Facebook has today announced the 12 African community leaders who have been selected to join its Community Accelerator.
Facebook’s Community Accelerator program is a six-month program that aims to equip communities with the training, mentorship, and funding they need to grow. It brings together leaders who are helping building communities around the globe.
The program is part of the global Facebook Community Leadership initiative launched in 2018. This year’s program invited leaders around the world to join in March.
Now that the results are out, Facebook has selected a total of 12 community leaders in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, which includes Kenya. Only two (Bright Shiitemii and Esther Mwikalii) were selected from Kenya.
Bright is the founder of Mental 360, a platform to learn about mental health and illness and to access affordable holistic solutions. Esther founded Metta NBO, an entrepreneurs’ network meant to bring together founders, policymakers, and investors to collaborate.
In total, 77 community leaders were selected around the world. The selected community leaders are to receive up to $30,000 in funding, with up to $3 million set aside for that purpose.
The first three months of the program involve learning from experts and coaches. At the same time, the leaders will be developing customized curriculums focused on growing their own communities.
“We’re delighted to be welcoming 12 African community leaders to Facebook’s first Community Accelerator. We’ve seen time and again the power of communities in bringing people closer together and feeling more connected,” said Kezia Anim-Addo, Head of Communications for Sub-Saharan Africa.
“The Facebook Community Accelerator will enable these great communities to make an even greater positive impact in the world, and we hope that through the support of the program these communities will have an extraordinary impact, even in extraordinary times.”
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