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Facebook MENA celebrates the spirit of Egypt’s entrepreneurs at the Rise Up Summit 2015
Published Dec 20, 2015
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Participating at the Rise Up Summit, one of the MENA region’s leading entrepreneurship events, Facebook reiterated its commitment to local entrepreneurs and businesses in Egypt. The Internet is an essential driver of growth and jobs around the world, and entrepreneurs and businesses in Egypt realize this. A group of Facebook employees spent time in Egypt to talk about innovation, jobs and women leadership at the Rise Up Summit.
Facebook in Egypt
Today 26 million Egyptians connect to their friends, families and the things that matter most to them through Facebook. Facebook connects people and businesses to reach people around the world, bringing wide reach and high user engagement to businesses of all. Technology also brings opportunity for entrepreneurs to build a business no matter where their office may physically be.
Entrepreneurs and SMEs are the backbone of economies, and this is certainly true in Egypt. On Facebook, more than 71% of Egyptians who use Facebook are connected to a SME (as of the second quarter of 2015).
“Egypt is home to a thriving ecosystem of entrepreneurs, who are adopting the latest in technology to not only achieve their entrepreneurial ambitions, but contribute to the future of Egypt’s growth. The enthusiasm and passion we’ve seen from Egyptian entrepreneurs is inspiring, and we look forward to partnering to support this nation’s start-up growth,” said Ashraf Zeitoon, Head of Policy for Facebook MENA.
Free Basics with Etisalat
Etisalat Egypt recently launched Free Basics by Facebook, a programme that brings relevant basic internet services without data charges to people in growing countries. To date more than 3 million people connect to the internet on their mobile devices using the Free Basics application, a third of whom have come online for the first time.
The program is making a positive impact on people’s lives by providing free health, education, and economic information. Everywhere around the world, there’s greater urgency about creating jobs, and technology is an essential driver of growth and jobs. For example, Free Basics in Egypt includes Forasna, a local website to find jobs, which has seen a significant increase in job applications since its launch.
Smartphone penetration in Egypt remains low at 12% but internet mobile adoption is 64%, making it important for information to be available for feature phones and other basic devices.
“When people are connected, they can achieve extraordinary things as individuals and as a community. Connectivity brings opportunity for people and we see this firsthand around the world – we’ve seen incredible early uptake here in Egypt,” said Chris Daniels Vice President, Internet.org.
The Mobile-Powered Economy in Egypt
This adoption of mobile led solutions has not only impacted the global economy, but has spurred the growth of innovators and entrepreneurs. A 2014 report by Deloitte, titled ‘Facebook’s Global Economic Impact’, analyses how Facebook’s marketing, platform, and connectivity effects have facilitated growth and jobs around the world. The study estimates that the company, with an approximately $8 billion cost base, enabled global economic impact of $227 billion and 4.5 million jobs around the world in 2014.
The shift to a mobile first world is already underway, and in the MENA region it isn’t more obvious than in Egypt. Mobile phones are helping businesses and content creators make the internet more useful for the millions of Egyptians who are beginning to experience the internet for the first time ever.
Perihan AbouZeid’s Moviepigs, a website based in Cairo for indie film fans who can go to find, fund & watch awesome international films, launched a video campaign which drove daily user reach from mid hundreds to over 40 thousand, and weekly reach increased by ~370%.
As technology and mobile adoption grows in Egypt, women in the country are inspiring change as entrepreneurs for the region. “As a woman from the region, I am immensely proud to see mothers, wives, sisters and daughters, using technology to contribute to the local economy. Technology not only connects them to opportunities across the world, but is also helping them engage with the younger generation of Egyptian women who I hope will one day become entrepreneurs themselves,” said Amira Rashad, Head of Brand, Facebook MENA.
Around the world, Facebook is used by 1.55 billion people. Today the MENA region is home to 114 million people on Facebook and more than 100 million people who use the platform on mobile. Facebook’s solutions for feature phones and low bandwidth regions include Slideshow and Facebook Lite.
Posted by
VMD - [Virtual Marketing Department]
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