AI and Revenue Generation

By Professor Stephen Mashingaidze

The  llast  articles addressed a number of applications of AI, and  now  I  need  to address how organisations and individuals  can monetize  this.  There is a lot of debate on how nations and companies are leveraging on the new technologies.

At Scotel and Tech4life we are  already  seeing the benefits  of  AI in our  telemedicine kits  besides  the ongoing  capacity  building and up skilling for  our  clients. In 2001, the partners launched workreel.com an AI powered recruitment app in UK and Australia.  The ChatGPT has competition from other players as well, among the generative AI chatbots from industry giants like Google (Gemini), Microsoft (Bing Chat), Meta (Llama 2), and Amazon (Codewhisperer).

In South Africa and  Zimbabwe, regulators are trying to  control  these new technologies; my bet  is that it will be a very  difficult game to play and  my advice is that  all  African nations must  create a good  environment  for  corporates and individuals to make  money from  the  technological innovations.

The question is how would you leverage to broaden revenue earning through AI? From advertising to subscription models, there are varying ways for content creators to monetize their work. However, with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), content monetization and revenue generation have taken on a whole new level of sophistication. Most users of  social  media  platforms  can now  go  beyond the selling  mode by  creating  new  revenue streams on various platforms and through  the  creation of Apps. AI can be used to predict which types of content are most likely to resonate with a particular audience, or to determine the optimal pricing for a product or service based on consumer behavior.

Dubai Holding adopted the innovations across its portfolio of businesses and futuristic solutions. In Africa , in particular  Zimbabwe  and  South  Africa are  busy not embracing  technoprenuers  but  focused  more  on regulation when  the  nation  is  preaching  that  we are  open  for business. Let’s adopt  these technologies  for the  good  of earning  more  revenue  beyond what  Econet Wireless and Old Mutual  are  doing  at the moment.  The  nation lacks  the  aggressiveness and  adoption  of the  new  technologies in  generating  more  revenues.

Dubai Holding is  focused on  investing  in other  nations  beyond its  own  nation, but  Zimbabwe  has all  the  resources  to  exploit. AI and  satellite  technology  is  very  useful  in assessing  the  value of mineral  resources and  underground value of  our  land. There  is  no  need  to sale  land and  mines but  we should  use AI to  monetize our  land and  natural  resources; investors  can buy  equity  from the  special  purpose  vehicles to add  real  value  to wealth  creation. AI powered analytics gives businesses insights and capacity to make the right decisions within a short space of time.

AI-powered analytics can also help businesses make data-driven decisions about their content, such as which topics to cover, which formats to use, and which distribution channels to focus on. By understanding the role of AI in content monetization, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and leverage this powerful technology to unlock new sources of revenue. The  SMEs  and corporates  must  embrace  this  new  dimension with  speed as a basis of  surviving  and  going beyond  the  current  modus  operandi  of building  mortar and brick .

With 99%  of  the  ZSE and VFSE listed companies using a very  old  business model, the  digital  transformation is  a must  for  2024.  The  policy  makers  are  not  creating  an enabling environment  with  speed; AI opportunities  favour  speed and  this  is an  area that  all  stakeholders  must work  on  and  make sure  the  nation  is  not left  beyond. The number  of articles  I  have  written  highlight  opportunities and  barriers that  can be  managed in such  a way  that  builds  the  national and  organisations in a more  symbiotic  manner  rather  than being  disorganized. AI is revolutionizing business models across industries, enabling companies to create new opportunities and drive growth. From platform-based models to digital twins and wearable devices, AI offers immense potential for innovation and value creation. Where  are  the  ebays Starlink, Apples, Meta , amazons, googles, tik-tok, whatsapp  and  many  more  from our  African  territory? Where is the  missing  link  if its  capital , fear  to take  the risks  and  the  lack  of innovation?  This  must  be  addressed  by  creating  opportunities like  sustainable automated  food  supply and mining  chains.  In fact,  Zimbabwe  and  Africa  must  stop  mining and  use  mineral  resources as land to raise real  money  to  develop  AI powered food supply  systems. 

It’s now pertinent to know that AI is now utilised in a number of areas in revenue earning.

•       Professor Stephen Mashingaidze, Managing Director and Co-founder at Scotel Tech4life and  Springbok Consulting(Pvt)Ltd.  Email me for feedback on mashiconsultinternational@gmail.com cc stephen@aartec.com