Ghanaian MSMEs urged to adopt AI to drive growth

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana are being encouraged to adopt artificial intelligence to improve profitability, reduce operational costs, and expand market access. MSMEs represent over 90 percent of businesses in Ghana and provide more than 70 percent of employment, making their digital integration vital for national economic growth.

Despite the potential benefits, adoption remains low; a study of National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme beneficiaries found that fewer than 5 percent of surveyed SMEs use AI. Key barriers to adoption include limited digital skills, inadequate infrastructure, and resistance to changing traditional business practices.

Experts suggest that AI can address persistent constraints such as limited staffing and restricted access to finance. Practical applications include using large language models for financial management, WhatsApp Business chatbots for customer service, and locally developed tools like Papermap.ai, which provides no-code analytics in local languages such as Twi and Pidgin. Ghana’s National AI Strategy aims to further integrate these technologies into the economy to support traders and small-scale entrepreneurs.