Damiete Braide
Leading social network, Facebook, has restated its commitment to continuously support and invest in the development of various Nigerian communities on its platform, including startups, small and medium businesses, creators, and youths, through its various empowerment programmes.
The company said it was already doing this by equipping future creatives, communities, SMBs and youths with the tools to grow their network on its various platforms, namely Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It also pledged to continue its partnerships with local expert organisations to help people and businesses through its suite of expert training programmess and events.
The company made the pledge yesterday when it hosted Nigerian creatives to an informal evening of food and drinks, as part of activities marking its two-day pop-up event for Nigerian entrepreneurs, tagged It’s Your Facebook, an exclusive preview event aimed at educating users in a fun, interactive space, while also showcasing some of Facebook’s most loved products including Stories, Communities and Watch.
The event which was held at the African Artists Foundation, Victoria Island, Lagos featured multiple training workshops for Nigerian entrepreneurs on how to boost their businesses, use Facebook’s platforms to generate more followers and customers, as well as how to maximize their brands, among others.
The event also featured a Creators Panel made up of popular comedian Bright Okpocha, aka Basketmouth, Nkechi ‘Ink’ Eze of Asoebi Bella, and Hadiza Lawal founder of Woven Blends, a food and style blog.
Giving reasons for the hosting of It’s Your Facebook event in Lagos, Facebook’s Communications Manager for Sub Saharan Africa, Kezia Anim-Addo said Nigeria is important to Facebook, prompting it to bring its first ever pop-up in Africa to the city of Lagos.
“We know that in Nigeria, we see different communities using our platform, for example small businesses that are thriving on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. For our users, the event was really a chance to come down and have our experts give them advice and take them through global best practices, and help to answer their questions, whilst interacting directly. Like all of our ongoing investments, this event was about making a further stamp in Nigeria to say we’re here, and we want to have a long-term impact,” she said, adding, “Facebook’s mission is clear: To give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together, and our mission in Nigeria and Africa is no different. Nigeria is full of amazing talents and entrepreneurs, and it is all about looking at opportunities and building on that using the platforms that we have.”
The event was also an opportunity for the company to take users through some of its services, including how to personalise newsfeeds, carry out security settings and lots more. The event had previously been held in Dublin, Cologne and Dubai.