When Kassy Olisakwe started Auroraweb3, a Nigerian company that builds decentralized solutions, websites, and applications for businesses, in 2020, his annual revenue was ₦114 million ($74,000). But since adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools like Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, Juro, and Perplexity, that figure has more than quadrupled to ₦481 million in six months and, by his projections, will likely double in the coming months.
“By leveraging AI, my agency has significantly increased its productivity and output, enabling us to take on far more projects than before, without compromising on quality,” he told .
Olisakwe said his agency has also diversified into new verticals, including Web3 investments and the development of trading bots. “What used to require entire teams can now be managed efficiently by fewer individuals, allowing us to expand our service offerings, improve delivery times, and reach a broader client base.”
He explained that depending on the scope of the project, it would typically require a team of four to six contract-based developers from the 34 currently on staff. However, since adopting AI, projects can now be “efficiently” managed with only two or three developers, and sometimes even just one developer with minimal external input.
Fadé Adeniyi, co-founder of Techlerator, a tech-focused boutique recruitment startup operating in the UK and Nigeria, has also seen a rise in revenue since incorporating AI in its operations. “We have expanded our reach and scaled our business considerably, resulting in a revenue increase of over 65% in just four months,” she said.
Using Llama, a language model, has enabled them to transition from training hundreds of students in individual classes to reaching over a thousand students simultaneously.
“This scalability has not only accelerated our training processes but has also significantly increased our revenue compared to our previous instructor-led model,” Adeniyi said.
AI is helping firms cut operation costs
AI has transitioned from a futuristic concept to a tangible profit-generating tool that companies are leveraging to grow revenue, optimize costs, and elevate productivity amid high inflationary pressures.
The release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022 was a major turning point in the widespread adoption of AI across industries. According to Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s Chief Operating Officer, ChatGPT had 400 million weekly users as at February 2025 from one million in November 2022.
Apart from ChatGPT, other versions of AI chatbots and models from Google, Anthropic, Meta, and Baidu have also been released. These global companies have been competing for dominance in the generative AI space with each striving to release a superior product, leading to frequent updates that enhance user interaction and automating tasks.
“AI has boosted our content production speed and volume, and enhanced our SEO efforts, generating additional revenue streams,” Ogugua Belonwu, CEO of Lagos-based recruitment agency MyJobMag Limited, said.
Before using ChatGPT for his company’s content production in 2024, Belonwu had been paying content writers approximately ₦6 million ($3,904) per year. “Apart from generating content outlines, guides and streamlining content creation, AI also plays a role in the company’s SEO strategy as it leverages tools to identify target areas and optimize content,” he added.
For Temi Babaola, CEO of Spitch, a Nigerian company that develops advanced text-to-speech and speech-to-text AI models, using AI has saved them up to 10% of his budget cost. “We are not just users of AI, but builders as well. Our developers utilize AI to build functionalities and streamline their workflow,” he said.
According to Babaola, AI is integrated into every stage of product development, from ideation and road mapping to writing product requirement documents and task assignments. “Many of the tools we’ve adopted are AI-based, and their use is woven into our workflows.”
As more businesses across industries adopt AI, the impact on GDP growth, job creation and productivity will become increasingly evident in many economies including Nigeria.
A recent report by Google projects AI would increase Nigeria’s economy by $15 billion in 2030. The report estimates that every dollar invested in digital technology in the country generates over eight dollars in economic value, illustrating the high return on investment in the sector.
Another report from GSM Association (GSMA), a non-profit trade association, sees AI adding $2.9 trillion to Africa’s GDP. The report added that Nigeria, a leader in African tech, has the potential to greatly benefit from AI solutions, especially in the energy, climate action, and agric sectors. AI-powered precision agriculture is already improving crop management while startups like ThriveAgric now employ AI in assessing the creditworthiness of farmers for input financing. Hello Tractor, another agtech startup, uses AI to connect tractor owners and smallholder farmers through an equipment sharing app.
Could AI displace jobs, dampen creativity?
With AI’s ability to automate repetitive tasks and the increasing number of companies adopting lean management structures, there are growing concerns that certain job roles will likely be fully automated by 2030.
World Economic Forum (WEF) in January said 41% of employers intend to downsize their workforce while Bloomberg Intelligence projected that global banks are expected to cut as many as 200,000 jobs in the next three to five years.
“AI hasn’t replaced our team, it has amplified them,” Olisakwe of Auroraweb3 said. “Our top-tier professionals now oversee multiple projects simultaneously, acting as strategic leads for mid-level and junior developers.”
He stated that by hiring the best talent in their respective fields, he can avoid layoffs, leading to a more streamlined, agile, and high-performing organization. ‘This approach fosters sustainable growth while upholding technical proficiency.”
MyJobMag is cautious about integrating AI to avoid staff cuts and maintain good relationships with its clients. “Employers will not like it if we use it too much,” Belonwu, the company’s CEO said.
Mathew Munyao, founder of Attention Media, a Kenyan-based AI automation and marketing agency said as a creator, AI has sharpened his creativity. “I leverage tools like GRok 3 and ChatGPT for in-depth research and DeepThink for web exploration, enabling me to gather information quickly and efficiently. Furthermore, AI’s creative capabilities allow me to generate and animate images, compose music, and design websites in a fraction of the time it would take manually,” he noted.
Since the release of ChatGPT, investment flows into AI have increased nearly eightfold, according to the 2025 future of jobs report by WEF. The influx of capital has been accompanied by investment in the physical infrastructure needed to support these emerging technologies, including servers and energy generation plants.
The international organization predicts that the fastest growing jobs in the next five years will be in the tech sector, despite employers being cautious about job cuts. These roles include big data specialists, data analysts and scientists, environmental engineers, information security analysts, devops engineers, renewable energy engineers, fintech engineers, and AI and machine learning specialists.
Staying relevant in the age of AI
A 2024 Ipsos and Google survey revealed that 70% of Nigerians use generative AI tools like Gemini and ChatGPT for writing, brainstorming assistance, problem-solving, studying extensive documents, and comprehending intricate information. The 70% exceeded the global average of 48%.
This shows that job roles within accounting, bookkeeping, payroll, graphic design, legal secretary, customer service, data entry, basic content writing, manufacturing and logistics are being replaced by AI.
To stay relevant, some HR experts and consultants recommend employees, especially millennials and Gene Zs, to see AI as an ally rather than a competitor.
Jennifer Oyelade, director of Transquisite Consulting, a UK and Nigerian registered recruitment and training consultancy, said irrespective of one’s industry, it is crucial to identify and learn AI tools that can enhance one’s skill set.
“For instance, if you’re in finance, explore the AI tools commonly used in that sector by familiarizing yourself with those software and systems, and combine that knowledge with your own expertise,” she said.
Oyelade explained that by leveraging these AI tools effectively, a person can boost his or her productivity and gain a competitive edge—which is essential for success in today’s rapidly evolving landscape.
For Olamide Adeyeye, a Lagos-based human development researcher, speciality will be a major game changer in the near future. “There is going to be a huge call for specialization in core areas which will differ across sectors and industries.”
He added that the future belongs to those who have perfected a particular skill, even if they know little about other things, not to those who can do many things but have not mastered any.
As AI-powered chatbots and models become increasingly specialized, companies that adopt this technology will gain a significant competitive advantage. Those who fail to leverage AI may fall behind, potentially missing out on future opportunities.
