By Robin Holzhauer and Amelia Shaw
[Southern Africa, October 2022] Girls entrepreneurs in three African nations acquired a lift for his or her companies via a seminar with a prime advertising and marketing government from the social media platform WhatsApp, hosted by the U.S. authorities.
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WhatsApp advertising and marketing government Ben Supple led a seminar for greater than 100 girls entrepreneurs throughout Africa in an AWE Linked occasion hosted by the U.S. authorities. |
Greater than 100 alumnae from the U.S.-led initiative Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) tuned in from Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Zambia to listen to WhatsApp’s International Head of Civic Engagement Ben Supple, who talked about how companies can develop their buyer base utilizing WhatsApp – presently some of the common social media platforms in Africa.
Supple’s position on the social media big is to construct strategic partnerships with governments, NGOs and publishers and reality checkers who search to make use of WhatsApp’s enterprise merchandise to interact with residents throughout WhatsApp’s 2.2 billion customers.
In response to the market analysis firm Statista, WhatsApp has greater than 40 million customers in Africa, and tasks this quantity to rise to greater than 66 million by 2025 – partly as a result of the platform gives an inexpensive, simple manner for folks to attach on the continent, says Business Insider Africa. In most African international locations, calling and texting via WhatsApp is less expensive than utilizing the native cellphone service.
The seminar was a part of the AWE Linked speaker collection, a U.S. authorities initiative which brings collectively AWE alumnae throughout the globe and connects them with dynamic U.S. consultants in enterprise and know-how to spur development amongst women-led companies. On this case, the objective was to assist African girls entrepreneurs undertake digital instruments and know-how to allow them to extra simply develop their companies and join with new clients.
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Ben Supple of WhatsApp, (higher left nook) and a number of the contributors on the AWE Linked Digital Advertising seminar. |
Entrepreneurs peppered Supple with questions on a spread of matters, from countering misinformation, to remaining genuine and credible, to staying secure as a girl entrepreneur within the digital world. In addition they requested how WhatsApp charts buyer suggestions and sought recommendation on defending accounts from hackers and ne’er-do-wells.
The session was full of debate on enterprise do’s and don’ts. For instance, one girl entrepreneur in Zimbabwe shared how after she allowed one among her followers to have administrator entry to her WhatsApp group, the follower hijacked the community she had constructed and kicked her out of the group.
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Instance of Tanzanian Catherine Shembilu’s sensible advertising and marketing of her firm Vikapu Bomba – giving a carefree, beachy feeling. |
A number of girls additionally shared their tales of success. Tanzania’s Catherine Shembilu, founding father of Vikapu Bomba, mentioned how utilizing a mix of Instagram, WhatsApp, and different media platforms helps her to raised attain her native viewers, and likewise develop her enterprise into international markets. Shembilu exports her baskets and different woven items to the US and Europe via on-line artisan bazaars like The Little Market.
Bwalya Phakati, the Zambian entrepreneur behind Towani Magnificence Lotions, defined how digital advertising and marketing allowed her to steadily develop her magnificence and private care model, which helps job creation in sub-sectors resembling retail and distribution.
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AWE Alumna Bwalya Phakathi of Zambia makes use of in-person and digital advertising and marketing to efficiently promote her enterprise, creating jobs within the retail sector. |
The AWE Linked session not solely honed the ladies’s skilled abilities, it additionally strengthened the “sisterhood” many alumnae really feel with different AWE graduates of their international locations and world wide.
“Probably the most essential issues I gained via AWE is the community,” says Maphala Phiri, director and founding father of Actual Hair by Lorraine in Zimbabwe. She stated she was impressed to listen to from such a high-ranking WhatsApp government – and get in contact with extra girls entrepreneurs like her.
“I’ve met so many inspiring girls. We have now managed to create a sisterhood, a community of like-minded girls,” Phiri stated. “If I want recommendation, I can merely faucet into our community. In flip, I additionally share my experiences with different girls and encourage them to personal companies.”
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AWE Alumna Lorraine Maphala Phiri runs a hair salon in Zimbabwe and says she felt impressed by WhatsApp – and the AWE community. |
The Academy for Girls Entrepreneurs is a world financial empowerment program established in 2019 by the U.S. Division of State. It supplies girls entrepreneurs with the data, networks, and entry they should launch and scale profitable companies utilizing the web program, DreamBuilder, developed by Arizona State College’s Thunderbird College of International Administration and the Freeport-McMoRan Basis. Working in 100 international locations world wide, AWE has empowered 7,000 girls entrepreneurs in additional than 20 African nations.
The Workplace of the U.S. Speaker Program recruits dynamic American consultants to interact worldwide audiences on matters of strategic significance to the US. Applications are carried out in particular person and thru digital engagement platforms. Key coverage priorities embrace safety resembling countering disinformation and cybersecurity; defeating ISIS and extremist teams; financial prosperity; instructional diplomacy; power safety; and open authorities and civil society. The workplace conducts roughly 650 speaker packages per 12 months.
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