The education technology needs of African SMEs

SMEs are important in Africa’s economy. The increasing competition through globalization puts them through a lot of pressure. The rapid spread of ICT and ever decreasing prices for communication make markets in different parts of the world become more integrated. Therefore, SMEs need to improve their education technology for their staffs and organization to grow more and consequently expand their businesses in presence and profitability.

Obstacles that hinder the use of technology by Small and Mid- size Enterprise (SME)

While information technology (IT) has grown rapidly in enterprises, scholars have emphasized the importance of IT factors and aspects, while limited attention has been

paid to the barriers and challenges facing the use of technology by SMEs. In light of this, we stress the importance of overcoming barriers inhibiting education technology adoption by Small and Medium Enterprises (SME).

SMEs in developing countries have not fully taken advantage of technological developments to develop their business. Here are some obstacles faced by these SMEs:

1. Misplaced priorities: Most small businesses opt for technologies that are customer-focused, ignoring the knowledge gap within their teams causing the employees to go through a lot of pain in implementing these technologies.
2. Insufficient Funds: Many SMEs often do not have the luxury of dedicated training or L&D departments that are symbolic in every large organization.
3. Poor Education: They have problem of knowing the right technology solution to implement because they are not familiar with the best and modern technologies that accelerate their teams’ performance. They more often than non base their decisions on the cost involved rather than the opportunity costs.
4. Available Solutions: In Africa there are a few businesses that provide education support for SMEs. The specialized companies, which provide technical support at the time of commencement of their businesses and establishment of IT infrastructure maintenance, are expensive.
5. Lack of infrastructure: Internet penetration, electricity and other infrastructures that make EdTech efficient are not as available in Africa as they are in Europe and America.

Solution to these challenges.

In order to tackle the education technology needs of African SMEs, business owners and entrepreneurs should equip themselves with the necessary skills and tools.

The first and enabling responsibility is with the different solution providers in the EdTech eco-system. We should identify ways to support business owners, starting with providing cost effective and reliable access wherever business owners are located.

The second responsibility is with the business owner. In an ever-evolving technological landscape, they need to incorporate new technologies to stay competitive; they should upskill themselves and their employees to be competitive in the future. There are some opportunities from technology providers like Facebook, Google and Traindemy.

Strategic education technology recommendations and solutions for African SMEs

1. Corporate Training
2. Customer Education| Product videos archive
3. Webinar tool
4. Seminars and Event Scheduling tool
5. Assessment software
6. Virtual Tours

Prepared by:

Zelalem Kitaw, Rewina Tefferi and Nina Kassahun