WhatsApp has launched a three-week campaign highlighting how Nigerian small business owners are using its Business app, including artificial intelligence tools, to connect with customers, manage orders and drive growth.
The campaign, tagged “Power your hustle with WhatsApp Business,” follows three entrepreneurs in Lagos, Ibadan and Abuja, documenting their experiences building and running small businesses and how digital tools have become part of their daily operations.
The businesses featured are Edibles by Lera Ipapanu in Lagos, FHR Spices in Ibadan, Oyo State, and Twinny’s Kitchen in Abuja.
According to WhatsApp, the campaign is designed to celebrate the people behind Nigerian small businesses while showcasing how the Business app is helping entrepreneurs manage customer relationships and sales.
At Edibles by Lera Ipapanu, a snack brand focused on traditional Nigerian snacks with modern packaging and delivery services, founder Mosumola Oladoye said WhatsApp Business serves as the company’s digital storefront.
She highlighted the app’s Catalog feature, which allows customers to browse products, view prices and check available sizes before placing orders.
For FHR Spices, a natural food seasoning business based in Ibadan, WhatsApp Business has become a tool for both customer engagement and sales.
Founder Aminat Akinyemi said the company’s use of the Meta Business Agent, an AI-powered assistant recently introduced in the WhatsApp Business app, has helped the business respond to customer enquiries while she concentrates on production.
“WhatsApp Business has become one of our most powerful tools for building relationships and driving sales,” Akinyemi said.
She added that the Meta Business Agent can respond to customers about the company’s products while maintaining a personalised interaction.
Similarly, Augustina Onoriode, founder of Twinny’s Kitchen, an Abuja-based food processing company, said WhatsApp Business has helped the company turn customer conversations into long-term relationships.
Onoriode said the business uses the app’s Lists feature to organise customers according to their order status, including new orders, follow-ups, pending orders and waybill.
She described WhatsApp Business as a major driver of the company’s growth as it serves customers across Nigeria and the diaspora.
The three businesses are also using Meta Business Agent, which uses AI to help business owners respond to customer questions, recommend products and support sales when the owner is unavailable to respond personally.
Oluwasola Obagbemi, head of communications, sub-Saharan Africa at Meta, said the growing use of WhatsApp Business among Nigerian entrepreneurs reflects the changing role of digital platforms in the country’s small business ecosystem.
“WhatsApp continues to be an important part of how business gets done in Nigeria, and we’re seeing business owners use it for far more than just messaging,” Obagbemi said.
According to her, the entrepreneurs featured in the campaign are using the platform to find customers, respond to enquiries and make sales, while AI is providing additional support for business owners who may not always be available to attend to customers.
“With Meta Business Agent, business owners now have AI working alongside them, and we look forward to seeing how they use it to power their hustle,” she added.
The three-week campaign will feature documentary-style “day in the life” videos showing the entrepreneurs’ experiences of running their businesses.
The videos will be distributed through Meta Africa’s Facebook page and WhatsApp for Business’ social media channels.
WhatsApp will also host a virtual masterclass for small business owners across Nigeria, with sessions focused on practical ways to use WhatsApp Business tools, including Meta Business Agent and ads that direct customers to WhatsApp.
The campaign comes as Nigerian small businesses increasingly rely on digital platforms to market products, communicate with customers, process orders and build relationships without the need for conventional physical storefronts.
