When I talk to small business owners in Nigeria and across Africa, I keep coming back to the same thought: this is one of the best times in history to start something useful, because tools that once felt out of reach are now affordable and effective. I said something similar when I spoke at FATE Foundation, a non-profit started by Fola Adeola in the early 2000s to support entrepreneurs, and I meant it. I have seen what determined founders can achieve with limited resources, and I have also seen how technology has lowered the cost and effort needed to get results. For small and medium-sized businesses, AI is one of the clearest opportunities to compete, but only if you are willing to pick up the tools and use them with discipline.
That discipline comes from building small habits. It starts with learning the basics of one or two AI platforms instead of trying to master everything at once. From there, the focus should be on applying AI to repetitive or time-consuming work where you can measure the benefit. If you can see the hours saved or the increase in leads, you know you are moving in the right direction. Once the habit is set, it becomes easier to expand the use of AI across other parts of your business without creating confusion or wasted effort.
When I share this with founders, I always stress that it is not a magic solution but a practical approach that turns effort into results you can track. Below, I will walk through the simple ways I encourage business owners to use AI and affordable software to raise their game. Everything comes from real conversations with entrepreneurs and from the experiments I run with teams to test what works. The goal is to offer a roadmap any SME can follow to grow with the resources they already have.
Your web presence is non-negotiable and it does not need to be fancy
What did you do the last time you heard about a business you wanted to work with? You probably Googled them. That’s what people do with you too. When someone hears about your business, their first move is almost always an online search. If nothing comes up, many assume your business does not exist. I have met plenty of business owners who think a website is complicated, expensive, or only for big companies. That mindset holds them back because a simple website that explains who you are, what you do, and how to reach you is the minimum requirement, and setting one up today is easier and cheaper than most realise.
A basic WordPress installation or a simple Webflow site is enough to start. Buy a domain name, pay for hosting, pick a clean template, and within a few hours you can have a professional-looking page live. Hosting can cost as little as $5 a month on platforms like Bluehost, Hostinger, or Namecheap, which works out to about $60 a year. For what you gain in credibility and customer trust, that cost is small. Treat the site like a digital business card that people can always rely on when they need to verify you or learn more about your services.
The mistake I see often is businesses delaying because they cannot afford a glossy, custom-built site. That delay costs them opportunities. Customers rarely care about flashy animations or advanced features. What matters is that your site is clear, functional, and easy to use. Having your contact details visible, your product or service explained in plain language, and a simple way to reach you can be the difference between winning a new customer and being forgotten.
If you are serious about growth, this is one of the simplest first steps. A clean, functional site signals that you are ready for business. It is an investment that pays for itself every time a potential customer looks you up and finds what they need.
Make your content pull customers to you, and let AI do the boring heavy lifting
Getting a website up is only the first step. What keeps it alive and valuable is the content that goes on it. This is where most business owners slow down or give up, because creating content, case studies, and FAQs is extremely difficult and mind numbing. It is one thing to build a site, but it is another thing entirely to keep it stocked with the type of material that brings people back or convinces them to reach out.
This is exactly where AI can become a practical tool. The first and most obvious use is in writing. Tools like Jasper for marketing copy, Copy.ai for quick drafts, and Writesonic for product descriptions can help you create service pages, blog posts, and sales material that are clear, structured, and search-friendly. To get the best out of them, you still need to provide context. A few notes on your tone, concrete facts about your business, and maybe a short customer story can give the tool enough material to produce something close to your voice. Once you have a draft, your job is to edit it, strip out anything unnecessary, and make sure it reflects your reality. That way, you get content that is ready faster without losing the authenticity of your brand.
The second way AI helps is by handling the supporting pieces that are usually ignored because of time. Think about the FAQs your customers keep asking you on WhatsApp, or the onboarding emails you wish you had but never wrote. You can use AI to generate drafts of these in minutes, giving you a starting point instead of a blank page. It also makes producing regular blog posts easier, especially if you focus on answering common customer questions. Each piece of content you add builds your visibility and positions you as someone who understands your customers’ needs.
Once the heavy lifting is done by AI, your responsibility shifts to deciding which pages or materials will make the biggest difference. A polished “About Us” page, a clear set of FAQs, or one or two detailed case studies can go a long way in convincing potential buyers. The point is to give enough information in the right places so customers can make a decision quickly without sending endless emails back and forth.
