AI for home services: Santam-owned Kandua launched Jess, South Africa’s AI home companion that helps homeowners diagnose issues and “Book a Job” with vetted providers—aimed at boosting trust and opportunity for small service businesses. SMB discoverability: Monstarlab’s MonPage lets people and small businesses build and manage a website by chatting on LINE (and Telegram), removing the need for coding or design skills. AI search for SMBs: Omni Search Labs is targeting “search everywhere optimization,” building tools for small businesses to be found in AI-driven search. SMB operations, not chatbots: A new take argues the biggest AI win is improving day-to-day operations—orders, inventory, pricing, and customer issues—so growth doesn’t collapse into manual chaos. Capital access pressure (Zimbabwe): A Zimbabwe-focused piece flags access to capital as the main reason many entrepreneurs don’t scale beyond local markets. Power sector reforms (Nigeria): Nigeria’s electricity overhaul is gaining traction via debt reduction and metering, with reforms aimed at unlocking investment and improving supply for households and businesses. Energy finance for SMEs (Cambodia): ADB-backed Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund will expand access to financing for energy-efficient tech investments by local SMEs. Local business ecosystems: A Michigan platform (MI Small Business Helper) is trying to centralize grants, training, and licensing info so founders spend less time hunting resources. Community commerce: Oʻahu event organizers say their markets and festivals are driving steady foot traffic for hundreds of local vendors and small businesses.