Nigeria’s small and medium size enterprises can tap into artificial intelligence (AI) to gain a competitive edge and drive the country’s economic growth.
Through platforms that facilitate easy access to businesses’ data, real-time capital market information and data analytics, experts say AI is the future for business owners in Africa.
At the convening of tech enthusiasts in Lagos recently, Femi Bejide, chief executive officer of Statisense — a new data platform aimed at transforming how African businesses use information — said with AI, both small and large businesses can have insights from their existing customer data in a way that has never been done before.
“Immortal AI is a revolutionary product that looks at different aspects of data across Africa and tries to provide insights for businesses in the capital markets and the prediction space,” he said during the unveiling of Immortal AI, a business intelligence and capital market data platform.
Investors, chief executive officers of companies, can now begin to write data-driven stories due to the availability of both local and international data that is pooled on the AI platform, Bejide explained.
One major challenge that businesses face today in Africa’s most populous nation is a lack of access to data. This challenge, according to experts, is limiting the expansion of several businesses and stunting economic growth.
But Bejide says that, “there’s never been a better time for business owners than now,” adding that with data, African businesses can last longer.
He explained that in advanced economies, business longevity often stemmed from data-driven decision making, adding that empowering businesses with predictive tools that improve decision making and risk management would reduce operational costs for SMEs.
With more than 80 percent of businesses operating blindly without access to data, he said the Immortal AI launch will change that narrative. It will bridge the data access gap prevalent amongst companies and markets.
“Nine out of every 10 businesses are driving blind, but with this data platform, we will be able to drive that down to one in 10 rather than nine in 10.”
“We are excited to say that we are rolling this out in the coming months. We are going to be seeing a systemic change in how businesses, regardless of their level of growth, approach data analytics,” he noted.
According to him, economic democracy will not happen without strong businesses, and strong businesses will not happen without data.
Therefore, with SMEs accounting for over 90 percent of Nigeria’s businesses and contributing more than 50 percent to the country’s GDP, he noted that the effective use of data tools, such as Immortal AI, could represent a strategic lever for Nigeria’s broader economic transformation.
