AI adoption, quality key to business competitiveness

DAR ES SALAAM: THE rapid evolution of technology is putting pressure on various sectors of production and business, requiring companies to embrace innovation, improve customer service and maintain product quality to remain competitive in Tanzania’s changing market.

Stakeholders has said that the growing adoption of technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), is changing how businesses market products, develop solutions and respond to shifting consumer expectations, making technological adaptation increasingly important for companies seeking to remain relevant.

MeTL Group Marketing Director, Fatema Dewji, said over the weekend that businesses that failed to keep pace with technological developments risked falling behind as innovation increasingly influenced marketing, distribution and product development.

“We are seeing how this technology advances and if a company does not move along with it in operations, it is likely to be left far behind and suffer,” she said over the weekend during a partnership ceremony between MeTL Group and Haier Tanzania, a home-appliance company.

She, however, cautioned against viewing AI solely as a threat to employment, saying human creativity and imagination would remain important even as businesses adopted new technologies.

“This technology cannot replace ideas or people who have imagination and creativity,” she said, adding that it could instead support workers, including those in manufacturing.

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The partnership comes at a time when competition in the home-appliance market is increasingly shaped by the ability of businesses to combine technological innovation with product quality, affordability and reliable customer support.

The rapid development of AI and other digital technologies is also changing the nature of work, making technological skills increasingly important for both current and future employment.

The government has said it is promoting the use of Artificial Intelligence not to replace human workers, but to improve efficiency and productivity in the workplace.

Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology responsible for Education, Dr Hussein Mohammed Omari, said people who acquire the skills to use AI effectively were likely to have greater employment opportunities in the evolving labour market.

He made the remarks last month while closing the 42nd meeting of the Association for Educational Assessment in Africa (AEAA). Haier Tanzania Country Director, Mr Liu Chi, said the country’s home-appliance market was evolving, with consumers increasingly prioritising product quality.

He said companies therefore had a responsibility to ensure they produced quality and efficient products that met consumers’ needs.

The combination of technology adoption and product quality is therefore becoming an important factor in business performance, as companies seek to improve efficiency, respond to changing consumer preferences and maintain competitiveness in an increasingly digital market.

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