Nigeria: Empowering small agri-food producers to trade with Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Nigeria has 40 million small businesses. Many have access to Internet, but do not know how to use digital tools to grow their business.

Now that artificial intelligence (AI) is widely available, even people without any design or storytelling expertise can create professional marketing materials. To teach small food processors how to use generative AI, we’ve partnered with Microsoft in Nigeria on the IDEAS project.

Leapfrogging growth through innovation and partnerships is essential if we are to scale our work fast enough to meet the 2030 targets in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Together, we can use technology to both grow small businesses and tackle pressing challenges like food security. With the right support, we can use this model to help small businesses produce more food around the world.

As Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria hosts one of the biggest economies on the continent, but many small business owners don’t know how to use technology efficiently to earn a better living. The ITC project Inclusive Digital Entrepreneurship in the Agri-food Sector (IDEAS) works with microproducers – businesses that don’t have the resources to take professional photos, design modern logos, or write compelling descriptions of their products.

‘Lack of digital skills and awareness on how to use connectivity for business limits their ability to grow,’ said ITC National Coordinator of Nigeria, Natasha Aniekwu.

Ohakwe Uchechi Cynthia, founder of Grandeur’s Foods, learned to create visuals and descriptions that she’s using to drum up new business with a modern, professional look on her social media channels.

‘The IDEAS project helped me understand how to better position my product and reach new customers through online channels. I am happy to see that my products gain visibility and new clients,’ she said. ‘While I am currently targeting the domestic market, the IDEAS project helped me shape the vision for the future export journey by assessing the demand in various markets through digital tools. I am looking forward to growing my business to other African markets and beyond.’

Access to Internet, and skills to use it

ITC’s Digital Moonshot makes sure that small businesses can not only access the Internet, but also tap into the opportunities it offers. More than 130 entrepreneurs participate in the programme, learning to sell online through social media and online marketplaces and to use AI to improve their visibility. That’s the core of the IDEAS project.

It’s funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan to build an inclusive e-commerce ecosystem that is conducive to disadvantaged or underrepresented communities.

Small businesses ‘have been equipped with generative AI tools to create vivid product descriptions and images, enhancing their marketing presence and effectively giving them a boost into the age of digital promotion, identify market opportunities and promote themselves to new buyers,’ said Ola Williams, CEO of Microsoft Nigeria.

IDEAS also strengthens entrepreneurs’ knowledge of cyber-security and e-commerce. This addresses the lack of trust in e-commerce, which has long hindered its traction of both customers and merchants.

The project runs in Imo State, an economic hub in southeastern Nigeria, with an eye to connecting local producers to clients in larger cities across the country and beyond. By strengthening linkages across the agri-food value chain through digital solutions, IDEAS contributes to more stable food supply and enhanced food security in Nigeria and in the rest of West Africa.

‘I am happy to see that our products gain more traction, taking advantage of the Africa Free Trade Continental Area,’ says Ogechukwu Domendu, founder of Créme Bay Integrated Services, a Nigerian food-processing company.

‘ITC looks forward to the next stage of the IDEAS project to scale it across more states in Nigeria and bring the benefits of e-commerce to disadvantaged communities,’ said Aniekwu.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Trade Centre.