ZB bankrolls 2024 Service Economy Survey

PREPARATIONS for the 2024 Annual State of the Service Economy Survey have commenced,― with leading financial services group ZB Financial Holdings bankrolling the national initiative for the second consecutive year.

The annual survey ― a partnered initiative by ZB Financial Holdings Limited, The Financial Gazette, and Tatu Advertising seeks to enhance Zimbabwe’s global attractiveness through improved service quality across our economic sectors. With a particular focus on tourism, health, real estate, energy, financial services, insurance, technology, education, retail, transport, MSMEs, the public utility and the informal sectors of the economy, among others, the State of the Service Economy Survey dovetails with the Second Republic’s aspiration to create a prosperous upper-middle income economy where product and service quality reigns supreme by 2030.

Dr.-Brilliant-Shumba

Speaking on the sidelines of a rigorous selection process for the 2024 research partner by an independent selection panel, ZB Financial Holdings Chief Customer Experience Officer (CCXO), Dr Brilliant Shumba, spotlighted the importance of service to national development.

“As One ZB, we want to be remembered for putting a smile on everyone who interfaces with our brand, and as a socially responsible corporate citizen, we have extended this goal to include all Zimbabweans, both corporate and individual as our investment towards national development,” the ZB CCXO said as he confirmed their brand’s commitment to the Annual National State of the Service Economy Survey.

The selected research partner for the 2024 annual State of the Service Economy Survey is Consumer Feedback Consultancy (CFC), a Pan-African research organisation with a strong local presence and tentacles in Africa and beyond. “We are grateful to the selection team for seeing value in us, and we have already hit the ground running to initiate the survey, driven by our vision to offer the best insights and actionable data to our clients through high-quality data collection, outputs, and analytics”, a CFC representative Tapfuma Gonyora proclaimed.

In line with global best practices, CFC’s values of integrity, accountability, collaboration, data confidentiality, data security, and timely delivery dovetail with the dictates of the 21st knowledge economy where data has become a currency, and timing is becoming more instrumental in decision-making for individuals, corporates and nations in a fast-paced VUCA environment – the new normal.

This year’s survey theme is “Going beyond, for you” which aptly captures the essence of service and challenges stakeholders to treat service as a business sustainability strategy and to go beyond the ordinary in delivering exceptional service experiences to our customers.

The service sector is significant in Zimbabwe’s economy, contributing 63.6% to the national GDP. SOSES 2024 aims to measure and analyse service delivery across key sectors, to identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement as we build and transform our economy into an upper middle-income economy, brick upon brick, and stone upon stone.

In 2023, Zimbabwe’s national SOSES Service Index, a measure of the aggregate performance of the Zimbabwe service economy stood at 69 percent with private education, private sector-led fuels energy, and private health sectors leading the pack on service respectively. Renowned academic and respected Advisor Professor Mandivamba Rukuni was the guest of honour at the 2023 survey unveiling ceremony. The Professor enthralled delegates with global, regional, and local insights on the magnetic, catalytic, and magical supremacies of excellent service in achieving sustainable organisational growth and augmenting national development.

As the world becomes one global village riding on technological innovations and an increased focus on regional trading blocs such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), BRICS, NAFTA, and the European Union to endure recurrent local, regional, and global shocks, competition has become boundless and brands and nations that are investing in service will stand the test of time.