WhatsApp has launched the WhatsAppreneurs campaign, which will feature small business owners from Africa who are utilizing the WhatsApp Business app to expand their business and reach new clients.
According to statistics compiled by The Guardian on Statista, 91.9 percent of Nigerians used the platform for some purpose in Q3 2021.
WhatsApp was also discovered to have been downloaded over five billion times on iOS/Android; 13 million times in April 2021 alone; available in over 180 countries and 60 languages; 100 billion messages sent on the platform every day; used by 54% of millennials and over a third of baby boomers on a daily basis; and generated an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion in 2020, up from an estimated $0.2 billion in 2016. WhatsApp is used by over 2 billion people in over 180 countries to remain in touch with friends and family at any time and from anywhere.
WhatsApp noted that the new campaign would highlight the tales of African SMB owners and help them and others like them learn more about the WhatsApp Business app’s business growth potential through a virtual educational webinar.
“Across Africa, small and medium company owners are utilizing the WhatsApp Business app to build their business, exhibit their products, close deals, and engage with their consumers,” Balkissa Ide Siddo, Public Policy Director for Africa, said of the start of the WhatsAppreneurs campaign. The WhatsApp Business app is a tool that can assist businesses in thriving in their marketplaces, reaching out to more customers, and continually growing their operations. We are ecstatic to be a part of the success stories of small enterprises that are so vital to African communities.”
Small businesses make up a significant portion of the economy, according to WhatsApp, and they have a lot of potential for growth, opportunity creation, and overcoming poverty post-pandemic. As a result, there is a need to provide support through digital tools to help them scale.
The WhatsAppreneur initiative, according to the platform, aims to provide businesses with the resources they need to unlock their growth potential and contribute to the creation of a more resilient, inclusive, and empowered society.
“In addition to assisting businesses in growing, the WhatsApp Business app allows enterprises to build a much deeper and stronger relationship with their clients, frequently beginning with real-time 1:1 chat interactions, rather than transactional phone calls or SMSs.” It added that “the WhatsApp Business app is free and allows users to develop a business catalogue on WhatsApp that can be viewed by users from anywhere.”
