This transition dictates how businesses grow and survive in the new year, and the next decade at large.

Recent data shows about 95% of businesses in Africa are SMEs, and they contribute roughly 40% of the continent’s GDP and more than half of its jobs. Most of these firms are now part of digital ecosystems where data flows through every transaction and interaction.

That alone is reason enough to pay attention.

Why the Shift to Data is Important

In the early phase of digital adoption (roughly 2015–2022), the story was about embracing digital payments, online stores and basic apps. 

By 2025, that matured. Digital transactions are now the norm. For example, surveys show over 99% of SMEs in Nigeria accept digital payments, and in South Africa around 90% of SMEs do the same, not just to be modern, but because it improves financial management, cash flow and customer access. 

These payment records generate data. And the most forward-thinking firms are going beyond collecting that data to acting on it.

Data is being used to:

• Spot slow-moving inventory weeks before stockouts happen
• Predict which customer segments are most profitable
• Adjust pricing after analysing local demand shifts
• Evaluate creditworthiness based on transaction histories

This is happening now and companies that learn to turn raw numbers into decisions are gaining advantage.

What “Data-Driven” Really Looks Like on the Ground

Being data-driven doesn’t mean you need a team of PhDs or massive budgets. For African SMEs in 2025, it meant practical actions:

1. Operational Decisions Replace Guesswork

Business owners are looking at sales patterns weekly, not just quarterly. They monitor which products sell at different times and adjust inventory accordingly. Even simple dashboards from payment providers can reveal trends previously invisible.

2. Digital Banking and Lending Get Smarter

Banks across Africa are investing heavily in SME services that use data, not paper forms, to evaluate credit risk. A recent industry report shows 83% of banks now treat SME banking as a strategic priority, using mobile platforms and analytics tools to serve these clients better. 

Mobile banking is especially important because it reaches businesses in rural or underserved regions. These platforms also generate data that lenders and firms can use to make decisions faster and with less bias.

3. Adoption Still Uneven, But Growing Fast

While basic digital tools are widely used, sophisticated data usage is still emerging. Digital onboarding (where a business can open an account entirely online) is fully available in only around 42% of cases, showing that there’s still work to be done.

Unreliable internet in some regions, high data costs, and skill gaps are causing limitations. But where these challenges are overcome, businesses are already seeing results.

The Economic Importance

If SMEs are the backbone of economic activity, and evidence says they are, then better decision-making at this level scales into macro performance:

• Greater resilience to shocks: Firms that read their own data can react quicker to supply delays, currency swings or demand drops.
• Improved access to finance: Data signals help lenders reduce risk, which expands credit availability. Digital lending products using analytics are growing in availability.
• Higher productivity: Data helps reduce waste and simplify operations, both essential in thin-margin environments where small inefficiencies compound quickly.

Enhanced data use directly influences how investment is allocated and how business strategies evolve.

Lessons from 2025

As the year closes, let’s take a look at a few patterns:

1. Digital adoption is widespread, especially for payments and banking interfaces.
2. True data usage is growing, but uneven across regions and sectors.
3. Financial institutions are doubling down on data-enabled services like mobile banking and analytics.
4. Infrastructure continues to improve, with new data centres and cloud partnerships aimed at reducing costs and boosting speed. 

Looking Forward to 2026

If 2025 was the year data went from novelty to necessity, then 2026 will be the year businesses start competing on it.

I expect the following trends to become more visible:

• SMEs using predictive analytics at scale, not just reporting what happened, but anticipating what will.
• Data literacy emerging as a core business skill, not a bonus.
• Policy and infrastructure balance, as governments and service providers invest in reducing data costs and expanding connectivity.

For anyone leading an SME in Africa, pay attention to the fact that technology without data just sits on a shelf. Data is what turns technology into decision power.

The budget would be financed through fresh domestic borrowing, according to President Buhari, in a letter that was read aloud by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila on Wednesday.

He pointed out that the total deficit in 2022 will increase to N8.17 trillion if the supplementary budget is approved.

Due to the effects of the flood and the requirement to finish important highways that are 85% complete, Mr. Buhari indicated that the nation has made the decision to investigate a supplementary budget.

