SMEs

By Haruna Chiroma, PhD

Internationally, nations across the globe are actively exploring the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to address real-world societal challenges spanning diverse sectors of their economies. Nigeria, too, is actively addressing its economic challenges by seeking solutions from various perspectives. In light of the significant role played by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in propelling the real sector of the economy, a dedicated agency, the SMEs Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), was established. SMEDAN aims to promote, regulate, and implement measures to sustain and enhance the performance of SMEs. In today’s dynamic business landscape, integrating AI tools has become essential for SMEs looking to achieve sustainable growth and gain a competitive edge.

This article provides a guide exploring how strategically employing AI tools can enhance various aspects of SME operations, considering the specific economic context and challenges SMEs face in Nigeria. The success and growth of SMEs have been demonstrated to hinge significantly on the innovations they introduce to enhance their products, services, or marketing strategies.

Research has consistently revealed that SMEs incorporating new innovations tend to achieve higher success levels than those that do not. SMEs can use cutting-edge AI tools to infuse innovation into their products, services, and marketing approaches. AI is replacing traditional roles and transforming the conventional methods of performing tasks, thereby creating novel opportunities within the economic landscape.

From a marketing perspective, entrepreneurs now have access to AI tools that streamline the process of creating compelling jingles for advertising products or services. This innovative AI tool simplifies the user experience by prompting them to input the text of the advertisement. Once initiated, the tool automatically generates a captivating and engaging video. Users can choose from various ready-made templates, voices, and gestures to customize the video to their preferences.

Additionally, the tool comes equipped with video editing features, enabling users to fine-tune the video to match their requirements precisely. To overcome language barriers and reach a broader audience, another valuable AI tool for video translation is available. This tool allows users to translate their videos into different languages, expanding their reach to a larger and more diverse pool of potential customers. Together, these AI tools empower entrepreneurs in the marketing realm, providing them with efficient solutions for creating and translating engaging promotional content.

Seamless, an AI-powered platform, caters to the sales and marketing needs of both business-to-business and business-to-customer interactions, facilitating a broader reach for businesses. This innovative platform ensures the acquisition of precise customer email addresses, phone numbers, and direct dials, thereby enhancing the promotion of products and services for SMEs. By enabling businesses to connect with a diverse customer base, Seamless contributes to increased sales and fosters collaborations among various entities in the business landscape. 

In product design, AI brings innovation by offering tools that streamline the design process, enhance creativity, and optimize product performance. From the perspective of design, a new design of a product or packaging can be generated using an AI tool. An AI tool for generating design from the textual description is available; a user will write the text description of the design and prompt the AI tool, and a new design based on the description will automatically be generated. On the other hand, an existing design can be uploaded to the AI tool, and then, automatically, it will be redesigned.

Users can generate as many designs as possible for the best-redesigned item or product. Generative design AI aids in product design by generating multiple iterations based on specified parameters. This enables SMEs to explore diverse design possibilities, optimizing for factors such as cost, materials, and performance. A business logo is significant in business as it gives the first impression to the customers when interacting with the products or services of the SMEs. An appealing business logo can be designed with the AI tool for generating design.    

Many excellent products and services offered by SMEs and startups in Nigeria often lack online visibility, relying primarily on WhatsApp status updates to reach their contacts. This limited visibility poses a challenge, with many SMEs hesitating to invest in costly website or e-commerce development because of restricted funds. Fortunately, a solution has emerged for such SME owners in the form of an AI tool that automatically generates e-commerce sites. This tool provides a variety of pre-designed templates for e-commerce sites, simplifying the process for users. By selecting a desired template and filling in essential information such as product details, business location, and payment methods, users can proceed through the steps until the final page.

Upon clicking “generate,” the e-commerce site is automatically created. Following this, users can download and host the site, making it live online. This straightforward process allows SMEs to easily establish an online presence, overcoming the challenges associated with traditional website development costs.

Chatbots like Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT) can seamlessly integrate into SMEs’ e-commerce websites or social media platforms specifically designed for business promotion. The incorporation of GPT enhances interaction with potential customers by providing virtual assistance.

SMEs can implement virtual assistants on their websites or social media platforms to actively engage customers, respond to product or service inquiries, guide customers through the sales process, provide support, and ultimately enhance overall customer satisfaction. By embedding chatbots within SMEs’ e-commerce sites, these tools can efficiently process orders and offer real-time assistance. This integration ensures a seamless and responsive e-commerce experience for customers, contributing to the overall effectiveness of SMEs’ online presence.

I trust that this article serves as a source of inspiration for many SMEs and startup owners. I hope that it encourages them to explore these strategies to enhance their business ventures and, in turn, expand their operations. By doing so, these entrepreneurs can create additional employment opportunities, fostering increased business activity within the real sector of Nigeria’s economy.   

Haruna Chiroma is a professor of artificial intelligence at the University of Hafr Al Batin, Saudi Arabia. He can be reached via freedonchi@yahoo.com.