African influencers trained and supported by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram
Meta seeks to retain African influencers to its social networks (Facebook, Instagram) in the face of the rise of competitors. © LIONEL BONAVENTURE / AFP
Text by: Dominique Desaunay Follow
3 min
Meta has decided to support the new generation of African content creators. These training and awareness campaigns on the proper use of social networks take place in the form of online competitions. They were launched by the American firm in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Meta's goal is to create an online ecosystem described by the firm as positive, in which influencers on the continent can express themselves freely, develop their creativity, while generating revenue through their activities.
However, content creators are encouraged to adopt more responsible influencing practices. They are required, for example, to label content that is the subject of paid partnerships on Instagram or Facebook social platforms or to indicate what gifts have been given to them by brands. Meta intends to lead a reinforced fight against attempted abuse on its social platforms, in collaboration with the competent authorities in African countries, says the firm.
Recognized influencers
These campaigns launched at the beginning of the year by Meta, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, were relayed by influencers recognized for the quality of their publications.
This is the case, for example, of Thierno Gueye, Senegalese influencer and entrepreneur who shares on Instagram his passion for African cuisine, fashion, especially that for the new models of Boubou, the traditional Senegalese dress. Thierno also created his company called Agri Influence, a technological support system for small and medium-sized agri-food processing enterprises in West Africa.
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A post shared by Gueye Ceddo (@thierno__gueye)
He explains how he became the ambassador of the campaigns organized by Meta in his country: "I participated in an online contest organized by Meta by sharing videos on Instagram that highlighted African and Senegalese fashion currently mixing "tradi" and modern. The videos were shot in an emblematic place of my country: the Gorée, a beautiful island that is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is thanks to this content that Meta contacted me as part of a campaign called "Made by Africa, Loved by the World".
This activity is a real plus for him. "This participation also allowed me to monetize my online content," explains Thierno Gueye. This is not negligible when we know that the activities of an entrepreneur in Senegal are not always easy. These online activities allow me to have additional sources of income. My community on Instagram is quite diverse, some connect to watch the evolutions of fashion, culture or learn or discover traditional African cuisine. My online space now attracts a fairly wide and diverse spectrum of visitors from Africa, but also from all over the world.
»Coping with the Rapid Rise of TikTok
With these operations on the continent, Meta can restore its image. Several digital rights groups are calling on Meta Platforms to improve content moderation in Africa after its main third-party contractor in Kenya said it would no longer filter harmful posts on behalf of the social media giant.
In addition, the American firm in Africa now finds itself in competition with the Chinese social network TikTok, which continues to expand its audience with 33 million users over the age of 18 in North Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa, they are already estimated at about 12 million. These figures are still far from the 250 million African subscribers attributed to Facebook. But the rapid progression of TikTok on the continent gives some cold sweats to the American giant.
► Read also: Interview - Personal data: "TikTok must respect Senegalese rules"
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