Last week, Access Bank held its maiden SME conference in Lagos under the theme “AI for SMEs: Scaling Through Digital Tools.” The event brought together government officials, banking executives, and technology partners to make a case that Nigerian small businesses need to embrace artificial intelligence to survive and grow. The bank also unveiled a new AI-powered application designed to help SME owners monitor sales, manage inventory, and track staff activity from a single platform. The Federal Government endorsed the initiative. The speeches were encouraging. The intentions were sincere. And yet the most important number spoken at that conference deserves more attention than it received. Experts at the event disclosed that nearly half of all small businesses in Nigeria fail within their first year of operation. That figure has been consistent across surveys and research for years. It did not change last week. It will not change next week. And the question worth asking plainly is whether an AI-powered application, however well designed, addresses the reasons behind that number in any meaningful way.
Nigeria has more than 39 million small and medium enterprises. They account for 96 per cent of all businesses in the country, contribute roughly 48 per cent of national GDP, and provide approximately 84 per cent of total employment, according to figures cited at the conference itself. These are not marginal businesses sitting at the edge of the economy. They are the economy. When half of them fail before completing their first year, the consequences are not abstract. They show up in lost livelihoods, wasted capital, and the quiet resignation of entrepreneurs who tried, failed, and concluded that the system was against them.
