HP and Sub-Saharan Africa’s leading digital skills partner, UpSkill Universe, have launched a new initiative aimed at delivering free, practical artificial intelligence training to 55,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Nigeria and South Africa.
The AI Skills for Business Programme powered by the HP Foundation’s free global training platform, HP LIFE is designed to help small businesses bridge the gap between basic AI awareness and real-world commercial growth.
While interest in artificial intelligence has surged across the continent, hands-on adoption remains low. A recent study highlights that nearly 70% of African SMEs are still in the earliest stages of AI maturity, with only 9% actively embedding AI into their daily operations, strategy, and decision-making.
The new initiative directly addresses this gap, providing targeted instruction to help business owners apply AI toward financial reporting, risk management, operational efficiency, and customer experience.
Gori Yahaya, Founder & CEO of UpSkill Universe, noted that ambition among regional entrepreneurs is high, but structured guidance remains the key bottleneck.
“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,” he said.
The rollout builds on the success of last year’s joint Skills for Business pilot with Google and HP, which trained over 40,000 entrepreneurs. This year’s edition scales up the target while sharpening the curriculum’s focus entirely on actionable AI tools.
To ensure inclusive growth, the program has set a priority target of directing at least 40% of all participant slots to youth- and women-led enterprises.
Yesh Surjoodeen, Managing Director for Southern and Central Africa at HP, emphasized the importance of turning technology into measurable output.
“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,” he added.
The training structure combines self-paced digital learning with direct mentorship and real-world execution:
- Phase 1 (Scale): 55,000 onboarded SMEs complete at least three foundational HP LIFE courses online.
- Phase 2 (Practical Application): 5,000 high-performing participants advance to 90-minute live, virtual facilitator-led sessions to solve specific business problems. Each business owner leaves with a custom AI tool to test within 30 days.
- Phase 3 (Bootcamp & Mentorship): The top 50 SMEs enter an intensive Build Your Business with AI Bootcamp, featuring comprehensive business audits, tailored 90-day action plans, and direct mentorship from HP employee volunteers.
Registration is currently open via life-global.org/go/upskill. Live virtual training sessions begin this month, with the final intensive bootcamp scheduled to take place in January.