This archive report was first published on 27 November 2019.
On November 27, 2019, Facebook hosted its first conference in Nairobi, bringing together over 400 African developers and startups to discuss the application of emerging innovations to grow businesses.
The forum, dubbed 'Facebook iD8 Nairobi,' focused on cutting-edge technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, messaging, e-commerce, and open source.
According to Facebook, the company has been working closely with enterprises for the past three years to enable them to leverage social media platforms for expansion and to bolster their fortunes.
Proud Dzambukira, Facebook's Product Partnerships Lead for Middle East and Africa, stated that the company is looking to work with more start-ups in adopting Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram applications.
'In messaging, we are seeing huge opportunities for both start-ups and large businesses who would like to discover new opportunities and engage with other businesses and customers,' he said.
Some of the platforms, he noted, such as Messenger and Instagram, enable businesses to interact directly with their customers.
Facebook has also made investments in a storage sharing platform for start-ups, with their apps directly linked to Facebook and Instagram.
Emeka Afigbo, Facebook's Global Head of Developer Programs, announced that the company will start the second Andela programme in 2020, training start-ups and developers in ten countries on technical and non-technical skills.
This followed Facebook's three-month training with Andela in Kenya and Nigeria, where 2,500 individuals went through the programme.
