FEATURE: SKILLS & TRAINING
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Many things have been
said about the future of
Africa and its potential,
with it being called ‘the
Opportunity Continent’,
‘the Next Frontier’
and ‘Africa Rising’. Ime
Archibong, Vice President,
Product Partnerships
at Facebook, says the
excitement comes with
how Africa can, and will,
one day lead in the
digital economy.
A
frica’s young population could
be its greatest asset in an age
where many other regions in
the world are aging as a result
of declining birth rates.
As the world’s human population grows
from 7.4 billion people to 8.2 billion people
between now and 2025, 40% of that
growth will come from Africa, and with more
than 628 million people aged below 24, this
I’VE ALWAYS BEEN SO
INSPIRED BY THE CREATIVITY
AND TALENT ACROSS MY
HOME CONTINENT.
young, dynamic and innovative population
will become one of the most powerful
engines of growth the world has ever seen.
Personally, I’ve always been so inspired by
the creativity and talent across my home
continent – whether it’s creating mobile
phone apps which makes motorcycle taxis
safer and more convenient, like in the case
of Safe Motos in Rwanda and now DRC,
or building technological solutions to solve
agricultural challenges, like Plantheus, a
recent graduate of Facebook’s NG_Hub
Accelerator Program. We see people,
especially the youth, building solutions daily
to local problems and needs.
As eager and early adopters of technology,
we’ll likely see the next wave of global digital
innovations and apps coming from the
continent and taken to the rest of the world.
Adoption of social media, mobile phones
and mobile money are enabling Africa and
its youth to leapfrog to the next wave of
digital technology. This infrastructure is the
foundation upon which so much innovation
in Africa is built and will be built over the
next five years.
At Facebook, we’re committed to
empowering young people to build their
digital skills and harness them for the
future – whether they are digital builders,
developers or product innovators. I’m
delighted that we will be recognising just
some of these talents from across the region.
Bringing together over 40 Facebook
Community Leaders, SMBs, entrepreneurs,
developers and content creators from across
Sub-Saharan Africa, under the banner of
‘Celebrating Icons of Change and the Future
of the Continent’ – we are celebrating the
positive impact they are having in their
community, something which is important to
us here at Facebook.
Our commitment across the region
remains strong, and Africa continues to
be important for us, with this building on
Celebrating Africa’s
digital potential
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