Meta has released its 2021 Africa Year in Review, an infographic capturing some of the company’s investments and initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa this year. The infographic focused on driving innovation, connecting communities, helping businesses to grow and supporting the tech and creator ecosystem.
Through the Facebook Marketplace, Meta has enabled more people to discover, buy and sell items from others in their local communities. The company also undertook digital literacy training, focused on online safety, privacy, news, media literacy and digital citizenship, across eight countries training over 65,000 people.
Alongside 8 local and global partners, Meta recently announced the creation of new branches and a new segment of the subsea cable called 2Africa Pearls, which now connects three continents. These are Africa, Europe, and Asia, making it the longest subsea cable system ever developed at more than 45,000km.
In terms of its economic impact trainings, Meta trained over 80,000 SMEs across 13 countries through our economic impact programs, including Meta Boost, formerly Boost with Facebook, and SheMeansBusiness. So far, 338 young people have graduated through the Digify Pro program, with nearly 70% getting jobs.
Meta’s Blood Donations feature which is now available across 12 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, enables users to sign up to receive blood donation notifications from local blood donation centers.
Other initiatives conducted by Meta this year include Instagram Lite, Instagram Reels, SME WhatsApp Bot and the 2021 Facebook Community Accelerator Program. The latter featured 13 community leaders from Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya, who will receive training, mentorship and up to Ksh. 5.6 million (USD 50,000) in funds to invest in their communities.
Commenting on the Year in Review report, Kezia Anim-Addo, Meta director for communications, Sub-Saharan Africa, said, “This year we’ve witnessed an abundance of talent, growth and resilience from across Africa, despite the many challenges due to the ongoing COVID pandemic. It’s been inspiring to witness the development of various communities, from creators to SMBs and tech innovators, many of whom are using Meta technologies to grow and develop their craft.”