When you take this approach, content becomes an asset. Instead of worrying about how to constantly create from scratch, you now have a reliable way to generate material, refine it, and publish it with confidence that it will actually move people closer to doing business with you.
Make your images and videos work for you without hiring a studio
For a long time, photography and video were stumbling blocks for small businesses. Getting professional visuals meant booking a photographer, paying for models, and renting a studio, which added up quickly. Many brands either settled for low-quality images or drained resources trying to keep up. Now, AI tools give you a different path. You can generate or edit visuals that match your brand without needing a full creative team or expensive equipment. This makes it possible for even the smallest businesses to have websites and social channels that feel polished and intentional.
Tools like Google’s image model, commonly nicknamed Nano Banana, make this process straightforward. With them, you can create product shots in a variety of settings, show how an item might look in someone’s hand, or design a clean hero image that tells your story at a glance. You can also repurpose existing photos by editing the background, adjusting colors, or adding missing details so that everything looks consistent. If you are unsure how to guide these tools, there are plenty of free resources with prompt libraries and lessons from places like Google and ChatGPT that can help you get started.
Short videos are another area where AI helps. Instead of needing a production crew, you can create explainer clips, demo reels, or simple customer walkthroughs that show your product in action. The tools will not replace genuine storytelling, but they give you a cost-effective way to make content that keeps your brand present across platforms. When used well, these assets make your marketing stronger without overwhelming your budget or your team.
At the same time, it is important to use visuals responsibly. If you are selling a product, the image or video should be an honest representation of what the buyer will actually receive. Customers can spot exaggeration, and misleading visuals usually create more problems than they solve. The real goal is to use these tools to highlight the best parts of what you already offer, so the right people are drawn in and feel confident about choosing you.
Keep customers with good support and simple CRM tools
Getting a customer is only the start; keeping them is where real growth comes from. The mistake many small businesses make is treating customer support as an afterthought. They rely on memory, scattered notes, or informal follow-ups, which usually leads to missed messages, slow responses, and customers quietly moving on to someone more reliable. A simple structure, even with basic tools, changes that outcome completely.
There are plenty of free or very affordable platforms that can make customer support feel intentional without overwhelming you. Freshdesk, for example, has a free plan that comes with ticketing, a basic knowledge base, and simple reporting. For most SMEs, that is more than enough to get started. It allows you to track conversations in one place instead of jumping between emails, calls, and social media DMs. If you add a few well-written response templates and a small FAQ section on your site, customers can get answers quickly, and your team spends less time repeating the same explanations over and over. It is a small effort upfront that pays off in customer trust.
Live chat is another area where businesses often overestimate what is needed. Many assume they have to pay for enterprise software to add a chat feature, but that is not the case. Tools like tawk.to give you a free chat widget that you can install on your site in minutes. It works well for capturing leads and answering questions in real time, and it also keeps a history of conversations so you can follow up properly. A visitor who gets an immediate answer to a concern is far more likely to convert into a paying customer than someone who sends an email and waits days for a reply.
The real advantage of adopting these tools is consistency. When customers know they will be heard and helped, they are more willing to stay with your business and recommend it to others. Good support does not require a big team or a huge budget, it requires a clear process, the right lightweight tools, and a commitment to respond quickly and honestly.
Use accounting tools to understand your numbers
When you start to pursue bigger opportunities, whether with large clients, investors, or lenders, the first area that gets examined is your financial records. No matter how strong your product or service is, a messy set of books makes it difficult for anyone to take you seriously. Larger buyers want to know they are dealing with someone who has structure, and investors want to see that money is being managed responsibly. If you cannot produce clear invoices, expense records, and basic financial statements, you immediately weaken your chances of moving forward with them.
The good news is that you don’t need to wait until your business is established or hire a full-time accountant before putting some structure around your numbers. There are free or very affordable accounting tools built specifically for small businesses that help you stay organised. Zoho Books, for instance, has a forever free plan that allows you to send invoices, track expenses, reconcile bank transactions, and generate standard reports like profit and loss. These are the same essentials a bank or investor will ask for when reviewing your business, and having them ready at the click of a button puts you in a stronger position.
