Boosting the potential of entrepreneurs in developing economies

Are you someone who has always had a hidden desire to become an entrepreneur, but the enormity of the task has made you hesitant? Well, the year 2023 has brought about a shift in this mindset for aspiring entrepreneurs. The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is proving to be a game-changer, empowering ordinary individuals in developing economies to transform their aspirations into thriving ventures.

This paradigm shift is particularly evident in countries like India, where AI plays a key role in driving innovation and enabling ambitious individuals to launch and grow.

“AI has already proven to be an incredible opportunity for entrepreneurs in emerging markets,” says Mike Hoey, CEO of US-based Source Meridian, which also operates in emerging markets.

He cites the example of India’s healthcare sector, where 30 percent of the population does not have health insurance, while the shortage of qualified doctors has increased by 200 percent.

“Entrepreneurs therefore have an excellent opportunity to innovate solutions for concrete market gaps, such as AI-powered medical chatbots that help primary health centers cope with high patient demand and staff shortages,” he says.

In fact, many startups say that programs like ChatGPT could handle the paperwork for doctors for them. For example, last year India-based Thyrocare, a preventive healthcare diagnostics platform, adopted AI-based technology to automate the manual microscopy process on its network.

Garry Paxinos, CTO of NT Connect, says that the transformative impact of AI extends beyond traditional business practices and positively impacts the economic development of these regions.

“Artificial intelligence enables the automation of routine tasks, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on a more strategic aspect of their business. In developing markets, where resources may be limited, artificial intelligence-based automation can significantly increase operational efficiency,” he says.

According to an Inc42 report titled India’s Generative AI Startup Landscape, 2023, India’s GenAI market is predicted to see great days in the coming years, crossing $17 billion by 2030 from $1.1 billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 48%.

Ahmed from Denmark, founder of startuptools.ai, says the development of artificial intelligence has created a game-changing opportunity for entrepreneurs in developing economies like India.

“The automation capability of artificial intelligence enables new companies to operate more efficiently and agilely. This democratization of access to valuable tools and information levels the playing field and enables companies to compete effectively against established players,” he says.

The rise of entrepreneurship powered by artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence technologies have proven to be essential for entrepreneurs at different stages of their business journey. From ideation and market research to customer engagement and operational efficiency, artificial intelligence streamlines processes, provides valuable insights and even automates routine tasks, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on the strategic aspects of their own projects.

Sundeep Reddy Mallu, director of ESG and analytics at Gramener, says that the cost of taking an idea to a customer-oriented offering has been reduced by one-tenth with the help of artificial intelligence tools.

“Entrepreneurs in emerging markets have new, trusted founders in the form of AI tools. AI allows them to compete globally with minimal time or resources. Artificial intelligence tools help create business value by increasing efficiency and productivity,” he says.

For example, Ramsri Golla, an AI developer and startup entrepreneur, launched Supermeme.ai with two of his friends, and it became a great example of an AI-assisted meme generator from text input in 110 languages.

One of the key areas where artificial intelligence has a significant impact is market research. Businesses can now leverage AI-powered tools to analyze vast amounts of data and gain insights into market trends, consumer behavior, and the competitive landscape. This allows them to make informed decisions and tailor their products or services to meet the specific needs of their target audience.

“Artificial intelligence-powered training platforms can make learning easier and more individualized, which helps entrepreneurs acquire new skills and knowledge. AI is useful in emerging markets, where traditional and outdated education systems may face legacy challenges and require a leap in technology,” says Paxinos.

AI as a virtual business partner

Imagine having a virtual business partner working 24/7 to provide real-time support and insights. Artificial intelligence fills this role for many entrepreneurs as a virtual assistant that handles tasks from customer surveys and order processing to data analysis and financial management.

For example, AI-powered chatbots are becoming increasingly popular among small businesses in India. According to a Business Insider report, messaging apps have overtaken social networks in customer experience. It is clear that people prefer chat over phone calls. Last week, entrepreneur and actor Sunny Leone released her official artificial intelligence replica in collaboration with Generative AI company Kamoto.AI.

