DURBAN - Facebook will now be offering economic impact programmes to African female-owned small businesses in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Facebook's SheMeansBusiness Program provides support to thousands of female business owners in Nigeria and South Africa. In 2018 Facebook undertook a partnership with She Leads Africa to launch training initiatives across Nigeria to train over 4000 female entrepreneurs with digital skills, but this was just the beginning.
To date, Facebook has trained over 7000 female entrepreneurs in 10 states in Nigeria, and will continue to expand the program in 2020. Last year, Facebook launched the #SheMeansBusiness Program in South Africa targeting to reach 4000 women-owned small and medium-sized businesses and female entrepreneurs across all the nine provinces in South Africa, in partnership with UN Women and a local public-benefit organization, Siyafunda Community Technology Centers.
Facebook has trained over 6500 female entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses in all the nine provinces, hosting over 150 training sessions. From June, the program to Senegal for the first time, in partnership with Smart Ecosystems for Women.
FINDigify Pro: Facebook is committed to building a pipeline of skilled talent to help build digital industries across Africa. We believe in the power of African youth to help drive future economies across Africa. Digital industries can be an important contributor to local economies and we are invested in doing what we can to help build a pipeline of talent to support these industries for future growth.
Aspiring Entrepreneurs Program: This is an in-depth four-week training programme that gives selected entrepreneurs the opportunity to truly master the art of digital marketing, and acquire key skills to take their businesses further. In partnership with the Fate Foundation. Graduates of this programme receive mentorship support and access to business tools and applications.
The social network also launched Facebook Shops which is making it easier for small businesses to set up online stores that customers can access on both Facebook and Instagram.
Creating a Facebook Shop is free and simple. Businesses can choose the products they want to feature from their catalogue and then customise the look and feel of their shop with a cover image and accent colours that showcase their brand. This means any seller move their business online and connect with customers.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE