By CHARLES SIMENGWA –

THE e-times is a remarkable innovation that will benefit many business executives, particularly in rural areas, North-Western Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NWCCI) president, Josephine Makondo has said.
Ms Makondo said in Solwezi last weekend that the e-times had come at the right time when the Information and Communication Technologies sector had continued to expand.
She said young entrepreneurs in some districts in the province were increasingly using the internet to advertise their products and services and, therefore, they would derive maximum benefits from the electronic versions of both the Times of Zambia and Sunday Times of Zambia.
Ms Makondo was speaking at the Royal Solwezi Hotel during an interactive session between some members of the NWCCI and Times Printpak marketing and editorial staff.
Times Printpak (Z) Ltd is undergoing a critical shift in organisational structure to build innovative products.
Rather than focus on retaining customers for platforms that may not be viable, the company is fostering innovation from within to diversify revenue and stay relevant.
This tactical shift is making a significant difference in how, as a media institution in a fast-changing world, content that informs people’s lives in a positive way is produced.
Times Printpak (Z) Ltd is also making positive strides in advancing online advertising, which is both convenient and a smart way of doing business.
The e-times is a complete newspaper which clients are able to read through their smart phones, tablets, iPads, laptops, palmtops, and other similar gadgets.
The side benefit of the e-times is that, unlike the social media that has evidently lowered the standards of reading, it is a complete package pieced together by trained personnel.
“This is a fantastic idea; as North-Western Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we really would like to congratulate Times Printpak for coming up with such an innovation.
“Businesses in this province are growing at a very fast rate and you will be amazed at how people, even in far-flung areas, now have access to the internet. They will find the e-times an exciting idea, you just need to market it more,” Ms Makondo said.
She said people in many parts of the province had had no access to newspapers and were excluded from national affairs.
NWCCI member Kenny Sinyangwe said it was encouraging to see Times Printpak take advantage of the growing internet traffic to come up with innovations such as the e-times.
Mr Sinyangwe, who is Pulstatic (Z) Ltd director, said Times Printpak should consider engaging agents to help market the e-times.
He also said the company should introduce flexible payment solutions that would work for all the clients both in urban and rural areas.
Times Printpak assistant sales and marketing manager Timothy Kaputo said the company was on a countrywide marketing drive of the e-times, which would also serve to gather more ideas from interest groups such as the NWCCI.
Mr Kaputo said the system would soon have an agency portal where appointed agents in selected parts of the country would be able to sell the e-times, while different payment options for clients would be devised.
Times Printpak on-line editor, Moses Kabaila said the e-times offered clients a unique opportunity to read news immediately after production ends, before the hard copies reach the market the following morning.