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Facebook’s quest to build communities rather than just a social platform where people interact with one another, is about to find expression in a small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) Council in Nigeria.
There are 22 million active Facebook users in Nigeria with 1.2 million coming online on a daily basis. It is also important to note that a majority of that audience are connected to one or two businesses online. Also a significant part of these audience own a business that require using Facebook as a strategic platform for online marketing.
The Facebook Council was recently launched in Nigeria – the first to launch in Africa – as part of the social network’s commitment to help support SMEs throughout Nigeria.
The Council was launched globally in the US in 2014. The Nigerian SME Council joins 10 SME Councils across the globe including North America, Ireland, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Poland, India and Brazil.
The Nigerian SME Council is made up of 15 small-to-medium sized business owners in varying sectors and locations across Nigeria, including Lagos, Abuja and Enugu and Kano.
The Council members meet a minimum of twice a year with Facebook and Instagram teams to discuss successes and challenges, business ideas and solutions.
In a statement released to BusinessDay, the company explained that the Nigerian SME Council brings together Facebook’s Africa’s SME team and Nigerian business owners from a range of industries, in a partnership designed to provide better digital tools for business and customer growth.
“Small businesses form the backbone of most of the thriving economies in the world, driving sustainable growth and creating jobs, and those in Nigeria are no different,” said Abi Williams, SMB Sales Manager, EMEA. “Facebook is strategically positioned to help SME’s grow their businesses, and with a vibrant SME sector, Nigeria was a natural choice in launching our very first SME Council on the African continent.”
Williams also disclosed that over 35 million people living in other countries are connected to a Nigerian business via Facebook, confirming Nigeria as a global market.
