Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Mauritius, and Kenya, according to a Genesis Analytics report, social media platforms assist accelerate economic growth and opportunities across the continent.
The African continent’s economy is primarily reliant on small and medium-sized businesses, which form its backbone.
The report demonstrates that digital platforms may play a crucial part in the continent’s development, since many countries throughout the continent have begun their digital transformation.
SMBs are the vehicle for achieving young employment, gender parity, and intra-regional commerce in Africa, according to the findings of a study done by Genesis Analysis.
According to the report, surveyed SMBs that utilize Facebook apps had a younger workforce, with 45% of employees under 30.
Furthermore, SMBs utilizing Facebook applications were more likely to be controlled by women, whereas manufacturing SMBs identified the opportunity to reach new overseas markets as the most useful benefit of the apps.
“84% SMBs said that Facebook apps have been helpful for their business growth,” said Kojo Boakye, Director of Africa Public Policy at Facebook. This reaffirms our commitment to giving people with the tools and training they need to utilize Facebook apps to improve employment, income, gender equity, and trade.”
“The Genesis Analytics survey sheds much-needed light on how small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) on the continent are using digital tools and platforms,” said Ryan Short, Partner at Genesis Analytics.
It demonstrates empirically that the use of digital tools can enhance intra-African trade by bringing more women into the formal economy, increasing economic opportunity for young people, and bringing more women into the formal sector.
We implore politicians and digital platforms to recognize these opportunities and to create the best possible climate for SMBs to prosper through the use of digital tools and social media.”
The report also noted the challenges to increased adoption that governments may need to focus on in order to drive considerable growth, including high internet and data costs, as well as a lack of trust in data privacy.
To overcome these obstacles, governments and private firms will need to work together to create a digital environment that will enable small businesses to take advantage of Africa’s vast prospects.
Download full report here.
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