Trading Before Dawn: How AI and Modern IT Could Transform the Daily Struggle of Nigeria’s Market Women

Before most cities wake up, millions of Nigerian market women are already deep into economic survival mode. From predawn journeys to wholesale markets to late-night mental accounting, their days are long, risky, and relentlessly physical. This is not a temporary hardship but an ongoing structural reality across Nigeria’s urban markets. While technology has entered their world in modest ways—basic phones, USSD banking, nearby POS terminals—artificial intelligence and modern IT remain largely out of reach. Yet, if designed properly, AI does not need expensive smartphones or constant internet to make a real difference. It can meet market women where they already are.

A typical market woman’s day begins before sunrise, often around 4:30 a.m., balancing household responsibilities with the urgent need to secure stock before prices rise. Transport alone is a gamble—overcrowded buses, rising fares, and the risk of damaged goods. At wholesale markets, bargaining is fierce because margins are razor thin. One bad batch of tomatoes or spoiled fish can wipe out a day’s earnings. Cash dominates transactions, making theft and liquidity constant fears, while access to formal credit remains limited, pushing many women toward daily contribution schemes just to restock.

By mid-morning, she is back at her stall, managing customers, negotiating prices, watching for theft, and protecting goods from heat, rain, or flooding. Power outages mean no refrigeration; informal levies and harassment add invisible taxes to already fragile profits. Record-keeping is mostly mental—profits, debts, supplier balances tracked in memory or scattered WhatsApp messages. This is not inefficiency by choice, but by constraint.

Technology use in these markets is therefore intensely practical. Feature phones dominate, prized for durability and battery life. Low-cost Android phones—often second-hand Tecno, Infinix, or Itel devices—enable WhatsApp orders, mobile alerts, and basic photos of goods. Power banks are essential. POS machines are usually nearby rather than owned. USSD banking fills gaps but failed transactions and delayed reversals undermine trust.

This is where AI and modern IT, carefully adapted, could matter. Not flashy apps, but voice-based AI hotlines in Pidgin or local languages that provide daily price guidance, negotiation tips, or safety advice. USSD menus enhanced with smart prompts could deliver market insights without smartphones. AI-curated SMS price alerts could reduce exploitation at wholesale markets. For those with entry-level smartphones, WhatsApp voice bots could offer local-language assistance without demanding digital fluency.

The key insight is simple: adoption depends on fitting into existing habits—voice calls, SMS, USSD—not forcing new ones. Nigeria’s market women are already digitally adjacent; AI only needs to cross the last mile thoughtfully.

If Nigeria is serious about inclusive digital transformation, market women must be central to the design—not an afterthought. Policymakers, telcos, fintechs, and AI builders should collaborate on low-cost, voice-first, local-language tools that respect the realities of market life. Supporting these women is not charity; it is economic strategy. Strengthen the market woman, and you strengthen the everyday economy she holds together.