Enovate Lab, a Kano-based innovation and strategy implementation firm, has entered into a strategic partnership with Dangote Business School of Bayero University Kano (BUK) to accelerate the digital transformation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across Nigeria.
The collaboration, announced at the weekend, is aimed at equipping local business owners with practical tools and operational frameworks to transition from manual processes to automated, high-growth digital operations.
Ahmed Idris, Executive Director of Enovate Lab, said the initiative is designed to move Nigerian businesses away from what he described as ‘hero dependency,’ where founders manually hinder their own growth.
Enovate Lab says it is bridging this gap by providing accessible pathways for business owners to integrate digital payments, online marketing, human resource management, inventory systems, and financial analytics into their daily workflows.
‘For Nigerian MSMEs to truly thrive in our unique economic reality, we must move away from hero dependency. By applying systems thinking and practical digital adoption, businesses can automate repetitive tasks, establish clear standard operating procedures, and build scalable operations.
‘This partnership with Dangote Business School allows us to deliver actionable strategy implementation that fundamentally transforms how our local enterprises compete and succeed,’ Idris said.
A flagship outcome of the partnership will be the publication of the MSME Digitization Handbook, currently in development.
The handbook is expected to provide step-by-step implementation guides, readiness assessments, tool setup checklists, and practical templates to help business owners automate core functions effectively.
Enovate Lab emphasized that its approach goes beyond technology adoption, focusing instead on embedding operational resilience to ensure MSMEs remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market.
Dangote Business School, known for its focus on entrepreneurial and managerial capacity building, is expected to complement the initiative by providing academic rigor and structured training to support MSMEs in adopting digital solutions.
Through this partnership, both institutions say they are committed to driving long-term economic impact by ensuring the next generation of Nigerian enterprises are digitally fluent, operationally sound, and positioned for sustainable growth.