The federal government has endorsed Access Bank Plc’s recently launched artificial intelligence (AI)-powered mobile application for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), describing digital technology as key to boosting business productivity, widening market access and facilitating enterprise growth.
The endorsement was made at the bank’s SME Conference in Lagos where the application was launched together with deliberations on the use of artificial intelligence and other digital tools in tackling challenges facing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Chalya Maryam Shagaya, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Entrepreneurship Development in the Office of the Vice President, said at the event that businesses must increasingly embrace technology to remain competitive, noting that the federal government was strengthening policies and infrastructure to support digital entrepreneurship.
“Every business represented here today started with an idea. But you must be able to execute. And these days execution, for most businesses, comes through being technologically inclined.”
President Bola Tinubu had approved a national AI policy designed to strengthen the country’s artificial intelligence ecosystem and support young entrepreneurs and start-ups through dedicated capacity-building initiatives, Shagaya said.
“It will interest you to know also that Mr President recently signed a policy on AI in which he has instructed or rather mandated the Ministry of Communications under the minister, Bosun Tijani that they should establish a hub in which they strengthen, provide scale up for youth and young business owners on AI,” she said.
Entrepreneurs should continuously improve their digital skills, as the rapid pace of technological development requires continuous learning, she urged.
Shagaya also said AI could increase inclusion for neurodivergent entrepreneurs by allowing people with communication and learning challenges to run businesses more independently.
“AI can then solve that for them. “We are pushing forward with artificial intelligence and technology so neurodivergent people can be included,” she said.
“We can’t have them dependent on the rest of us for the rest of their lives… AI is helping them to do this, to run their own business.”
Read Also: Forced Prostitution: Survivors Expose Horrors of Human Trafficking
She however cautioned entrepreneurs against relying only on AI-generated information noting that digital platforms could sometimes produce inaccurate outputs and should be used alongside human judgement. She also encouraged business owners facing regulatory challenges to report such cases through her office for possible intervention.
Access Bank introduced the AI-powered SME app as part of its efforts to scale digital support for businesses and improve access to tools that make business operations, financial management, and enterprise growth easier.
MSMEs contribute about 50 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and roughly 84 per cent of employment, highlighting their importance to the country’s economy, said the bank’s Head of SME Banking, Abiodun Olubitan. According to her, the new application is part of the bank’s strategy to offer digital solutions that enable entrepreneurs to manage their businesses more efficiently and grow sustainably.
Olubitan urged entrepreneurs to appreciate the value of their businesses irrespective of size, emphasising that success should not be measured by only building large conglomerates.
“You have to recognise and celebrate your work. Success is not just defined by becoming a big enterprise like Dangote Group. “We need to support MSMEs through that journey from the smallest start-ups to the bigger ones,” she said.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of the University of Lagos Business School, Prof. Sunday Adebisi said MSMEs remain the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, with more than 39 million businesses operating across the country.
“You’re responsible for 84 percent of national employment,” he said. “Access Bank, Dangote, Shell, Chevron, all those big corporate entities, they’re only 16 per cent.
Adebisi noted that almost half of small businesses go under within the first year of operation, emphasizing the need for stronger business practices and greater adoption of technology. Artificial intelligence was a tool that could support customer engagement, inventory management, data analysis and business decision-making, he said. Entrepreneurs who failed to embrace emerging technologies risked losing their competitiveness in an increasingly digital economy, he added.
