Livity Africa announces collaboration with Facebook

Johannesburg, March 8, 2017 Livity Africa is excited to announce a collaboration with Facebook to deliver digital training for young entrepreneurs to help accelerate their businesses.

From direct, deep-impact experiences for entrepreneurs to short bursts of digital skills training for small businesses to become effective very quickly, this partnership builds on the “network effect” of the Digify programme, which was launched in South Africa in 2014 (and in Nigeria and Kenya in 2016).

The programme aims to train entrepreneurs throughout South Africa over a course of six months. Coaching, which will be provided by Livity Africa’s Digify trainers, will be deeply immersive and supported by ongoing training from Facebook.

Digify, the digital training initiative delivered by Livity Africa has received support from Google, the Rockefeller Foundation and British Council, and last year trained an astounding 70 000 digital hustlers.

Livity Africa’s partnership with Facebook sees the birth of an entirely new bespoke and deeper-impact focused learning for entrepreneurs developed by the two organisations. Using Facebook’s platform and tools such as Blueprint, which is the company’s global training and certification programme designed to help businesses reach their own goals their own way, entrepreneurs will benefit from an integrated training approach that bridges technology and skills around financial planning, budgeting, social media, digital marketing and more.

In a move to stimulate and connect small businesses in Africa, Facebook’s Ebele Okobi, Public Policy Director Africa, says: “Facebook is passionate about the power of technology to help people create content, develop innovative services and products for their communities, as well as build businesses that create jobs and opportunity. Through this programme, we aim to help entrepreneurs use social platforms to tell their business story, connect with their audiences and generate demand for their products. In partnership with stakeholders such as Livity Africa, we can help young entrepreneurs develop successful businesses”

Digital literacy has completely disrupted life on the African continent from digital innovations such as mobile money tools like M-Pesa to galvanizing and organizing a crowd to drive social change. Digify’s aim is to create effective training offerings around South Africa that can accelerate early-stage businesses into sustainable entities using digital skills and tools.

The newly developed programme includes three core elements with curricula developed specifically for each:

  1.     Digify Pro Start Up: a deep impact six-week training module for start-up entrepreneurs to accelerate their businesses using digital skills and tools.
  2.     Boost Your Business: one-day training interventions helping young entrepreneurs enhance their hustle with digital skills and tools.
  3.     Digify for Entrepreneur ‘TTT’ (train the trainer): a booster course for Digify Pro graduates with the aim of equipping them with the skills needed to become trainers of the Bytes for Business programme.

“We will create a sustainable, youth-led approach where by investing in talented, entrepreneurial youth, we will create ‘multipliers of impact’ who can help sustain and grow the learning of thousands of others,” said Livity Africa founder and MD, Gavin Weale. “Our approach is focused on how existing businesses, at whatever stage and size, can leverage digital skills and tools to accelerate themselves, powered by Facebook. There is huge opportunity here for young people in South Africa to create their own livelihoods with these digital skills”

Digify Pro Start-up will be offered for 20 select entrepreneurs.

If you’re interested in applying, follow us on our Digify Africa Facebook page or Livity Africa Facebook page for more details.

For more information on the programme, please contact Qhakaza Mthembu [email protected]

ABOUT LIVITY AFRICA

Livity Africa is a youth-led, non-profit organisation that provides vocational, on-the-job training in content creation (Live Academy), digital marketing skills and business entrepreneurship (Digify). The Shuttleworth Foundation supported in launching Livity Africa in 2011.

We believe that if society is truly going to change, then young people must lead the change themselves. We believe in young people going out into the world and turning it on its head.

We exist to work with young people and for young people; to harness and accelerate their ability to create their own sustainable livelihoods – with a voice, a living and freedom to be their best selves.

Our digital platforms and campaigns for social change through projects such as Voting is Power and Project Demo, amplify authentic youth voices to drive a new narrative of what it means to be a young person on a changing continent. Our digital campaigns and youth engagement programmes are co-created to deliver genuine opportunity for young people to create their own sustainable futures.

Since inception, Livity Africa has partnered with Google, Absa, Rockefeller Foundation, The British Council to train more than 100 000 people in digital marketing.

ABOUT FACEBOOK

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