Read what Facebook is doing to Celebrate International Women’s Day in On Nigeria

By Ediale Kingsley

In celebration of International Women’s Day, Facebook will host the first of its ongoing series of Boost Your Business trainings for an exclusive group of female entrepreneurs. During the event, guests will take part in a three-hour training that covers everything from brand building and understanding key audiences, to content best practices. The event will conclude with a speed pitch competition airing Live on Facebook where three female entrepreneurs will present their business ideas to a panel of judges for a chance to win a prize.

For 24 consecutive hours, policymakers, female business owners, entrepreneurs, NGOs and leaders around the world will use Facebook Live to share inspiration, impart knowledge and discuss topics of women in business. The first conversation will go Live on March 7 at 17:30 SAT and go around the world for a full day.  The She Leads Africa pitch competition will be featured on their Facebook page at 1:30pm WAT. Tune in to https://www.facebook.com/sheleadsafrica/  to join the conversation.

Boost Your Business is a training initiative developed by Facebook and facilitated by She Leads Africa, designed to train and upskill small business owners on how to leverage digital tools to grow their businesses.  After the March 8 event, ongoing trainings will be held in Lagos, Kaduna, Ibadan, Port Harcourt and Abuja.

“Helping women to start and grow prosperous companies is a powerful way we can transform our society and create equal opportunities for all,” says Nunu Ntshingila, Head of Facebook Africa. “At Facebook, we are enthusiastic about supporting small women-owned businesses in their growth by providing them with a platform that democratises marketing and connects them to customers.”

In Nigeria, the number of new women-owned SMB Pages on Facebook has increased 140 percent between 2015 and 2016, and more than 13X since 2012.