HP and UpSkill Universe have launched a free artificial intelligence (AI) training programme for 55,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria and South Africa. The AI Skills for Business Programme opened registration in September 2026 and is being delivered through HP LIFE, the HP Foundation’s business and digital skills platform.
The structure goes beyond a single online course. All 55,000 businesses are expected to complete at least three HP LIFE courses. From that group, 5,000 SMEs will join 90-minute virtual sessions led by facilitators. The programme says each of those businesses should leave with a specific AI tool to test in its operations within 30 days.
The top 50 SMEs will then move into a “Build Your Business with AI” bootcamp. It includes business audits and a 90-day implementation plan. HP employees will act as mentors. Live sessions begin this month and the first bootcamp is scheduled for January. The organisers say youth-led and women-led businesses will get priority access, with a target of 40% of participants from those groups.
A bigger follow-up to last year’s programme
This is a continuation of the 2025 Skills for Business programme run by UpSkill Universe with HP and Google. We covered its launch when the partners said they planned to train 10,000 SMEs across Nigeria and South Africa. HP and UpSkill Universe now say that programme eventually reached more than 40,000 small business owners.
The 10,000 figure was the original direct-training target. The new announcement gives more than 40,000 as the programme’s eventual reach. Searches of UpSkill Universe, HP and contemporaneous coverage did not surface a separate public outcome report that explains how the 40,000 figure was counted. We therefore treat it as the partners’ reported result rather than an independently audited figure.
Google, which was part of the 2025 programme, is not named as a partner in the 2026 announcement. This year’s programme centres on AI use inside a business. The listed applications cover reporting, decision-making, risk management, customer experience and everyday operations.
HP LIFE says its catalogue currently has more than 30 free courses in eight languages. The courses include AI for Beginners and AI for Business Professionals alongside other business topics.
The AI adoption numbers need a qualifier
The announcement cites a 2026 SAS and IDC study to show the gap between AI interest and sustained business use. The study found that 69.8% of surveyed businesses were in the two earliest stages of AI maturity, while 8.8% were in the fully integrated stage. Those figures are rounded to nearly 70% and 9% in the announcement.
The figures are real, but they are not Africa-only statistics. The SAS and IDC report surveyed 1,600 leaders in 28 countries across five regions. Only 160 respondents came from the combined Middle East, Turkey and Africa region, and the report does not publish Nigeria- or South Africa-specific results.
There is another limitation. Outside the United States, respondents worked at organisations with 100 to 499 employees. That definition is larger than many micro and informal businesses commonly included in African SME discussions, so the global findings should not be read as a direct measure of every small business in Nigeria or South Africa.
This specific HP and UpSkill Universe intake targets Nigeria and South Africa. Kenya is not listed among the programme markets. Kenyan SMEs do have separate options. I&M Bank and Google opened Hustle Academy training to I&M’s MSME customers in May, while Absa and Google announced a 12-month programme for 3,000 Kenyan SMEs in June.
For businesses in Nigeria and South Africa, registration is open now. The base training is free, while access becomes progressively more selective after the HP LIFE course stage.
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