Majority of Facebook users in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria connect to small businesses

The majority of Facebook users in Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria use the platform to connect with small businesses. This is according to new statistics released by the social networking giant, which revealed that 63% of Kenya’s Facebook users connect to SMEs, 61% in South Africa and 54% in Nigeria. By introducing new features to Facebook Pages over the last few months, the California-based company is hoping to further drive customer-to-business engagement on its platform.

“With more than a billion people visiting Pages on Facebook every month, Pages are the best place for businesses, and in particular small businesses, to reach the people who care about their business and want to learn more exactly where they are — on mobile,” says Helen Smyth, SME community engagement for Facebook.

Besides introducing the ability for brands to send customers direct messages, Facebook has also updated its Call-to-action buttons on Pages. Appearing in the Cover Photo section, this feature aims to help businesses accomplish specific goals through their Page.

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Facebook has also included the ability for businesses to add sections to their Pages, in order to drive ecommerce on its platform.

The new Shop section, for instance, helps retail businesses bring their products to the forefront of their Page, while the new Services section enables professional services businesses to showcase a list of their offerings at the top of their Page.

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“For people on Facebook who want to learn about or interact with a business, a business’s presence on Facebook is the best place to do this because it the simplest way to find all the information you need or take action, where you already spend time, and because it is a place to have a genuine and trustworthy interaction with the businesses you care about” Smyth adds.

Smyth says that Facebook is committed to help the 45 million businesses with better ways to achieve their goals.

New data as of May this year further shows that the potential for businesses to reach audiences via Facebook is growing in certain African countries:

Kenya

• 2.2 million total daily active users (DAUs)
• 2.1 million mobile DAU
• 4.5 million total monthly active users (MAUs)
• 4.3 million mobile MAU (95% of MAUs)

South Africa

• 7.3 million total daily active users (DAUs)
• 7 million mobile DAU
• 12 million total monthly active users (MAUs)
• 12 million mobile MAU (100% of MAUs)

Nigeria

• 7.1 million total daily active users (DAUs)
• 6.9 million mobile DAU
• 15 million total monthly active users (MAUs)
• 15 million mobile MAU (100% of MAUs)