Meta has said it trained over 107,000 participants in its digital literacy programme for responsible and safe use of digital platforms in over 26 African countries in 2022.
The firm disclosed this in its ‘2022 key milestones in Africa’ report. According to it, the participants were youths, educators, and the general public, and were trained through its ‘My Digital World’ programme. It also noted that it trained over 80,000 Small and Medium Businesses and non-profits across Sub-Saharan Africa through its various economic and social impact programmes.
Commenting, Country Director SSA, Meta, Enitan Denloye, said, “We remain invested in Africa and the various communities we support here in the region.
“Our work continues to be rooted in giving people the power to build community, whilst bringing the world closer together – whether as SMBs, creators or tech innovators. We believe Africa, and the immense talent this region holds will continue to play a key role in Meta’s journey.”
Highlighting some of the milestones for the year, the firm said it launched Facebook Reels across 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to help creators monetise their crafts, connect with, and discover new audiences in News Feed and Groups.
“Rolled out Facebook Protect in Mauritius and South Africa, a programme designed to provide increased protections around the world for journalists, activists and human rights defenders. #StaySafeOnInstagram in Ghana and Nigeria — Unveiled an education campaign focused on enabling users to take steps to protect their accounts from phishing and hacking.”
It added that collaborated with eight local and global partners to announce the landing of the 2Africa subsea cable system to Genoa, Italy which now connects three continents — Africa, Europe, and Asia making it the most extended subsea cable system ever developed at more than 45,000 kilometres.
“AMBER Alerts in Nigeria — In partnership with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, launched AMBER Alerts, a programme aimed at helping to find abducted children by sending AMBER Alerts to the local Facebook and Instagram community.”
Recently, the firm announced plans to manage and control how it would be used during the 2023 election cycle. Also, in 2022, Meta, like many technology firms announced a mass layoff of 11,000 workers.
The firm did not give specific regional information concerning those affected by the layoff.
Source: The Punch
