Lagos, Nigeria – HP and UpSkill Universe, Sub-Saharan Africa’s leading AI and business skills training partner, have launched the AI Skills for Business Programme to give 55,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria and South Africa access to free, practical AI skills.
Powered by HP LIFE, the HP Foundation’s free global training platform, and delivered by UpSkill Universe, the programme will equip SMEs to grow their business using AI.
This follows last year’s successful Skills for Business Programme, which reached over 40,000 SMEs. Delivered in partnership with HP and Google, UpSkill Universe’s pilot programme aimed to equip SMEs with the tools to thrive in an increasingly digital economy. Now, it aims to deliver verifiable business impact to a further 55,000 SMEs through AI skill-building.
While awareness of AI has grown quickly across the continent, confident, everyday use by small business owners has not kept pace. A recent study revealed that nearly 70% of SMEs remain in the early stages of AI maturity and only 9% have embedded AI in their day-to-day operations, strategy, and decision-making.
Hence, many are not generating results that translate into business growth. The AI Skills for Business Programme is built to bridge this gap by equipping SMEs with the AI skills they need for reporting, decision-making, risk management, improving customer experience, and optimising their operations in today’s changing digital landscape.
Speaking about the programme, Gori Yahaya, Founder & CEO, UpSkill Universe said: “Small businesses across Nigeria and South Africa already have the ambition to deploy AI in their day-to-day operations.
What they lack is access to quality training tailored to their needs, and guidance on how to deploy it consistently. Building on our successful partnership with HP, we have designed the AI Skills for Business Programme to move our engagement from reach to impact by giving 55,000 business owners free, practical AI skills training they can apply from day one. Africa’s next wave of business growth is already being powered by AI, and together with HP, we are making sure small businesses are part of it.”
The programme will deliver practical, self-paced AI courses, live, facilitator-led virtual training sessions, and an intensive bootcamp for the highest-performing participants. Priority access will be given to youth and women-led businesses, with a target of 40% of participants.
Also commenting on the launch, Yesh Surjoodeen, Managing Director for Southern and Central Africa at HP, said: “After reaching more than 40,000 small business owners last year, we are proud to continue our work with UpSkill Universe. From the energy of Nigeria’s entrepreneurs to the resilience and ingenuity of South Africa’s small businesses, we see every day that technology alone is not enough.
Business owners need the practical skills, confidence, and support to turn technology into opportunity. This year’s AI-focused programme is designed to help them apply what they learn to tackle everyday business challenges, serve customers better, and unlock sustainable growth – so small businesses are not simply part of Africa’s AI transformation, but active drivers of it.”
Starting this month, 55,000 Nigerian and South African SMEs will be onboarded to HP LIFE and complete at least three courses to demonstrate AI skills development at scale. From there, 5,000 SMEs will take part in virtual, 90-minute facilitator-led sessions built on HP LIFE’s training content and applied to real business challenges. Every SME will walk away with a specific AI tool to test in their business within 30 days.
The 50 top-performing SMEs will then be selected to attend an intensive Build Your Business with AI Bootcamp designed to optimise their operations using AI. The bootcamp will include business audits, guided mentorship, and a 90-day action plan that will boost their AI confidence by 50% and help them implement at least one AI-driven process. HP employees will serve as mentors to guide bootcamp graduates in executing their 90-day AI action plans.
Registration is now open, and SMEs can apply at life-global.org/go/upskill. Live sessions begin this month, and the first bootcamp will be held in January.
