Facebook hosted its first ‘Boost Your Business’ event in Cairo, which took place on Oct 22 at the Nile Ritz hotel, welcoming 400 small and medium business (SMB) owners to learn from businesses that have used Facebook to grow, establish connections, meet with Facebook experts and participate in training.
In Egypt, 23 million people actively use Facebook daily, while 37 million actively use Facebook each month via Mobile. The majority of these – 71 per cent – are connected to at least one local SMB, according to FB data.
“Today, marks the beginning of an exciting journey for Facebook in Egypt. We plan to invest in more people, technology, and programs to help local businesses grow and help people enhance their digital skills. Together we look forward to doing so much for our communities,” said Nashwa Aly, Facebook’s Head of Public Policy for MENA.
“We are proud to host ‘Boost Your Business’ for the first time in Egypt. This is a country rich in talent and we are truly inspired by the tremendous success we’ve seen so many start-ups and entrepreneurs achieve,” added Aly.
“We want to play a bigger role in taking that success to even higher levels. We believe that small and medium businesses have transformational potential and we are here to help them unlock that potential. When they flourish, they brighten economic prospects by creating stronger, more vibrant and more cohesive communities, and this is what Facebook is about.”
Today tens of millions of businesses around the world have harnessed the power of Facebook and Instagram to get started, connect with customers to grow, trade and hire.
Facebook’s diverse and free tools supporting business growth and enhancing digital skills include its new Jobs tool allowing businesses to post new openings, while helping candidates find jobs more easily and allowing them to apply directly on Facebook. They also include solutions like Pages, training programs like Community Boost and free e-learning tools like Blueprint, as well as new digital skills training programs like ‘Boost Your Business’.
On behalf of Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Hossam Othman, Advisor to the Minister for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, delivered the keynote speech highlighting the role of startups and SMBs in driving growth.
“Egypt values the innovative thinking of its youth who are aware of the present and future challenges and work diligently to meet them head on. I am pleased to be here today, witnessing firsthand the evolution and development of the entrepreneurial framework. You are building your own future and the Egyptian government fully backs and supports you. We are fully aware that SMBs are a vital element in the growth of any economy or market, and we consider them our essential partner in our efforts to shift to a digital economy and build a knowledge based society,” according to a statement by the Ministry of CIT.
“The MCIT is working on creating an environment that fosters the growth of a digital economy through several programs and initiatives. Those include setting up a supporting legislative environment through the recently passed IT crimes law; regulating the gathering and use of Egyptians’ personal data and information; encouraging investments in data hosting centers; as well as working on a draft law regulating electronic transaction service providers. All of our efforts are geared towards achieving the necessary balance between digital data protection, driving companies to invest, while preserving the rights of the government,” according to a statement by MCIT.
