Abstract
A standard business training program is classroom-based and teaches a range of better business practices. Evaluations of these programs show mixed evidence, particularly in developing countries, and highlight that selection matters. Additionally, there are concerns around the inability to adapt content to the specific needs of the businesses and the high costs of training. It is thus important to find ways to share customized knowledge, reduce the cost of training, and identify policies to help the most dynamic entrepreneurs grow. To deal with these concerns, this project focuses on teaching high-growth-potential microenterprise owners how to use generative AI, specifically ChatGPT, for their business activities.
We aim to use a randomized control trial to study how training business owners in using ChatGPT to then in turn train themselves affects their productivity and entrepreneurial success. We aim to explore this question in the context of Pakistan, a lower-middle-income country in South Asia. Given the varying entrepreneurial challenges and opportunities that men and women encounter in a developing country like Pakistan, we also plan to conduct a heterogeneity analysis to dissect the impact of this AI-based training intervention through the gender lens.