“Artificial intelligence-powered chatbots eliminate the need to create comprehensive operating procedures and intensive training of support staff to respond to frequent customer inquiries. Chatbots do not rest; thus, small businesses can offer round-the-clock automated customer service,” explains Mallu.

Small businesses really have no choice but to adopt this new technology if they want to maintain their competitive edge, or at least keep up. For example, last year Vianai Systems, a human-centric AI (H+AI™) platform and products company, partnered with KPMG India to bring conversational AI directly into the hands of financial users with its hila Enterprise.

In fact, according to Tracxn data, there were 556 chatbot startups in India last year, including Gupshup, Wysa, Uniphore, [24]7.ai and Haptik.

“As AI technology advances and becomes more accessible, more and more businesses of all sizes are integrating AI chatbots into their platforms to improve operational efficiency and customer experience. Small businesses understand the value of following this trend,” said Nate MacLeitch, CEO of QuickBlox.

Success stories from India

Several Indian startups exemplify the transformative potential of artificial intelligence for entrepreneurs. Whether it’s food vendors like Swiggy and Zomato, or ride-hailing company Ola and EdTech startup Byju’s, everyone is making use of AI. Other small companies include Razorpay, a fintech startup that uses AI to detect fraud, and Niramai, a health technology startup that focuses on early detection of breast cancer using AI-based thermal imaging. AI has also transformed Indian e-commerce startups like Zevame, Nykaa and Caratlane.

A good example is CaseText, a provider of software for legal research and the creator of the artificial intelligence assistant CoCounsel. The startup was acquired by Thomson Reuters for $650 million in August 2023 and has been developed in partnership with OpenAI and trained to use the latest version of its GPT big-language model, as well as their proprietary legal database and search engine.

Another good example of a startup that experienced great growth with AI is Jasper.AI, which achieved US$42.5 million in ARR (annual recurring revenue) in the first 12 months of its launch. Jasper is a content creation platform that uses the Chat GPT-3.5 language model to create content for the AI marketing co-pilot.

Each of these startups experienced rapid growth after adopting AI as a central part of their business.

The future of entrepreneurship

As artificial intelligence develops, its role in shaping the future of entrepreneurship in developing markets is constantly growing. Entrepreneurs who embrace AI technologies gain a competitive advantage, as these tools not only increase efficiency, but also open up new opportunities for innovation and growth.

Ahmed believes that the future of AI and small business in emerging markets holds enormous potential, characterized by hyper-personalization and efficiency. “We can imagine a future where AI-based marketing campaigns are precisely targeted to local communities and tailoring offers to specific needs and preferences. In addition, AI-based supply chains can anticipate disruptions and optimize logistics in real-time, improving the sustainability and profitability of operations. This convergence of physical and digital promises to revolutionize the business environment in emerging markets and enables small businesses to compete globally,” he explains.

MacLeitch says the advancement of artificial intelligence in emerging markets creates a unique opportunity for the future. “I think there are parallels with the explosion of mobile phone usage, when emerging markets overtook the need for landline phones and the telecommunications infrastructure of more mature economies; the mobile phone became a means of communicating and doing business in the economy,” he says.

“Artificial intelligence can be a great equalizer in terms of its capabilities so that companies can streamline processes and bypass more manual processes. Building business functions when artificial intelligence is integrated into business goals and utilizing new technologies enables developing markets to develop faster. India’s deep software and IT expertise will enable it to participate in this development,” he predicts.

Artificial intelligence is not just a tool, it can be your next business partner to take your business to new heights. If you have a dream of starting a small business while pursuing a big goal, you should consider harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to solve entrepreneurial challenges and realize the full potential of your innovative ideas. The partnership between human creativity and artificial intelligence is a recipe for success in the dynamic business world.

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