By Stellamaris Ashinze
The Country Manager, Zoho Nigeria, Mr Kehinde Ogundare, has said that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.
He told newsmen in Lagos on Friday that according to the United Nations, of the $15.7 trillion, $1.2 trillion can be generated by Africa with the potential to unlock significant growth and development in key industries across the continent.
Ogundare stressed that AI was fundamentally changing how businesses operated, driving innovation, improving efficiencies and transforming lives.
He highlighted five areas of businesses in which Artificial Intelligence (AI) could help drive revenue, as it had been predicted to be a major contributor to global economy by 2030.
“Businesses of all sizes that have already invested in AI are reaping its benefits from increasing business productivity and agility to improving customer experience and decisionmaking with McKinsey.
“AI leaders are outperforming their industry peers by a factor of 3.4, but if businesses are to make the most of the opportunities offered by AI it is also important that it be deployed in the areas where it will have the greatest impact,’” he said.
Ogundare said that AI could drive revenue in the area of finance and billing, adding that having an accurate, up-to-date overview of finances could help an organisation know when to invest in growth among other benefits.
He noted that another key area was new business leads, adding that more specifically, AI could help assess the calibre of leads that the sales team was bringing in.
The country manager said that AI could help drive revenue in terms of enhanced employee productivity, adding that there was a strong correlation between employee productivity and revenue.
He also said that AI could help with better target audiences among other areas.
Ogundare added that AI could help drive revenue through improved customer experience
He said: “Customer experience, rather than product or price differences, has been the major differentiator for businesses for some time now.
“Customers are willing to spend more, are more likely to stay loyal, and recommend a business to friends and family if they have a good experience with it.
“Businesses, therefore, need to pull out more stops than ever to ensure that their customer experience really stands out. Here again, AI can be helpful.”
Zoho Corporation is a multinational technology company that makes computer software and web-based business tools.