Managing Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Mr Oluwaseun Faleye, has urged businesses embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) not to lose sight of worker welfare, insisting that technology alone cannot guarantee sustainable growth.
Faleye made the call on Monday at the launch of the ESBC InnoPower LLC (USA) Free MSMEs AI Master Training Programme held at the UN House in Abuja.
The programme, organised by the ECOWAS Small Business Coalition (ESBC) in partnership with InnoPower LLC (USA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is aimed at equipping micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across West Africa with AI skills to compete in an increasingly digital economy.
Addressing government officials, development partners and business leaders, Faleye described MSMEs as the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, noting that they account for about 96 per cent of businesses in the country.
Quoting figures from the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), he said the sector employs millions of Nigerians and supports countless families.
“When MSMEs grow, communities prosper. When they innovate, economies become more competitive. And when they become more resilient, nations become stronger,” he said.
He described the initiative as more than a training programme, saying it is an investment in the future competitiveness of businesses across the ECOWAS region.
Faleye, however, stressed that AI adoption must be matched with stronger workplace protection and social security.
“Digital transformation and workplace protection are not separate conversations. They are the same conversation,” he said.
According to him, while technology enables businesses to work smarter, social protection gives workers the confidence to perform at their best.
“An enterprise that embraces Artificial Intelligence but neglects the welfare and safety of its workforce has merely modernised its operations without strengthening its resilience,” he added.
The NSITF boss said businesses expanding across ECOWAS would require stronger occupational safety systems, workplace protection and social security frameworks, assuring stakeholders that the Fund would continue to strengthen partnerships, expand awareness and improve service delivery.
He commended the ECOWAS Small Business Coalition, InnoPower LLC and UNDP for driving the initiative, describing it as a timely intervention to prepare entrepreneurs for the demands of the digital economy.
Faleye urged participants to embrace continuous learning and innovation while keeping workers at the centre of business growth.
“The enterprises that will define Africa’s future will not simply be those that adopt the latest technologies. They will be those that combine innovation with responsibility, ambition with resilience,” he said.
The event attracted top government officials, development partners and private sector leaders, including the ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, representatives of UNDP Nigeria and the UNDP Regional Office for West and Central Africa, as well as the Regional President of the ECOWAS Small Business Coalition, Dr Abdulrashid Yerima.
The Free MSMEs AI Master Training Programme will be implemented across selected ECOWAS member states, targeting business owners seeking to deploy AI in production, marketing and regional trade.
