Embrace Digital Transformation or Perish, Kamal Tells Firms

Craft Silicon Group CEO Kamal Budhabhatti has called on firms to embrace digital transformation if they want them to survive. Kamal shared his thoughts when he delivered a keynote address titled The Right Technologies For Your Digital Transformation Journey at the CIO100 Symposium and Awards held at Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort and Spa in Mombasa County on Thursday.

The annual event celebrates 100 organisations and the teams within them​ that are using technology in innovative ways to deliver business value, whether by creating competitive advantage, optimising business processes, enabling growth or improving relationships with customers.

According to Kamal, digital transformation is the main reason Craft Silicon’s subsidiary company Little Cab has fitted well into the African market. To him, the taxi-hailing company, which operates in East and Central Africa survived because of digital transformation. “Were it not for digital transformation, we could not have survived,” he said.

Through digital transformation, companies can adapt to market conditions, streamline their process and create a better customer experience. Kamal said Little Cab made changes on their digital platforms to create better customer experience through localisation and the use of new technology.

“We tailored our products to fit with the local people preferences. We also upgraded our servers which now updates us with the location of our 100,000 active drivers after every five minutes. We also invested in a heat map that guides our drivers’ areas that have a high demand for service. We turned to Artificial Intelligence to improve the security features of our app by recognising drivers faces. When COVID-19 came, we modified our facial recognition system to ensure that drivers put their masks on,” he said.

Kamal said companies do not need to hire foreigners to drive digital transformation as experienced locals can do the job. “Kenya has talent. Our technical team is 100% Kenyan. We should look for the solutions here and not abroad,” he stated.