“The president writes that 2022 has witnessed the worst flood incident in recent history which has caused massive destruction of farmlands at a point already close to harvest season, this may compound the situation of food security and nutrition in this country,” the letter reads.

Adding that “The flood also devastated the road infrastructure across the 36 states and the FCT. It has affected several sections of major roads and bridges nationwide that are critical to the movement of goods and services.

The water sector was equally affected by the flood, and there is a need to complete some ongoing projects that have achieved 85% completion across the country.”

The letter was referred to the House Committee on Appropriation for further legislative action.

In another letter, President Buhari also informed the lawmakers that the government will take another N1 trillion loan from the CBN through ways and means.

He said the additional N1 trillion will take the total obligation to CBN to N23 trillion which the government seeks to convert to bonds.

The letter was referred to Committees on Finance, Banking and Currency, Loans, Aid and Grant.

Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, has announced its N15 billion Series II Offer under its Stanbic IBTC Infrastructure Fund (the “Fund”) N100 billion Shelf Programme.

The offer became available from today and scheduled to close on Friday, 10 June 2022.

The Fund is designed to bridge the gap between the long-term funding needs of promoters of infrastructure projects and the needs of investors with long-term capital.

The Fund, which is structured as a close-ended collective investment scheme, seeks to provide competitive returns above the benchmark Federal Government of Nigeria 10-year bond yield.

The Fund Manager successfully closed its Series I offer in September 2021 and raised N6.745 billion across diverse investors, including Pension Fund Administrators, Asset Management Companies, Insurance Companies, and High Net-worth Individuals (“HNIs”).

The proceeds of the Series I offer were deployed towards the energy and healthcare sectors.

Speaking about the development, Dolu Olugbenjo, Chief Investment Officer, Stanbic IBTC Infrastructure Fund, said, “Subsequent to the deployment of Series I proceeds, we are pleased to present the Offer to investors to support a robust pipeline of investment opportunities currently under our review.

“These include infrastructure and infrastructure-related project opportunities in healthcare, transport, logistics, renewable power and energy, amongst others.”

“We encourage institutional investors to continue participating in the Stanbic IBTC Infrastructure Fund by partnering with us to bridge the existing infrastructure asset gap that could deliver positive social and economic multiplier effects,” he added while aiming to deliver competitive investment returns to investors within acceptable risk thresholds”.

Interested investors can click here to fill out the form and a representative will contact them within 72 hours.

Approval for the grant, from the Fund’s regional public goods window, came a few days ahead of the 35th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly, which closed on Sunday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

On the sidelines of the Assembly, President Akinwumi Adesina, African Development Bank, and Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa, African Union (AU) Commission Deputy Chair, met on Thursday, 3 February, to discuss the organization’s future and challenges. Nsanzabaganwa expressed the institution’s deep appreciation for the grant.

The grant will contribute to the Institutional Capacity Building for the African Union Project, a program designed to improve the AUC’s capacity to drive Agenda 2063.

Agenda 2063 is the African Union’s vision for “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.”

It includes programs to boost Africa’s economic growth and development and lead to the rapid transformation of the continent.

In 2017, the AUC launched a comprehensive institutional reform process to make the institution more nimble, efficient and financially self-sufficient.

The project will continue those reforms through upgrading its systems, as well as improving planning, coordination, and service delivery capacities.

Nsanzabaganwa said the funds will cover three main components:  institutional strengthening; policy planning, coordination, and corporate service delivery; and project management.

In addition, it contains important environmental and social safeguards and gender-sensitive considerations.

A portion of the funds would be allocated to the AUC’s Disaster Risk Reduction practices, and Climate Change Adaptation mechanisms, while support for women will include developing the Commission’s Gender and Youth Mainstreaming Guidelines and Scorecard and related activities over and above the support towards the AU’s institutional reform.

The African Development Bank has been a long-term partner to the African Union’s development agenda, supporting programs such as its Development Agency-NEPAD program for infrastructure development in Africa.

It also supports the African Continental Free Trade Area secretariat, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the Climate for Development in Africa Program.

The total cost of the project is $12.6 million, including an in-kind counterpart contribution from the AU. Success of the project is expected to encourage similar contributions from other development institutions.