RYAN CHIGOCHE
A technology company, Meta has pledged to assist Small to Medium-sized Businesses who are using their technologies to ‘“rebuild’’ and “re-engineer’’ their business amid the health and economic crisis that has crippled most African countries as a result of the ravaging effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the recently launched Changemakers Campaign, Meta Africa regional director Nunu Ntshingila said technology was instrumental in uplifting small to medium businesses to become organised firms particularly during this pandemic period.
“We’re proud to play a role in this transformation. Our recent study conducted by Genesis Analytics has indicated that 84% of African Small to medium businesses that use Meta technologies have reported them to be critical in the growth of their business,” Ntshingila said.
“More so, 77% indicated that their business is stronger today because of our technologies. It’s important for us to help SMBs and people who are using Meta technologies as they rebuild, re-engineer, and recover from the ongoing pandemic and economic crisis.
“We believe, as these Changemakers have shown, that digital tools and solutions can empower small to medium sized businesses and creators to find new customers, create revenue streams, ultimately, reinvent their businesses for a time of flux and change.”
The Covid-19 pandemic has been more than a health crisis. The pandemic has proved to be more an economic crisis that has severely impacted small to medium-sized businesses, creators, and entrepreneurs.
As a result of the pandemic, creators and the small businesses faced a challenge of a lifetime, but they made commendable efforts to adapt to the new normal by moving online through using Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to innovate, as they were looking to combat the challenges put forward by the pandemic.
Meta, which owns the three social media networks, launched the Changemakers Campaign to illustrate, with a collection of 6 short films the innovative spirit of six inspirational creators and small to medium-sized businesses from Zimbabwe and across Southern Africa who positively impacted the community with their creative minds when the whole world was at a standstill.
The six short films by Meta provide a glimpse into the lives of the Changemakers and celebrate their resilience during this unprecedented time.
Of the six in the short film, the two who were from Zimbabwe were Maxwell Chimedza who looked to Facebook and WhatsApp to educate students, when schools closed in Zimbabwe.
This increased the demand for his WhatsApp classrooms as pandemic-related restrictions have also affected the education sector, and teachers needed to adapt.
This year, Chimedza captured attention locally after his class of 64 WhatsApp students obtained 41 A-grade marks.
The other one was Kerita Choga who launched an errand-running service called Tuma Kerri, in November 2020 and today the business serves hundreds of customers mostly from the diaspora who want to deliver goods to family and friends in Zimbabwe or get other chores done.
Since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, small businesses the world over have been banking on social media to carry them through.
Reaching customers on Facebook, Instagram and other digital platforms has become crucial for companies contending with capacity restrictions and cautious consumers.