Starting with a system like this from day one means you build the habit early, and you avoid the scramble of trying to clean up records later when an opportunity comes knocking. Even a simple set of financial records shows partners, lenders, and clients that you run your operations in a disciplined way. It communicates that you take the business seriously and that you can be trusted to deliver. Over time, that credibility opens doors that would otherwise remain closed, because opportunities often flow to businesses that appear prepared.
Document your processes and treat them like assets
A business that relies on memory quickly hits a ceiling. If every step sits in your head, growth depends on how much you can handle, which is rarely sustainable. The way to scale beyond a one-person operation is to write things down and create processes others can follow. Focus on documenting the steps that matter most: onboarding checklists for new staff, guidelines for handling customer complaints, instructions on packaging and shipping, and how to run a basic quality check.
Writing standard operating procedures can feel like a drag when you are busy, but the payoff is real. Instead of starting from scratch, use AI tools to create first drafts. Feed in the details of how you currently work, get a structured outline, and refine it into a practical step-by-step document. Once captured, that process becomes an asset. It saves time with every new hire and preserves quality so customers get the same experience no matter who handles the work.
Documentation also applies to contracts and paperwork. LLMs can help you review contracts to highlight gaps or unclear clauses. When it is time to sign, free digital signature tools make the process simple. For editing or adjusting PDFs without paying for expensive software, free platforms like PDF24 let you merge, split, or update documents at no cost.
It is worth investing in a searchable knowledge base. This can be as simple as a shared Google Drive folder. What matters is that your team has one reliable source of truth. When new hires can quickly find the right answer to a policy or process question, they make fewer mistakes and waste less time asking for clarification. Over time, this reduces errors, improves customer satisfaction, and keeps the business running smoothly as the team grows.
Don’t underestimate presentation polish
The way you package your message matters more than most people admit. Good presentation signals that you take the person on the other end seriously. When you walk into a meeting with a buyer, investor, or partner, they are paying attention to both what you are saying and how it is delivered. A pitch deck does not have to look like it came from a global consulting firm, but it should be easy to read, well structured, and consistent with your brand identity.
Today, there are tools that make it almost effortless to add that polish. Canva, for example, has templates that take care of layout, typography, and branding. Free options like Google Slides, Gamma, and Pitch also help you create slides that feel professional without hiring a designer. It costs very little, but the impact on how you are perceived is significant. A clear, well-organized deck helps people follow your ideas, and it removes distractions that come from poor formatting or cluttered slides.
Polish extends beyond slides too. Simple details like using your brand fonts consistently, ensuring charts are readable, and avoiding walls of text go a long way in helping the other person engage with your pitch. The goal is not to oversell but to align the way your material looks with the seriousness of your ambition.
When the substance of your pitch is strong and the presentation matches that level, you give yourself the best chance of being remembered and taken seriously. Buyers and partners often have a stack of meetings in a day, and the ones who present clearly and respectfully stand out. Think of presentation polish as part of the investment you make in credibility because it works alongside your product, numbers, and story to move things forward.
Why I care, and what I tell every founder I meet
Speaking at FATE Foundation was an honour because organisations like that have been doing the heavy lifting for entrepreneurs long before it became fashionable to talk about startups. For more than two decades, they have been providing the training, mentorship, and community that turn ideas into operational businesses. That work matters deeply to me because it aligns with what I try to do every day at Lendsqr and in the mentoring I give to founders and teams.
At the event, I met founders who were sharp, creative, and determined, but who often lacked the resources that would allow them to fully realise their potential. This is where technology and process make a difference. With the right tools and some structure in place, a small business can start to look and behave like a much larger one. When you combine those practices with even modest capital, the odds of surviving the early years and eventually growing into something meaningful increase significantly. It is not about shortcuts but about making thoughtful choices that give you a real foundation to build on.I care about this because I believe in the possibility of Nigerian and African businesses to not only serve local markets but to expand across borders and compete on a larger stage. And my role, as I see it, is to keep finding ways to make the practical side easier for founders. Sometimes that is through Lendsqr, by giving lenders the infrastructure to operate and grow. Other times it is through direct mentorship, sharing insights here and on Linkedin, or simply pointing people to tools they can adopt quickly. These may feel like small interventions, but over time they add up to stronger businesses and a healthier ecosystem.
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