I&M Bank partners with Google to offer its MSME customers free Hustle Academy training in AI and practical digital business skills.

Kenya’s small businesses are being asked to learn artificial intelligence in a hurry. I&M Bank thinks it can help with that.

The bank announced on 25 May that it is partnering with Google to bring the Google Hustle Academy to its micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) customers. The programme is free, hands-on, and built to teach entrepreneurs practical digital and AI skills they can apply to marketing, sales, and day-to-day operations. The pitch is simple: a loan helps you start, but knowing how to use the tools everyone else is adopting is what keeps you competitive.

That framing matters because of who is making it. Banks usually sell credit. I&M is positioning itself as something broader, a growth partner that hands you capability alongside capital.

“Being on your side means making sure our customers aren’t left behind in the AI revolution,” said Shameer Patel, Director of Retail and Business Banking at I&M Bank. He argued that access to money is only one part of building a resilient business, and that today’s entrepreneurs also need knowledge, technology, and support to grow. “On Your Side” is not a throwaway line here. It is the bank’s actual brand promise, in place since its 2022 rebrand, so the partnership is a deliberate extension of that positioning rather than a one-off CSR gesture.

Why this matters for Kenyan businesses

MSMEs carry an enormous share of the Kenyan economy. Kenya’s State Department for MSMEs estimates the sector provides around 85% of the country’s non-farm jobs, roughly 15 million of an 18 million-strong workforce. The press release rounds this to “over 80% of employment,” which is fair as shorthand, though the precise figure depends on whether you count farm work. Either way, the scale is the point. When a sector this large struggles to adopt new technology, the whole economy feels it.

And adoption is the gap. AI tools are changing how businesses write copy, answer customers, manage inventory, and analyse sales. The problem is rarely access to the tools, which are often free or cheap. It is knowing what to do with them. That is the gap a structured training programme is meant to close, and it is why “free skills” can be as valuable to a small trader as a “free” credit line.

What the Hustle Academy actually is

Google launched the Hustle Academy in 2022 as a bootcamp-style programme for small businesses across Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. We covered its original launch back in 2022, and later reported on the 5,300 Kenyan businesses that graduated from an early cohort. Since then it has trained more than 18,000 businesses continent-wide, with over half of its graduates being women entrepreneurs. The curriculum has covered business strategy, digital marketing, leadership, and, increasingly, AI.

One thing worth clarifying for anyone signing up now. The 2026 edition of the Hustle Academy is not identical to the version Kenyans first met in 2022. Google redesigned the programme this year in partnership with training company UpSkill Universe, opening it beyond just business owners to students, employees, and job seekers. The format also shifted toward short 60-minute webinars for quick learning, alongside the deeper hands-on bootcamps. So while I&M frames this as training for its MSME customers, the broader programme it plugs into is now aimed at a wider audience and built around AI as the headline skill, not an add-on.

How to enrol

I&M’s MSME customers who want in can speak to their relationship manager or visit their nearest branch. The bank says eligible customers get access at no cost. Anyone wanting to explore the wider Hustle Academy can also check Google’s official programme page at rsvp.withgoogle.com/events/hustle-academy.

The bottom line

This is a low-risk, useful offer for I&M’s business customers. Free, structured AI training has real value when the alternative is figuring it out alone from YouTube. The honest caveat is that the benefit depends on follow-through. A bootcamp does not transform a business on its own. It gives owners a head start, and the rest is up to them. If you bank with I&M and run a small business, this is worth an email to your relationship manager. The cost is your time, and the skills are yours to keep.