• Upskill Universe partners with Google and HP to train 10,000 SMEs in Nigeria and South Africa.

• The program targets digital marketing, e-commerce, and AI use to boost business agility.

• Women-led businesses are a key focus, aiming for inclusion and broader workforce impact.

Africa’s SMEs face a digital skills gap that threatens their survival in a fast-evolving economy. A new initiative aims to change that.

Upskill Universe, with support from Google and HP Inc., launched a training program called "Skills for Business" last week. The program targets 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Africa, with a primary focus on Nigeria and South Africa.

The program delivers hybrid training—both online and in-person—using the HP LIFE platform. Entrepreneurs and their teams will learn skills in digital marketing, e-commerce, and artificial intelligence (AI) applications to improve their business efficiency and adaptability.

Inclusion sits at the heart of the program. It actively targets women-led SMEs, which play a significant yet often overlooked role in Africa’s informal economy. According to organizers, the training will directly benefit 10,000 businesses and indirectly impact over 59,000 workers.

This comes as SMEs continue to dominate Africa’s job market. The African Development Bank estimates that SMEs generate nearly 80% of employment on the continent. Yet, most of these businesses lack access to quality digital and entrepreneurial training.

“Skills for Business” intends to close that gap by equipping African entrepreneurs with tools to navigate global digital markets and drive growth.

The initiative builds on the momentum of past efforts like Google Hustle Academy, which has trained more than 15,000 SMEs in Africa since 2022.

By combining private sector resources with digital learning platforms, Upskill Universe aims to build a flexible, scalable training model that fosters innovation and promotes economic inclusion, especially for women entrepreneurs.

For long-term success, the program will need strong monitoring systems, impact metrics (such as job creation, business growth, and access to markets), and institutional backing.

Case studies from Kenya and Senegal already show that digital SME training can significantly boost productivity and help companies integrate into local and global value chains.

Still, challenges remain. The model must prove it can adapt to diverse country contexts and trigger wider adoption if it hopes to fuel economic transformation across the continent.

This article was initially published in French by Félicien Houindo Lokossou (intern)
Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum