Preface

In all of Africa's urban centers and rural villages alike, a new breed of digital natives is emerging and poised to stimulate economic development and drive the acceptance of novel digital technologies and services designed to impact all facets of African society and businesses. As a result, the shift to digital is a key factor in the growth and development of resourceful and long-lasting small and medium-sized enterprises. In line with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the African Union (AU) plans to create a safe and thriving online marketplace in Africa by the year 2030, where people and companies are free to move around and transact online without restriction. Therefore, SMEs in Africa should make use of this unique AU effort to become more tech-savvy, since SNEs' activities, procedures, competencies, and models can all be modernized through digital transformation. Despite this, many African SMEs have not yet fully adopted the digital change in their entire lives. Taking advantage of the digital revolution calls for a shift in perspective, as well as new forms of collaboration between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their stakeholders, as well as between different industries. This book is written for business owners and managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with the goal of helping them take advantage of digital technologies and innovation to drive business transformation in Africa and to build and enhance digital networks and services with the end goal of bolstering trade, investment, and capital flows among SMEs. This book will help managers of SMEs discover and enable the digital infrastructure they need to close the digital gap and inequality between themselves and multinational enterprises (MNEs) and to boost distribution and logistics activities that support e-commerce. This book aims to help SMEs in the African market harmonize their environments in order to guarantee cheaper customer service, expand their reach, and secure more funding to help them close the digital infrastructure gap and achieve a universally accessible market, affordable prices, and secure e-commerce. Last but not least, African SMEs need to learn to embrace the adaptability of their business models, identify their greatest threats, and devise strategies to turn those threats into chances for growth. SMEs in Africa stand to gain valuable insights that will enable them to better locate and exploit new business possibilities presented by digital transformation. The book is compiled based on African SMEs, with contributors from around the globe (e.g. India, Australia, and Ghana). The book covers digital transformation tools such as e-commerce, social media, Big Data, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Machine learning, online shopping and digitization initiatives.