In a growing effort to bridge the digital divide for small businesses, Port Harcourt-based entrepreneur Dr. Enema Onojah John is applying artificial intelligence (AI) to reshape how entrepreneurs access and deploy marketing tools.
Dr. Enema, a trained pharmacognosist with a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences, founded Zeeg AI, a marketing automation platform built to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) compete in digital markets. Operating from Rivers State, he has expanded the platform’s reach to over 12,000 users across Nigeria, the United States, and parts of Europe.
Zeeg AI offers services such as customer relationship management (CRM), AI-generated content, video and image creation, and marketing strategy automation—features typically used by larger firms with dedicated marketing teams. The platform is designed to simplify these processes for business owners working independently or with small teams.
Before entering the tech space, Dr. Enema focused on natural drug discovery. His doctoral research at a Nigerian university centred on isolating analgesic and antioxidant compounds from Dennettia tripetala. His work has been cited in over 100 academic papers. However, he turned to digital innovation after observing how many Nigerian entrepreneurs struggled to promote and scale their ventures due to a lack of accessible digital tools.
From his base in Port Harcourt, Dr. Enema has gone on to launch additional ventures. These include Flying Mails, an email marketing platform for SMEs, and Legal Bridge Partners LLC, a U.S.-based service helping law firms improve their digital visibility and client acquisition. He also founded Learn Afrique, an online learning platform aimed at equipping Africans with digital marketing and automation skills.
Many of Learn Afrique’s graduates have reportedly gone on to secure freelance roles or start their own digital ventures, contributing to Nigeria’s growing digital economy. The program is also operated from Port Harcourt, reinforcing the city’s position as a budding hub for innovation outside the country’s major tech centers.
Looking ahead, Dr. Enema plans to grow Zeeg AI’s user base in Southeast Asia and the U.S. and continue research in AI-enabled drug discovery through a new project, Phyto AI Innovation.
“Many small business owners are still left out of digital transformation,” he said. “There’s potential for AI to not just improve business outcomes, but also address broader developmental gaps.”
From the laboratories of academia to AI dashboards built in the south of Nigeria, Dr. Enema’s work is part of a broader trend of tech-driven problem-solving emerging from Africa’s secondary cities.
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