Facebook, Afrinolly partner to empower creators with digital skills

By Dennis Erezi |   12 July 2018   |   4:32 pm  

Social media giant Facebook and Nollywood digital viewing platform, Afrinolly have announced plans to empower 3,000 creative entrepreneurs and 2,000 students on digital marketing skills.

Known as Facebook for Creators, the partnership will train artists, photographers, designers, filmmakers, journalism students and others to leverage digital tools to gain more visibility around their work, engage with and grow their audiences.

The Facebook for Creators programme will hold in Abuja, Lagos, Jos and Kaduna and will be free for participants.

Policy Programmes manager, Facebook EMEA, Sherry Dzinoreva said the training aimed at empowering participants with needed skills is an expression of Facebook’s commitment to helping grow the nation’s economy through the creative sector.

“We want to help them make impacts and impact the economic impacts,” Dzinoreva said at a news conference at Facebook Hub, Yaba.

“We remain committed to empowering aspiring entrepreneurs with the necessary skills for them to thrive. It is all about giving knowledge and relevant skills for them to thrive.”

She said the immense potentials in Nigeria informed the decision of choosing entrepreneurs in the creative industry and journalism students to project the potentials to the world through digital marketing through Facebook, Instagram and other tools.

“If you looking at what a creative content could do, it is like selling in a gallery. But the manufacturer or marketer can’t make it to everywhere. With the help of these digital tools, they are open to the whole world and they can market themselves and the potentials of the country.”

Dzinoreva noted that digital platforms will help participants amplify audience and access more opportunities that can be harnessed for tourism purpose. She added that Facebook will monitor the progress of participants and proffer solutions to their challenges.

She added that Facebook will certify journalism students as Blueprint journalists. This, she said, will aid them to find good jobs.

Afrinolly C.E.O, Jane Maduegbuna said the skill empowerment programme will help youths unleash their creativity and contribute their quota in growing Nigeria’s economy through creative contents.

She explained that the training had been properly planned to help participants have a hitch-free practice in their profession.

“You have to tool up to sit at the table with the big boys. This tells us the importance of improving,” Maduegbuna said.

“Self-improvement is how you going to take these tools and go out there and do something great with it. You can just stay the same. It is the most important challenge they are gonna face.”

Also Facebook Media Partnerships representative, Sarah Brown expressed optimism that participants will utilize skills learned during the training to maximally.

“We hope they are confident of using our tools in the best way they can to cover events, engage their audience, developing periodic contents in a way that it will be thoughtful and engaging.”

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