Facebook has announced the names of 116 winners for its Community Leadership Programme, almost a dozen African community leaders were selected for the Programme
Nunu Ntshingila, regional director of Facebook Africa, said, “Many community leaders worldwide and in Africa turn to Facebook to create connections through Facebook groups, WhatsApp or Messenger. This programme is all about empowering them with the tools, support and funding they need to advance their causes and build their communities.”
Facebook had received more than 6,000 applications from all over the world. A selection committee, which included staff and community experts from outside Facebook, reviewed each application to identify leaders with a strong, clear and committed vision for their community.
Five participants have been selected globally as community leaders in residence and each will be awarded up to US$1mn to fund their community initiative.
Kenya’s Noah Nasiali, the selected leader in residence for Africa, has brought together more than 100,000 farmers across Africa through a Facebook group in less than a year.
“Africa Farmers Club was formed to help farmers come together to access credible, reliable and applicable farming information that will help them develop their skills and most importantly help them to get a market for their produce and in the end get returns for their hard work. I invite group members to share their stories both positive and negative through pictures so that we can learn together,” said Nasiali.
He added, “Our community aims to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goal which is to End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.”
The programme will also host more than 100 fellows and youth participants who will receive up to US$50,000 each to be used for their community initiative.
“Our group of African fellows and our resident represent diverse perspectives from different parts of the continent, but they share a common goal of helping their communities thrive,” said, Ime Archibong, vice-president, product partnerships at Facebook.
