The morning session at SAP Ariba/SAP Fieldglass ValueX left us with some thoughts from the big consulting firms about the way procurement, and indeed business, should and will go in the coming years if we are to survive the pace of technological change the world is experiencing, and adapt our processes to respect our planet. The keynote called for a reboot of capitalism and (the environment), championed by John Penrose MP. Deloitte was quick to follow with a look at Industry 4 (automation, data exchange, cyber-physical systems (CPS), the internet of things (IoT), industrial internet of things (IIOT), cloud computing, cognitive computing and artificial intelligence and so on) in the context of procurement. They reminded us that the fourth industrial revolution is not, however, just about a collection of technologies, rather how you package and use them altogether to support your long-term business strategy. A global Deloitte survey revealed that 94% (of respondents) saw implementing digital tech and processes (aka digital transformation) as a means just to'keep up' with the rest of the marketplace.

Zindi is convening Africa's data scientists to create AI solutions for complex problems. Founded in 2018, the Cape Town-based startup allows companies, NGOs or government institutions to host online competitions around data-oriented challenges. Zindi's platform also coordinates a group of more than 4,000 data scientists based in Africa who can enroll to join a competition, submit their solution sets, move up a leader board and win the challenge -- for a cash prize payout. The highest purse so far has been $12,000, split across the top three data scientists in a competition, according to Zindi co-founder Celina Lee. Competition hosts receive the results, which they can use to create new products or integrate into their existing systems and platforms. Zindi's model has gained the attention of some big corporate names in and outside of Africa.