Webinar Explores Digital Transformation and AI Integration for SMEs in BRICS Nations
As part of Brazil’s Presidency of BRICS in the year 2025, the Government of Brazil, through the SME Working Group, hosted a webinar titled “Digital Transformation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Empowering SMEs in the BRICS for a Competitive Future” on 13 March 2025. It brought together experts, policymakers, and industry leaders to discuss the transformative potential of AI and digital technologies for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in BRICS countries. The event aimed to foster strategic dialogue on enhancing competitiveness, driving innovation, and integrating SMEs into global value chains, while unlocking new growth opportunities in the digital economy.
One of the key panels, ‘Digital Skills for the Future: Building Capacities for AI Integration,’ was moderated by Dr Alexandre Barbosa, Head of the Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (CETIC/NIC.br). The session highlighted the urgent need for upskilling and workforce development to prepare SMEs for the AI-driven future. The panellists included Dr B. Shadrach, Director, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (COL-CEMCA); Dr Celso Camilo, Co-founder of the Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence at the Federal University of Goias, Brazil; Juan Ivan Martin Lataix, Skill Digitalisation Specialist, ILO; Ana Paula Nishio, Chief of Digital Transformation and AI, UNIDO; and Robert Vasilyev, Deputy Director, Artificial Intelligence Laboratories' Association (AILA) for Technology Transfer, Head and Founder of the Z-union Applied AI Solutions Development Team.
In his presentation, Dr Shadrach underscored the challenges faced by SMEs, particularly Mini and Micro-businesses (MMEs) and family-owned businesses, including budgetary constraints, lack of digital skills, cybersecurity concerns, and resistance to change. Despite these hurdles, SMEs remain the backbone of BRICS economies, contributing over 50 percent of GDP and employing more than 85 percent of the workforce. He emphasised that AI and digital tools can revolutionise SMEs by enhancing efficiency, expanding market reach, improving customer experience, and enabling data-driven decision-making. Applications such as predictive maintenance, personalised marketing, and fraud detection were cited as game-changers for SMEs.
Dr Shadrach also discussed the importance of infrastructure development, skills training, data privacy, and government support in the context of AI adoption. He highlighted India’s initiatives, including the India AI Mission (INDIAai), Public Digital Infrastructure, and skilling programmes through Sector Skill Councils, as models for other BRICS nations to emulate. Meanwhile, COL-CEMCA is piloting an AI literacy course for farmers, covering basic AI knowledge, ethical use, and tools for agriculture, aiming to integrate informal sector workers into lifelong learning programmes.
The webinar concluded with a call for collaboration among governments, academia, and industry to empower SMEs with digital and AI skills, ensuring their resilience and growth in the evolving digital economy. As the global economy becomes increasingly digital, such initiatives are vital to bridging the skills gap and unlocking the full potential of SMEs in BRICS nations.
