For Nigeria’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), digital tools are increasingly becoming essential for staying competitive, reaching more customers and improving day-to-day operations.
From digital payments and social media marketing to cloud-based accounting, customer management and e-commerce platforms, technology offers businesses practical ways to reduce costs, save time and create new opportunities for growth.
However, adopting digital tools is not simply about using more technology; it is about choosing the right solutions to address specific business challenges.
For MSMEs operating in a competitive and rapidly changing market, a strategic approach to digitalisation can improve efficiency, strengthen customer relationships and ultimately support sustainable business growth.
According to research by Enovate Lab and Dangote Business School, “In today’s economy, where the lines between physical and digital commerce have disappeared, digitalisation is no longer optional. It is a necessity for survival, competitiveness, and sustainable growth.”
Digitalisation is the use of digital tools to improve business processes, decisions, and outcomes. It may involve replacing paper records, reducing repetitive work, improving customer communication or connecting different parts of the business.
The study, ‘MSMEs Digitalisation Handbook: A Practical Guide for Digital Growth and Business Efficiency’, by Ahmed Idris, founder/executive director at Enovate Lab; Bello Bala-Garba, a professor of Business Administration and dean at Dangote Business School, and their team of researchers, outlined core pillars to running a successful MSME in the contemporary era.
The pillars are; having a strategic foundation that helps entrepreneurs assess their digital readiness and set clear, practical goals, insights on internal efficiency by navigating from manual processes to digital systems in finance, inventory, and operations.
Others include exploring external growth opportunities through digital marketing, social media, and e-commerce tools that expand customer reach, emphasising how security and compliance, can help businesses grow safely and sustainably in a digital environment.
The study reveals that among the 80 surveyed MSME operators, low sales and weak customer reach were most reported concerns.
“Digital channels can improve visibility, but marketing should be supported by reliable operations, clear pricing and good customer service,” the researchers say.
However, they noted that transitioning outward-facing processes to digital channels is not a luxury, but directly opens up the market visibility a business needs to survive.
Digitalisation, they say, is essential because it helps MSMEs to reach more customers beyond your physical location, reduce time spent on repetitive task, improve accuracy in financial records and decisions, and enhance customer experience and loyalty, among others.
The business experts argue that digitalisation encourages MSMEs to identify their most pressing challenges, adopt the right digital tools, and progressively build systems that improve productivity, transparency, and profitability.
Their study shows that while baseline digital adoption in Nigeria, is remarkably high, with more than 94 percent of respondents already using mobile tools, this usage is highly lopsided.
“The vast majority rely on digital tools primarily for outward-facing activities such as marketing and customer communication, while core internal operations remain trapped in inefficient, manual workflows,” they say.
Moreover, the researchers noted that digitalisation matters for MSMEs, because it helps a business avoid buying tools before it has the people, habits and processes required to use them well.
Entrepreneurs going into digitalisation must have in place smartphone available such as Android or iPhone, reliable internet access, willingness to learn new tools, and basic digital literacy, being able to use email, browse the internet.
The researchers emphasised that success in digitalisation is rarely about the tool you choose. It is about the plan you follow.
“Many MSMEs fail because they try to do too much at once. A digital roadmap allows you to prioritise the areas of your business that need the most help. Digitalisation is a continuous journey of growth, not a static destination.
“While the tools and platforms will keep evolving, the core foundation of your business remains built on your unmatched resilience, value, and connection to your customers,” they say.
