Cassava Smartech Zimbabwe Limited (Cassava Smartech) has turned adversity into opportunity by exploiting the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic to enhance it digital capabilities, rollout self-care platforms and improve its overall customer satisfaction index. The COVID-19 pandemic triggered national lockdowns that have shaken world markets and put national economies on their knees as industries such as aviation, travel and tourism – among many others – have been ravaged by the deadly virus, which first broke out in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. Mrs Sheree Shereni, Cassava Smartech’s chairperson, said changes brought about by COVID-19 reaffirmed the importance of the group’s focus on digital solutions that address the day-to-day challenges of all Zimbabweans. “The advent of COVID-19 has also accelerated our digital transformation journey, enabling us to realize cost efficiencies without loss of productivity. We have embraced virtual working by our staff and designed virtual access platforms to continue serving our customers”, Mrs Shereni said in the Chairman’s statement accompanying the group’s financial results for the six months to August 31, 2020. “The Group has taken advantage of the pandemic to accelerate its digital thrust to come up with new products and services that better respond to the evolving needs of our customers,” she said. She said customers were a critical component of the business’ success and the Group was always looking for new ways to enhance the customer experience. “Customer service is at the heart of what we do, and the first half of the year was focused on improving customer experience as a way of ensuring that our customers’ needs are well taken care of. We focused on developing state-of-the-art systems aimed at improving turn-around times for service delivery across all our brands,” Mrs Shereni said, adding that the company’s goal was to provide responsive, timely service on a consistent basis, in the most cost-effective manner. “During the first half, a number of automation projects were completed and we anticipate significant improvement in our customer service index as these innovations begin to yield results going forward,” she said. The group has significantly changed the way people live for the better with its life-changing innovations coming through its Fintech, InsurTech, AgriTech and On-Demand services, among others. Cassava Smartech’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Eddie Chibi said the Group will continually upgrade its systems to match increasing consumer demands and remain relevant in a fast-evolving market. “Our mission is to leverage technology to provide solutions that address the everyday needs of Zimbabweans in a simple and affordable manner. We are happy with the impact that the digital customer platforms we launched in the first half are having on our customers, and are excited about those we are rolling out in the second half,” said Mr Chibi, adding that the aim was to create all-round convenience for the group’s customers. In the past year, the technology-driven g