What 35 Kano businesses took from four days of digital training

From 27 to 30 October 2025, 35 micro, small and medium businesses from across Kano State came to the DD Hub Hall for the Digital Business Optimisation Training (DBOT). Nineteen of the participants were women and sixteen were men. The training is part of the Digital Transformation Drive for MSMEs, delivered with the GIZ Digital Transformation Centre Nigeria and funded by the European Union and the Federal Republic of Germany.

The businesses came from agribusiness, fashion, retail, creative media, the green economy, light manufacturing and professional services. Most were at the startup or early-growth stage.

Over four days, participants worked through six modules: digital competence (based on NITDA's harmonised framework), entrepreneurial mindset, innovation and opportunity development, resource mobilisation and access to finance, online presence and digital marketing, and social media management and branding. The emphasis was on doing: demonstrations, peer learning and exercises built around each participant's own business.

In the post-training survey, 26 of 27 respondents said they had learned to use digital tools they had never used before, and all 27 said they would recommend the training to others. Every respondent rated the overall experience good or excellent. The tools participants reported mastering most were WhatsApp, Instagram, Google Business Profile and FoundersCue.

The businesses themselves matter for inclusion too. Across the enterprises represented, 139 people were employed: 71 women and 68 men, and about 70% of them young people.

Our monitoring report recommends what should come next: mentorship after the training, sector-specific modules for the green economy, retail and manufacturing, and follow-up to track changes in revenue and customer reach over time. These are completion-stage results, and longer-term business change has not yet been measured.