Every market friction needs an equivalent market grease. That is supposed to be the response of every entrepreneur during periods where there is a downturn in economic cycles. During this period entrepreneurs will learn the important principle of Peter Drucker that said” innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship”. This is why I believe that through disruptive innovation, a disruption can be disrupted too. I mean, when there are negative impacts to your business, the innovation to address the negative impact is disrupting such disruptions.
The world had remained at a standstill or stationary position for over two months due to a global pandemic. It is very obvious that every business faced a major setback by staying at home.
The economy revolves around people and the velocity of money. Economic activities need three major elements, the households (the people), firm and the means of exchange, which is money in circulation. But, as things changed, it automatically altered the way we perceive things and the system we adopt in doing businesses.
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Entrepreneurs are responding to the market friction trends created by covid19 in order to address the impact now and in the post-covid-19 business world. I have explained the trends created by the pandemic and some of the responses by Alphabet inc, Facebook, Zoom etc. My interest in this analysis is to come to Africa and let’s see what entrepreneurs are doing to address the market frictions of Covid-19. one of the african innovations is Sasai Teamtalk. What is this digital product and how can it help me?
Market Frictions Solution by Sasai TeamTalk.
According to the CEO of Sasai Fintech International, a subsidiary of Econet, Darlington Mandivenga he said Sasai TeamTalk will offer free voice and video conference service, with secure end-to-end encryption, that connects up to 20 people on a single call, compared to telcos and most other social media platforms that offer between five and eight people on a conference call.So, the solution exists to solve the social and physical distancing measure to address the deadly pandemic.
Here are the market frictions created by the pandemic that the Sasai TeamTalk is innovated to solve.
Businesses Market Friction:
To prevent the spread of the pandemic, workers and owners of businesses must not meet physically, everyone must stay at home. But the question is; how will the business stay alive? How will the employees be paid? What a disaster! That’s why Prof. Nduibusi Ekekwe called it Market Friction.
Government Market Friction:
The law makers, the executive and those who are managing the machinery of the government are also to stay without contact with each other. The public sector was on lock down. The popular Aso Rock where the National Assembly is was also locked down. Various industries of the public sector such as aviation and service services were locked down. What a disaster!
Religious Market Friction:
The spiritual altars of many if not all the countries were on lock down. Places where David in the scriptures says I was glad when they say let’s go into the house of God became abnormal. This sector was a hit as there is no convergence of crowds. What a market friction!
Education Market Friction:
Education is one of the indicators of development in any country, it’s seen as light and a solution. Children and youth are molded professionally and ethically in school. School also is now short down. How will our children continue their education? What a market friction!
International Market Friction:
Embargo has been placed on international travelling. As such appointments and meetings already scheduled ahead were cancelled. In Fact everything international is affected. Import and export are the major variables that are no longer in place in most economies. What a market friction.
How do we address these market frictions?
Sasai TeamTalk is a Market Friction Solution:
According to Guardian Sasai Chief Operating Officer, Tapera Mushoriwa, said: “The Sasai TeamTalk feature was developed to address a critical need in the market. It sits in the all-in-one super App to provide users with efficient data usage compared to the use of separate, multiple apps.
So, with Sasai TeamTalk solution, the following could still take place;
- Business can still run and workers can still be productive. This is a remote work tool for businesses that helps teams to collaborate and stay productive as such it keeps businesses afloat and workers earn their wages.
- Stay in touch but not physically: this has made our civil servants to stay in touch with colleagues, religious groups to also stay in contact with their followers, freelancers to connect to their clients.
In a nutshell, the Sasai Super App has provided another grease to address some aspects of the above market frictions. Sasai TeamTalk, an Africa digital innovation to address market frictions. We shall continue from here. To download the app visit the Play Store or the App Store and stay connected to everyone.