AI Training Empowers Lahore SMEs for Digital Growth
In a notable effort to narrow Pakistan’s technological divide, TallyMarks Consulting (TMC) recently hosted a session titled “AI Now Simplified for SMEs” at the Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex in Lahore. This event gathered a varied audience including business owners, corporate leaders, and academic experts, focusing on making artificial intelligence more accessible and practical for small and medium-sized enterprises, a segment often overlooked in the country’s digital shift.
The session introduced participants to effective strategies for integrating AI into daily business processes. Organizers highlighted that the critical challenge is not AI itself but how businesses utilize it to maintain competitive advantages.
Dr Syed Sohail H Naqvi, Director of EdTech at TMC and Chairman of Knowledge Streams, delivered the keynote address underscoring the importance of AI adoption for national competitiveness. He emphasized that SMEs must swiftly embrace emerging technologies to avoid lagging behind in the digital economy.
Supporting this perspective, Tanveer Ahmad Sheikh, Senior Vice President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, pointed out AI’s potential in mitigating key business challenges such as rising operational costs, productivity shortfalls, and intense market competition.
A standout feature of the programme was a practical implementation roadmap presented by Anas Wahab. Moving beyond theoretical concepts, live hands-on training was conducted by Shahmeer Maqbool and co-trainer Ammaz Ahmad. Attendees engaged with widely available AI tools including ChatGPT, Gemini, Canva AI, and Google Vids, gaining skills in prompt engineering to create precise instructions that generate quality outputs across marketing, customer support, business proposals, and reporting.
Advanced AI applications demonstrated during the session encompassed AI-powered agents, automation in recruitment, invoice processing, and even drafting legal documents. Organizers reiterated that AI remains accessible, encouraging SMEs to start with basic digital skills, explore free AI tools, automate routine tasks, and identify opportunities to lower costs while improving operational efficiency.
The session concluded with a call to action urging SMEs to integrate AI as a supportive tool that enhances human talent rather than replaces it. This approach aims to boost productivity, responsiveness, and competitiveness amid the rapidly evolving business landscape.
This initiative represents a significant step towards empowering Pakistan’s SME sector to harness AI innovations, which could have lasting positive impacts on economic growth and sustainability.