In current times, it has been observed that economic globalization and big data have become instrumental in trade. Import and export trade models of businesses are becoming more commonplace.
One of them entails the use of information database customer data and other related evaluations, which are then used to make key decisions on import and export trade. It sure is a way of improving the strength of enterprises.
Besides, when a business goes global, it is crucial that it understands the international market. To this end, big data plays an essential role in providing business insights and data protection for businesses.
In the local context, it has emerged that the Kenya Trade Network Agency, KenTrade, has pumped KES 90 million in a Business Intelligence, BI, tool as it looks forward to collecting big data on Kenya’s import and export trade.
The said tool is key to facilitating ease of trade in the country via the extraction and evaluation of real-time data to help trade facilitators, as well as government agencies, make important and data-driven decisions.
The development was echoed by KenTrade CEO Amos Wangora. The Chief says that the tools will be essential in seeing the agency leverage key data from stakeholders’ systems.
Afterward, the data will prove pivotal in supporting better visibility of the Mombasa port, and the Northern Corridor Community Charter for superior decision-making and efficiency.
The BI Tool was developed by TradeMark East Africa (TMEA). It is also known as the Trade Facilitation Platform (TFP). It has since been put into action to help the Agency visualize internal and external strengths and weaknesses, detect opportunities for more innovation, and will be instrumental in the agency’s goal of reducing the cost of doing business in Kenya.
Starting from July 1, each Partner Government Agencies (PGAs) will be given a license to access reports and visualizations relevant to their data. At the same time, the PGAs will access standard reports and ad-hoc reporting capabilities free of charge.
Furthermore, related reports will be published on its website, while more analytical and complex reports will be provided at a cost to sustain the Business Intelligence, Data Warehousing & the Integration Layer, IL infrastructure.
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“In the past, we have experienced limitations of report generation features on the TradeNet System and there was a need for better reports, and insight gathering, especially for cross-border trade. We have also seen a need to harness additional relevant data from stakeholder systems for improved decision making and efficiency,” explains the CEO.
“KenTrade has continued to embrace and implement emerging technologies that enable it to provide unique products and services. These efforts are aimed at providing stakeholders with an opportunity to conduct business in a seamless, efficient, and effective way hence reducing the cost of doing business within the country,” he concluded.
