We are living in a time with some interesting global trends. Nowadays Zimbabwe is doing considerably better in keeping up with the latest trends. This is good because you do not get to be too isolated or left behind. Right now you find yourself in the just-started second half of 2023. It is a good time to take a look at what is going on in the world. As a business person or entrepreneur, it is time to explore what the latest top global business trends are right now. These are trends that are bound to continue into the year 2024.
Rising Demand For Remote And Hybrid Work
Before 2020, remote work was not a mainstream thing. I recall people being fascinated then when I would mention that I work remotely. It sounded fictional, especially in a country like Zimbabwe. It did make sense then why most people were somewhat surprised. It is because remote work was still the preserve of a handful of people on earth, let alone in Zimbabwe. There was some semblance of hybrid work but not in a deliberate and structured way.
From 2020 to 2021, remote and hybrid work became survival strategies for companies to stay afloat. It was inevitable. Fast forward to 2023 and remote and hybrid work are still a thing. In fact, many job seekers now only consider jobs that have remote and hybrid working frameworks. This is going to grow more moving forward. Zimbabwe needs to also embrace this more as well – it is the future of work.
Exponential Growth Of Ecommerce
Take a sweep across the past 5 years with e-commerce in mind. There was a time when e-commerce seemed like a lofty idea for the Zimbabwean context. Today the story is different as we continue to see the proliferation of e-commerce in Zimbabwe. Even globally, e-commerce continues to grow and will continue to. 3 years from now, the global e-commerce market is projected to reach over US$8 trillion. Understandably in Zimbabwe, there are still areas that need to improve.
One such area is what is termed universal postal union (UPU) reliability. Zimbabwe still needs to improve on that i.e. reliability of businesses in delivering customers’ orders. Otherwise, e-commerce is growing in Zimbabwe and you should ride onto that wave. Some of the retail products doing well in e-commerce are consumer electronics, furniture, and clothing, amongst others. There is now a vast improvement in terms of online payment gateways in Zimbabwe. That will aid the growth of e-commerce locally.
The Continued Rise In The Application Of Generative AI In Daily Life
Ever since the coming of ChatGPT, the AI space has blown up. The place of large language models (LLMs) has been extremely elevated. Even in Zimbabwe, you have been seeing the emergence of AI chatbots or chat assistants based on ChatGPT-4. Other than ChatGPT-4, so many AI platforms, software, or apps now exist. Such AI-based digital tools are revolutionizing how things are done.
Generative AI has particularly been taking centre stage and is bound to continue doing so. By the way, generative AI is a form of AI that has the ability to develop images, videos, audio, text, and 3D models, amongst other things. Generative AI is trending and will continue to do so. One of the areas it is being used is in content creation. As a business or startup, you stand to benefit a lot from using generative AI. Some of the areas where generative AI can do wonders are marketing, sales, operations, ICT, engineering, risk management, legal, and HR, amongst others.
5G Is Enhancing Several Fields – It Is The Future
5G is a game-changer and it does come with its own set of controversies. Today the focus is just on how game-changing it is proving to be. Advancements in AI are being streamlined by the use of 5G. Generally, automation is being enhanced by the use of 5G as well. Some interesting areas that 5G is earmarked to enhance are remote control, virtual, and augmented reality. Now, 5G is not yet widespread everywhere you go in the world.
However, the world is poised towards the direction of 5G. The few places where 5G has become mainstream have shown how remarkable 5G can make life become. Two of the leading nations in 5G adoption globally are China and the US. Those two nations boast a combined total of over 650 cities where 5G is available. In Zimbabwe it is still mainly pilot runs; still a long way to go.
Increasing Ad Spend On Social Media
This is something you can notice yourself if you regularly use social media. You will notice that you are constantly seeing sponsored ads or boosted posts. This is in response to the growing use of social media and the number of active users is rising too. Thus competition for getting the attention of those prospects is growing as well. That is why ad spending is going up for businesses to stay competitive. This means you have to step into that space in order to win prospects over.
You must also know that businesses are spreading their marketing nets wider. One of the ways they are using is by building online communities. This is something we have discussed before. You will do well to adopt the same strategy as well. As much as increasing ad spend is noble you will have to do it systematically. Let it be evidence-based; not just random or haphazard.
One of the ironies of the pandemic we came out of is these trends. If you closely look at all these trends you will notice one common denominator. They were fuelled by the operating environment the pandemic created. Thus in a way you can say some good came out of the pandemic. Anyways, these trends are pertinent to your business operations moving forward. If you can find ways to leverage all of these trends you will reap the benefits from now onwards.
