Mastercard : Democratizing Data Analytics And AI To Level The Playing Field For Small Businesses

The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth highlights the importance of democratizing artificial intelligence (AI) to help small businesses, like Azahar Coffee in Colombia, compete in a growing market. Colombia, being the second-largest exporter of coffee, has a unique challenge: keeping the best coffee for its own consumption while also catering to the global market. Azahar Coffee, a small business, aims to stay competitive by using AI to make smarter business decisions. For instance, AI can help the cafe optimize its inventory by analyzing daily sandwich sales, staffing needs based on table occupancy, and customer preferences for milk alternatives. To make AI more accessible to small businesses, three initiatives are being developed with support from Mastercard Strive: 1. Building chatbots: Datasketch, a small social technology company, is piloting chatbot-enabled AI for small businesses in Bogota. The chatbot integrates data from various software platforms, providing AI-powered insights to help businesses make informed decisions. 2. Empowering community business coaches: Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF) and Allies for Community Business (A4CB) are using CRF Insights, a technology innovation that automates the process of compiling financial performance and health trends. The system presents all the information in an easy-to-read dashboard, enabling coaches to help businesses set goals and benchmarks. 3. Helping small businesses compete on sustainability: Vested Impact, with support from Mastercard Strive, is developing an affordable platform to measure a company s impact against U.N. Sustainable Development Goal targets. The platform assesses small businesses based on their activities and impactful data points. These initiatives aim to level the playing field for small businesses by making AI tools more accessible and customized to their needs. The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth is committed to ensuring that everyone benefits from the AI revolution, and they are actively working to involve small businesses in the design process. In conclusion, democratizing AI is crucial for small businesses to compete in a growing market.

Source: menafn.com
Published on 2024-09-20