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Tag: innovation

  • Load shedding: Forcing the township economy to go international?

    Load shedding: Forcing the township economy to go international?

    While the protests in 2021 were expected to bring the Kasi economy to its knees, quite the opposite happened. Entrepreneurs who had cut their innovation ‘teeth’ during Covid faced the new challenge head on.

    Township delivery networks sprang up, filling the gap that Mr. Delivery was struggling to fill. Spaza shops went from strength to strength. New eateries sprang up, mimicking those found in the affluent parts of Jo’burg. These, and many other innovations provided a foundation for big brands to partner with entrepreneurs in new and exciting ways.

    Load shedding in real numbers is devastating

    However, the fairytale has been short-lived. According to a recent News24 article, since Eskom has stepped up its load shedding schedule, 66% of township businesses have had to cut jobs, with 60% unable to operate during load shedding hours.

    The implications are massive. Not only does the township economy contribute 5.2% to South Africa’s GDP, but it also employs over 2.6 million people. Load shedding in real numbers is devastating.

    Hyper-local brands

    The township economy is also built partially on a reawakened love of local brands. We’re not talking South African brands (although that’s a thing too), we’re talking hyper-local brands. As in, something your neighbour makes.

    This serves to keep cash circulating within the township, which means that one transaction enriches a long line of people, all living around you. One of the measures of a community’s wealth is the lifespan of cash within that community before it exits into the world.

    With a load shedding economy, township residents with money to spend will have to look outside the township for premium goods and luxury experiences. It’s a double whammy when load shedding and a fairly closed consumer ecosystem come to blows. Load shedding always wins.

    The one saving grace

    One saving grace is that with an increase in internet availability and a high unemployment rate, many are turning to web-based businesses to generate an income.

    According to the World Bank, a growing body of research shows that access to Wi-Fi has a positive effect on an embattled economy by providing access to global markets.

    Are global markets hungry for South African products? The international success of Maxhosa Africa proves that.

    With higher demand, stronger international currencies, and a hungry populace, the Kasi economy may be saved after all.

    We live in hope

    When it comes to things like fashion, we have the government to thank for where we are today. Nearly 15 years ago, the government instituted ridiculously high import duties on clothing in an effort to curb the influx of cheap brands from China.

    The plan was to stimulate the local fashion economy and it seems to have worked. What needs to happen next is the cutting of export taxes to support township entrepreneurs. While it would serve the country to lower both these (and other taxes), there’s been no word as to whether this will happen.

    How does this affect marketers? Well, should South Africa begin exporting locally made items (like fashion), in bulk, we may need to start understanding the international consumer a lot more. We live in hope.

  • Digital Marketers don’t forget to look up

    Digital Marketers don’t forget to look up

    In 2021 we released our very first Township CX Report. It went well. It wasn’t a spectacular success, but it was good enough to motivate us to do it again in 2022. This time around, we wanted it to be bigger and better.

    An injection of authenticity

    We decided that part of the bigger and better was an injection of authenticity. It’s one thing to see some data on a spreadsheet, but it’s quite another to go to where the people are. To sit with them, to talk about their experiences, to connect. We chose three townships, Alexandra, Soweto, and Katlehong, and we planned our expedition.

    I call it an expedition because, for me, it was. If you can’t tell by my profile picture, I’m white. I’m suburban in every sense of the word. A trip to a township is not an everyday occurrence for me. It’s a thing. It’s an expedition. It’s new and alien and daunting. What is every day for most of South Africa, is not every day for me. In many ways, I’m a tourist in my own country. And that’s not okay.

    2021 was not a great year for South Africa. Covid-19, the riots, and a bunch of other things led me to believe that this country was in dire straits. I didn’t hold much hope. I expected our township visits to be depressing. I expected to see economic hardship, strife, and suffering. Sure, some of that was there. But there was also something else.

    A masterclass in entrepreneurship
    In Soweto we saw spaza shops and restaurants rebranding to their own unique look-and-feel. A shift away from the branded cold-drink signs we’ve seen so often. No, they had their own brand identities. We saw entrepreneurs coming up with new and innovative ideas, from bespoke food delivery services to unheard of financial services.

    If you want to attend a master class in entrepreneurship, downtown Alex is where it’s at. In Katlehong we met a man that has managed to connect spaza shops together through his distribution network, all while inventing a cold drink that’s just as healthy as it is delicious.

    In a way, 2021 was a blazing inferno, burning through the lives of South Africans, leaving ruin in its wake. But entrepreneurship and innovation were birthed in that fire, and they rose like the proverbial phoenix, carrying the township economy upward with it.

  • Working from home’s impact on innovation

    Working from home’s impact on innovation

    In Greek Mythology, Hercules had 12 trials to overcome. These included slaying lions, nine-headed monsters, and cleaning the stables of immortal livestock. If the ancient statues are accurate at all, Hercules completed all of these trials without wearing pants. Imagine what he could have done in a pair of jeans? Moving on to some recent (and perhaps more relevant) events, COVID-19’s adverse effects should never be underplayed or ignored.

    Having said that, there is one positive thing that shines out in the gloom: societal change. In the last few years, negative events have sparked the adoption of new behaviours. During the SARS pandemic, ecommerce thrived. The 2008 financial crisis sparked the Uber and Airbnb revolution. Can you guess what COVID-19 has sparked?

    A dream come true?

    Working from home is now a thing. Before COVID-19, how many grouchy conversations did you have about working from home? If you’re anything like me, quite a lot. What stood in the way? The ship doesn’t sail until everyone’s on board. So here we are, we’re all on board. And guess what? It isn’t the cruise we all thought it would be. Working from home comes with a price. That price is a detrimental loss of innovation. Team cohesion, constant contact and communication, all drive inspiration. Without inspiration, there’s no innovation.

    It seems that the only way to get innovation is to stop working remotely. That has one obvious ramification, we’re still in the midst of a pandemic, and people’s health is at stake. There’s another, less obvious ramification – working from home has increased productivity. Without the constant distraction of chatty colleagues, frequent coffee breaks, and adhoc tasks, productivity has shot through the roof. The dilemma is, do you kill productivity to drive innovation, or do you kill innovation to keep increased productivity? Increased productivity is a short-term win. It improves your bottomline in the here and now. Innovation is a long-term game. It gives you an edge when it comes to penetrating new markets, optimising processes, and building better products. You can’t pick one; you need both.

    The making of innovation

    There are many hypotheses as to what drives innovation within a business. Some will tell you that it’s a combination of smart people, process and policy. Others will tell you that innovation is about need, funding, and research. Clearly, it has something to do with being around people; else, our isolation from one another wouldn’t have made such an impact. In its simplest form, innovation is born when your perception of an external situation is altered by an internal shift in perspective. The shift will help you see the situation from a different angle, which opens you up to other solutions.

    Think of it like a Rubik’s cube. You’re not going to solve a Rubik’s cube if you just look at it from one side. What causes these shifts? Empathy. What causes empathy? A leading cause is listening to and understanding other human beings. There are outliers who seem to generate innovative ideas out of nothing, but it is very likely that they’re just really good at understanding people’s needs and shifting their own perspectives accordingly.

    More talk, less meetings

    So, where does that leave us? What’s the solution? Is there some sort of killer app? The answer is no. But perhaps, now that you’re aware of the innovation issue, you can make more of an effort to keep in touch with your colleagues and do some active listening. Video chats don’t need to be restricted to meetings.

    The year 2020 has been an absolutely devastating trial for everyone. There have been a record amount of retrenchments, economies have crashed, and things seem bleak. Like Hercules, we will overcome these trials. Most of us still have our pants, and that puts us a step ahead of him.