HP and UpSkill Universe have launched the AI Skills for Business Programme, a free initiative that will train 55,000 small and medium-sized enterprises across Nigeria and South Africa to use artificial intelligence in their day-to-day operations. The announcement was made on Thursday, 3 September 2026, in Lagos.
The programme is not starting from scratch. Last year, UpSkill Universe partnered with HP and Google to reach over 40,000 SMEs through a general digital skills initiative. That programme laid the groundwork, while this one shifts the focus entirely to AI and raises the target by 15,000 businesses.
The timing reflects a specific problem. A recent study found that nearly 70% of SMEs are still in the early stages of AI adoption, with only 9% having built it into how they actually run their businesses. Small businesses across Nigeria and South Africa are not short of ambition. But ambition without the right tools produces limited results, and for most SME owners on the continent, AI remains something they have heard about rather than something they use.
Gori Yahaya, Founder and CEO of UpSkill Universe, said the programme was built specifically to close that distance between hearing about AI and actually using it.
”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,” he said.
How HP and UpSkill Universe are moving SMEs from AI awareness to action
The programme runs in three stages, each one narrowing the field and deepening the level of support. In the first stage, all 55,000 SMEs will be onboarded onto HP LIFE, the HP Foundation’s free global training platform, where each business owner will complete at least three self-paced AI courses. The goal at this level is to get as many business owners as possible into contact with practical AI knowledge.
In the second stage, 5,000 of those participants will move into live virtual sessions lasting 90 minutes each, led by facilitators and built around real business problems. Every participant at this level will leave with one specific AI tool to test inside their business within 30 days.
Read also: Zoho partners SMEDAN to give 25,000 Nigerian MSMEs ₦20 billion in wallet credits
The third stage is the most intensive. The top 50 performers will be selected for the Build Your Business with AI Bootcamp, a programme that includes business audits, one-on-one mentorship from HP employees, and a 90-day action plan. The bootcamp aims to raise graduates’ confidence in AI by 50% and help each graduate implement at least one AI-driven process. The first bootcamp is scheduled for January 2027.
Youth and women-led businesses will be given priority access throughout, with a target of 40% participation from those groups. Yesh Surjoodeen, Managing Director for Southern and Central Africa at HP, said the programme reflects something the company has consistently observed while working with African entrepreneurs.
“Technology alone is not enough. Business owners need the practical skills, confidence, and support to turn technology into opportunity,” he said. “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 that small businesses are not simply part of Africa’s AI transformation, but active drivers of it.”
Registration is now open to SMEs in Nigeria and South Africa through HP LIFE, with live sessions beginning this month. The first Build Your Business with AI Bootcamp is scheduled for January 2027
Technext Newsletter
Get the best of Africa’s daily tech to your inbox – first thing every morning.
Join the community now!
