Facebook announced yesterday, the 12th of November, its partnership with RiseUp to bring ‘Boost with Facebook’, its global program designed to help small businesses grow and to equip more people with the digital skills they need to compete in the digital economy. Inaugurated by HE Sahar Nasr, Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, the program is set to support Egypt 2030 digital transformation goals.
‘Boost with Facebook’ aims to train 2,000 SME businesses over a period of six months across Cairo, Upper Egypt and the Delta region. In its initial phases, the program will focus on handcrafts including textile and embroidery, food processing, citizen services, healthcare, agriculture, import and export and engineering; all key contributors to the Egyptian economy.
Within the framework of the program, Facebook professionals will provide “Training of Trainers” (TOT) courses to enable participants to effectively transfer their knowledge and expertise, ensuring that the program’s impact continues to multiply.
In Egypt, 71% of the people are already connected to at least one small or medium online business, and the number continues to grow every day. With 23 million Egyptians using Facebook daily via their mobile, digital marketing and e-commerce skills give businesses an indispensable edge in today’s fast-moving economy.
“Sahar Nasr, Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation underscored her ministry’s efforts and commitment to support entrepreneurs and SMEs, as well as all digital transformation projects, noting that the private sector plays a major role in creating jobs for young people and women.
She invited Facebook and RiseUp to participate in the Investment for Africa Forum 2019, held under the patronage of His Excellency, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, from 22 to 23 November in the New Administrative Capital, which is set to include sessions on entrepreneurs and on investment in human capital”.
“Egypt is one of the region’s fastest growing e-commerce markets owing to a large and dynamic small and medium business (SMB) and startup ecosystem, which we are very excited to support. We know that when SMBs look to hire, people with digital skills are in highest demand. By preparing the workforce in Egypt with the resources they need to gain these skills, we hope to give businesses the resources they need to grow,” said Ramez Shehadi, Managing Director for MENA at Facebook.
“Qualifying to become a Facebook partner is a milestone in RiseUp’s journey. Since its inception six years ago RiseUp has been supporting the advancement of entrepreneurs via partnerships with government and corporate organizations,” said Abdel Hameed Sharara, CEO of RiseUp. “We’ve successfully built a broad base of trust and reach among young Egyptians, allowing us to roll out ‘Boost with Facebook’, the first training program of its kind in the Middle East and Africa.”
As part of its educational offerings to SMBs, Facebook runs its Blueprint e-learning platform for those who want to improve their skills in using digital marketing tools. It contains dozens of free courses – from the simplest ones, explaining the basic principles of creating attractive ads for mobile devices, to more advanced ones, entailing strategic planning and budgeting of advertising campaigns.
All information on training programs, as well as personal stories of entrepreneurs who successfully use those tools in their daily operations, are available over here.