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AI Chatbot Building for Small Businesses

Build AI chatbots that answer customers 24/7 — and charge Nigerian SMEs to set them up.

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About this course

Learn to build a no-code AI chatbot that handles customer questions and sales on WhatsApp, a website, or Instagram — trained on a business's real FAQs and catalogue, with a clean handoff to a human when it matters. By the end you can design, test, deploy, and sell chatbot setups as a paid service to Nigerian small businesses, charging ₦80,000–₦300,000 per project plus monthly retainers.

A chatbot answers the same questions instantly, 24/7, so the human only handles what truly needs a person. Done well, customers can't tell they started with a bot — done badly, it's worse than nothing.

What you'll learn

Course syllabus — 7 lessons

  1. When a chatbot actually helps (and when it makes things worse)12 min
  2. The toolbox: ManyChat, Chatbase, Botpress and WhatsApp options14 min
  3. Training your bot: the FAQ and catalogue knowledge base14 min
  4. Designing the conversation and handing off to a human14 min
  5. Deploying on WhatsApp, your website, and Instagram13 min
  6. Testing, measuring and improving a live bot12 min
  7. Selling chatbot setup as a paid service to Nigerian SMEs15 min

Your project

Build a Working (or Fully Specified) AI Chatbot for a Nigerian Business

One shared link containing: a business description + chosen tool with reasoning; an FAQ knowledge base (8+ Q&A) and a 4+ item priced catalogue; a mapped conversation flow with a clearly specified human-handoff path; a working bot link OR a precise deploy plan; and a short test report with at least 2 improvements.

Certificates on Skillnaija are earned, not issued for attendance: you submit this project, it is graded against a rubric, and passing issues a certificate anyone can verify.

Frequently asked questions

Is AI Chatbot Building for Small Businesses free?

Yes. AI Chatbot Building for Small Businesses is completely free on Skillnaija. You need a free account to open the lessons, and there is no charge for the course, the project, or the certificate.

How long does AI Chatbot Building for Small Businesses take to complete?

5 weeks · ~4 hrs/week. There are 7 lessons, about 2 hours of material in total. You learn at your own pace and your progress is saved.

Do I need any experience to start AI Chatbot Building for Small Businesses?

Beginner-friendly. You can start from scratch — no prior experience is assumed.

What will I learn in AI Chatbot Building for Small Businesses?

You will build practical skills in Knowing when a chatbot helps (and when it hurts), No-code chatbot tools: ManyChat, Chatbase, Botpress, Training a bot on FAQs and a product catalogue, Designing conversation flows and human handoff, Deploying on WhatsApp, websites, and Instagram, Testing and improving a live bot, Selling chatbot setup as a paid service to SMEs. Every lesson is written for a Nigerian context, with examples drawn from how the work is actually done and paid for here.

Do I get a certificate for AI Chatbot Building for Small Businesses?

Yes, but it has to be earned. You complete the course project — Build a Working (or Fully Specified) AI Chatbot for a Nigerian Business and submit it for grading. Passing the project issues a verifiable certificate; finishing the lessons alone does not.

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It's free, it's self-paced, and it ends with something you can show an employer.

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