. That’s the fundamental reason managers should be looking toward data for insight.  How and why to change the process is tougher to tackle. Here are three of the main reasons organisations should be revamping their decision making style, with data in mind:

1.   Data for data’s sake isn’t enough—and it’s costly.

It may seem strange that organisations are hesitant to embrace data-driven decision making… especially because they are often still collecting and storing enormous amounts of data.  They’re putting time and money into data collection and storage without following through and making that data work for them. Data is only worth its impact on strategic decisions. If you’re not putting it to work, it’s costing you twice: First, in the loss of decision making capability, and second, in the costs inherent in collecting and storing it.

2.   Experimenting with and developing the right analytics model takes time.

While the right-fit analytics can change and improve the entire way your organisation manages company travel, it’s not a plug-and-play process. It’s not simply a matter of parsing data—the organisation needs to define its goals, identify opportunities, and consider what precisely they want their analytics to help them accomplish. Creating the necessary models to accomplish an organisation’s aims shouldn’t be delayed. The sooner your company gets started, the sooner it will perfect its methods and get ahead.

3.   Your organisation has the ability to transform itself for the better.

Putting data to work with optimised analytics almost always does more than lead on to an organisation’s next best moves. It can also unfold opportunities for the organisation’s culture to evolve. Data doesn’t just drive decision making; it can also drive organisational change. This has a far greater impact for business travel where culture and traveller behaviour are crucial for the success of any programme strategy. For any organisation that intends to reach its full potential, ignoring data (and its uses) is not really an option.

This post was written by Asif Bashir, Founder & Director Axcent Travel Solutions. Asif has over a decade of experience in the travel ecosystem supporting managers and executives in the decision making process. He has helped corporates ranging from medium sized companies to global Fortune organizations across various industry sectors make insight driven decisions to support corporate objectives and save millions of dollars.

Axcent Travel Solutions will be exhibiting at the Business Travel Show on 24-25 February 2016 - buyers can register for free entry to meet 250 suppliers, choose from 60 conference sessions and network with 7,500 professionals at www.businesstravelshow.com.