The impact of technological innovation on society

Technology is, without a doubt, one of the most important developments in human history in terms of human advancement. From new scientific discoveries to helping us live longer and healthier lives to ways of communicating and sharing ideas with people in various parts of the world, technology has enhanced our lives in ways we could never have imagined.

Technology has revolutionized many aspects of our daily lives and has become an integral part of our work, relationships, culture, and society, from education to health, finance to entertainment, insurance to real estate, etc.?

Innovations in technology have led to modern solutions to traditional problems and processes. According to a report from management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, “between 2020 and 2021, the number of tech startups in Africa tripled to around 5,200 companies” and with this, many industries have been set up to transform existing systems and sectors. Such industries include the Fintech industry (finance + technology), the Edtech industry (education + technology), the Healthtech industry (health + technology), the Legaltech industry (legal + technology), the Proptech industry (property + technology), etc. These emerging industries rely heavily on technology to disrupt and digitize traditional systems and to democratize and deliver faster, simpler, and more efficient solutions to problems.

Sectors impacted by technological advancement

Nigerian fintech companies

Credit: Segun Adeyemi

Finance: The provision of financial services, though existing for several decades through the banking sector, has seen a change with the emergence of a new wave of delivering financial services. Fintech is the application of technological innovation in offering various financial services geared towards individuals and businesses, such as payments, lending, investing, domestic and cross-border transactions, etc., and digitally streamlining existing processes. This has transformed once tedious tasks carried out through traditional methods into simple and easy virtual experiences.

Nigerian health tech companies

Credit: Techcabal

Health: Applying technology to the health sector has brought about a range of solutions that improve healthcare delivery, facilitating efficiency within the healthcare system. Such products and services include those that diagnose and monitor health conditions, e.g., wearables that help track information such as blood pressure, heart rates, blood sugar, etc., with real-time access to clinical data, software-based applications such as information management tools, medical records platforms, digital platforms providing easier access to healthcare services, etc.

Nigerian edtech companies

Credit: Baobab Insights?

Education: Edtech refers to the integration of technology within the educational system. It involves all the hardware and software tools used to facilitate and improve teaching and learning and broaden access to education. Such products and services include learning management systems, virtual classrooms, digital assessment tools, student information systems, digital learning platforms, etc.

Conclusion:

For society to experience continuous advancement in technology, businesses, startups, and companies in such industries pioneering change need to survive, thrive and grow. To do so, they need to delve into their customers’ hearts and minds to understand the effectiveness and impact of all their digital content. They need to understand their end users, customers, and target audience and employ data-driven customer insights to acquire more customers and provide value to them. Emozo, a DIY research and feedback collection platform, uses behavioural and emotional insights to help brands, businesses and agencies drive the right decisions for all digital content. Emozo helps them create and deploy more purposeful digital content – ads, applications, streaming media content, etc. on any channel – web, mobile, social media, TV, etc. and goes beyond traditional customer data analytics by employing a novel method of combining unconscious (attention and emotion) and stated (questionnaire) responses to solve brand, messaging, and experience challenges. Emozo helps businesses understand the effectiveness of all their digital content so they can, in turn, better understand their customers and drive customer acquisition, customer retention, and growth of their business.

Technology has been an essential part of society for decades and is constantly changing, improving, and diversifying. I am excited for the future and look forward to how the world will change and how various aspects of our lives will be further transformed and reinvented.

Feel free to share your thoughts on how technology has impacted your life and society.