Facebook Good Ideas Festival puts spotlight on small businesses

The festival kicked off on Tuesday, 6 July, in collaboration with The International Trade Centre to celebrate the United Nations Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) Day with content focused on how small businesses can rebuild and recover from the economic downturn brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Throughout the festival, the programming will include inspirational and educational stories, featuring influencers like Kim Jayde and local small and medium businesses like One of Each. Jayde and the One of Each team are the only African SMBs and creators participating in the global campaign. They’ll be teaming up with Facebook business experts to help small businesses strengthen their marketing strategies — while having a bit of fun in the process.

Says Nunu Ntshingila, Facebook Africa’s regional director, “As South Africa faces the third Covid-19 wave and tougher lockdown restrictions, we are more committed than ever to helping small businesses with good ideas to grow and thrive. Through programmes such as the Good Ideas Festival, we want to help SMBs to tap into the power of digital channels as a means to innovate during these difficult times.”

Putting a spotlight on SA SMBs

Facebook’s recent Global State of Small Business Report revealed that one in two SMBs in South Africa had yet to see revenues recover to pre-pandemic levels, even before the renewed Level 4 lockdown as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 27 June 2021. Knowing the courage it took for these businesses to stay open, Facebook wanted the Good Ideas Festival to put a spotlight on the incredible resilience of some of those businesses.

In a new digital show called Found on Facebook, you can tune in to see how inspiring businesses like Cape Town-based One of Each are finding new ways to grow and thrive through adversity. Owned by mother-and-daughter design duo, Tamburai and Pauline Chirume, One of Each is a growing fashion business that uses ethnic prints, leather and all-natural fibres to create one-of-a-kind handbags and accessories that are pieces of art.

“We’re looking forward to sharing our journey with other SMBs from across the world, along with some concrete digital marketing tips and techniques we have learned through experience, such as building solid relationships through engaging with our community on social media platforms provided by Facebook which has been beneficial for customer retention ” says Tamburai Chirume of One of Each. “As we continue to navigate the road to recovery, digital platforms like the Facebook apps are valuable tools for finding new customers and creating revenue streams.”

Digital skills and training

Adds Jayde, “I’m excited to play a part in Boost with Facebook Good Ideas Festival and am proud to be one of the only Africans participating in this global campaign. I believe our food, fashion and locations are so special and worth celebrating. Over the years, Instagram has helped me to build my personal brand and career online. In addition to sharing what I’ve learned, I’m looking forward to hearing about the amazing stories of innovation, creativity and resilience from small businesses in South Africa and around the world.”

Throughout the festival, Facebook will serve up doses of inspiration covered and educational content. You’ll have ongoing access to free digital skills training and interactive workshops that will help you learn creative new ways to grow your networks, sell goods online and more. Facebook is also partnering with companies like Adobe, BigCommerce, Canva and Intuit to offer skills training and thought leadership on topics like pricing strategy, design tips, content creation and more.

Participate in the festival on the Facebook for Business and Instagram for Business feeds, or starting July 16, you can watch the inspirational and educational content on your own time and at your own pace at Fb.com/goodideasfestival.

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