The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), has urged Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to ensure that the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) goes hand in hand with workers’ safety and social protection.

Managing Director/Chief Executive of the NSITF), Mr. Oluwaseun Faleye who spoke at the launch of the ECOWAS Small Business Coalition (ESBC) organised in partnership with InnoPower LLC (USA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Abuja, warned that technology alone cannot build resilient businesses.

Faleye who said businesses embracing digital transformation must equally prioritise workplace protection and employee welfare, explained that the ESBC was aimed at equipping MSMEs across West Africa with AI skills to enhance their competitiveness in the digital economy.

Describing MSMEs as the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, Faleye cited data from the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), noting that they account for about 96 per cent of businesses in the country.

He said: “When MSMEs grow, communities prosper. When they innovate, economies become more competitive. And when they become more resilient, nations become stronger.”

The NSITF boss described the initiative as “far more than a training initiative” but “an investment in the future competitiveness of West Africa.”

However, Faleye maintained that AI adoption must be accompanied by deliberate investments in workers’ welfare and occupational safety.

“Digital transformation and workplace protection are not separate conversations, they are the same conversation.

“Technology enables businesses to work smarter. Social protection enables people to work with confidence. An enterprise that embraces Artificial Intelligence but neglects the welfare and safety of its workforce has merely modernized its operations without
strengthening its resilience.”

Faleye further noted that as businesses expand across ECOWAS, there would be greater demand for stronger occupational safety systems and social security frameworks.

He said such enterprises would require “equally responsive systems of occupational safety, workplace protection and social security,” assuring stakeholders that NSITF would continue to support the process through partnerships, awareness creation and improved service delivery.

Commending the ECOWAS Small Business Coalition, InnoPower LLC and the UNDP for driving the initiative, Faleye urged entrepreneurs to take advantage of the training while keeping people at the centre of innovation.

He charged participants to “learn continuously. Innovate boldly” but reminded them that “your greatest asset will always be your people. Protect them. Invest in them.”

The Free MSMEs AI Master Training Programme will be implemented across selected ECOWAS member states, targeting business owners seeking to deploy AI for production, marketing and regional trade.

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