Lagos Trains 5,000 Small Businesses in AI and Design

Small business owners across Lagos are getting a major upgrade just in time for their busiest season.

The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund has partnered with Canva to train 5,000 small and medium businesses in digital marketing, branding, and artificial intelligence. The timing is perfect: training starts in November, right as businesses prepare for the year-end shopping rush when competition for customer attention is fiercest.

Participants will get free access to Canva Business for one year and at least four virtual training sessions. They'll learn to create professional marketing materials, manage their brand identity, and use AI tools to generate content through simple conversational prompts.

The program targets businesses in hospitality, food, fashion, entertainment, beauty, and retail. These are sectors where strong visual branding can make or break success during peak shopping periods.

Feyisayo Alayande, who leads the LSETF, explained why the training matters as much as funding. "Beyond access to finance, businesses need the right knowledge and digital tools to grow," she said. "This partnership gives selected Lagos MSMEs practical capabilities they can apply directly to their businesses."

The training covers brand kit development, reusable templates, and managing marketing campaigns across different platforms. Business owners will learn to create everything from social media posts to product packaging and pitch decks.

The Ripple Effect

What makes this program stand out is its focus on sustained impact. Organizers aren't just counting sign-ups. They're tracking whether businesses actually use the tools, aiming for at least 2,000 to become regular users who incorporate these skills into their daily operations.

Farai Ntuli from Canva Africa said the timing was intentional. "Lagos businesses are heading into a busy trading season. We want to give owners practical tools to use straight away, from digital content to product packaging and building confidence in agentic workflows."

The program runs through February 2027, giving participants months to practice and refine their skills. Applications opened on October 9, with onboarding scheduled for early November.

For many small business owners who couldn't afford professional design software or marketing agencies, this levels the playing field. A street food vendor can now create branded packaging that looks as professional as a chain restaurant. A small fashion designer can build a visual identity that competes with established brands.

Five thousand businesses gaining these skills could reshape Lagos's small business landscape for years to come.