South African leaders selected for Facebook programme

Facebook’s Community Accelerator has selected 12 sub-Saharan African communities for its programme, with six local pages and groups making it into the initiative.

Overall, the global programme selected 77 community leaders around the world.

Once selected for the programme, participants can receive up to $30 000 in funding from Facebook.

“We’re delighted to be welcoming 12 African community leaders to Facebook’s first Community Accelerator. We’ve seen time and again the power of communities in bringing people closer together and feeling more connected,” Kezia Anim-Addo, Head of Communications for Sub-Saharan Africa, said in a statement.

“We know community leaders can do amazing things when they have adequate support from others, tools to get the job done, funding to grow, and belief in themselves.”

Here are the South African leaders and the groups or pages selected for the accelerator:

Refilwe Nkomo, Visual Arts Network South Africa

Visual Arts Network of South Africa (VANSA) is a Facebook page supporting the development of the visual arts sector. The organisation started in 2007 as a support point and development agency for contemporary art practice in South Africa. It currently has over 7000 members.

Facebook selected VANSA Director Refilwe Nkomo to be part of the accelerator.

Naadiya Moosajee, WomEng

WomEng is a social enterprise that aims to increase gender diversity in the engineering and technology sector in South Africa.

The organisation develops programmes for both schools and companies to address issues facing women in the sector.

Co-founder Naadiya Moosajee will take part in the Facebook Community Accelerator.

Lauren Dallas, Future Females

Future Females‘ Facebook group provides female entrepreneurs a place to network, support each other, and host local events.

The movement also aims to inspire, educate, and support early-stage and aspiring women entrepreneurs.

Facebook selected co-founder Lauren Dallas to take part in the accelerator.

Dillion Phiri, Creative Nestlings

Creative Nestlings describes itself as a marketplace and ed-tech platform that empowers young African creatives and democratises the way they connect, get paid, learn, and grow.

It is both a network for creatives and a research and development company.

Founder Dillion Phiri was selected to take part in the accelerator.

Rufaro Mudimu, Enke

According the Enke website, enke means “ink” in SeTswana and “take it” in SeSotho.

“That’s what we’re about — empowering youth to be authors of their futures by taking opportunities to change their lives and communities (making their mark),” the organisation says.

The organisation takes part in youth skills training, as well as social impact projects.

Enke CEO Rufaro Mudimu was selected to take part in the Facebook Community Accelerator.

Tariro Bure, MINDS

MINDS stands for the Mandela Institute for Development Studies and the thinktank roots its work in African cultural heritage.

“Through our programmes we seek to address the short, medium, and long-term developmental challenges facing Africa in a holistic and comprehensive manner,” the NGO’s website says.

MINDS African Youth Networks Movement Coordinator Tariro Bure will take part in the accelerator.

What the Facebook Community Accelerator includes

So what does the programme include?

“This six-month programme will provide growth-focused training, hands-on mentorship, and funding to communities with demonstrated impact who are ready to reach new people,” Facebook says.

In the EMEA region, the programme also includes Learning Labs, digital classrooms that bring group admins together.

Meanwhile, through the Community Hub, participants can learn more about Facebook tools to reach audiences.

Feature image: Screenshot/Facebook