Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Passively Record Sales in Micro and Small Businesses in Ghana

Abstract

Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) play a vital role in Ghana, as in many other African countries. In this paper, we denote MSEs to refer to a diverse group of enterprises involved in activities ranging from petty trading to grocery store operations [6]. Over the years, MSEs in Ghana have been struck by many challenges including but not limited to poor managerial and record keeping skills, to mention a few. They also rely heavily on manual shop operations, slowing down their growth. For these MSEs, however, recording sales have numerous benefits such as providing customer insights and helping them get access to finance from financial institutions. Recognising that Artificial Intelligence is gaining importance in our world today, this paper seeks to explore how to use AI to help improve the sales recording process in MSEs. This paper aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on intelligent systems for efficient records keeping in MSEs and also create a wealth of knowledge about AI and its applications in the retail industry in Ghana and by extension, Africa.