Continuing on from the commitment to train 50,000 people throughout 2018, Facebook rolls out a series of training dates specially designed for entrepreneurs and Small and Medium-sized Businesses in Port Harcourt:

Boost Your Business
A free one-day course in making the most of digital tools to grow businesses and make meaningful connections with potential consumers.
Run in partnership with Digivate360, this training session will take attendees through the fundamentals of developing social media skills to help unlock new audiences, including; setting up a Facebook page, understanding ads and creating engaging video content.

Digivate 360: Boost Your Business training – July 14th
Organisations interested in arranging trainings for their members or groups, can contact the various training partners:
For Digivate 360 – http://www.digivate360.com/boost-your-business/
For people interested in attending one of the Boost your Business sessions should email: [email protected].

WhatsApp has officially introduced the ‘forward message indicator’ chats to make it clear when a user has received a forwarded message.

The new feature announcement was made via a WhatsApp blog post around which time the feature will roll out to 100 per cent.

The WhatsApp feature indicates which messages have been forwarded to you upon receipt, it will also help make one-on-one and group chats easier to follow. It helps you determine if your friend or relative wrote the message they sent or if it originally came from someone else.

To see this new forwarded label, you need to have the latest supported version of WhatsApp on your phone.

The feature is one of a number of changes WhatsApp is making to improve group discussions and address the challenge of viral content and the spread of false news. This is especially important in the election context.

Aimed at empowering creative communities across Nigeria, Facebook and Afrinolly today announced the start of its new ‘Facebook for Creators’ training programme – designed to equip the next generation of content creators with the skills to thrive in a digital world. Focused on creative entrepreneurs and journalism students, the multi-city creative training also aims to help artists, photographers, designers, filmmakers and other creatives leverage digital tools to gain more visibility around their work, engage with and grow their audiences.

Sherry Dzinoreva, Policy Programs Manager, EMEA at Facebook said, “We know that the future of Africa is young, and that the creative community here in Nigeria is amongst the most exciting and very best in the world. Our partnership with Afrinolly and the curation of this bespoke training reinforces our commitment to the continent, and Nigeria. Our goal is to continue to support and invest in young and diverse creative talent, and this is just another step.”

Providing a specially adapted ‘Facebook Journalism Project’ training for journalism students, the focus will be on preparing participants for jobs in a digital age. This interactive module will explore and discuss tips and best practices, ways to discover information and distribute work using social media, and how to engage and build audiences around their reporting.

Commenting on the partnership and Facebook Journalism Project, Sarah Brown, News Training and Literacy, Media Partnerships, EMEA at Facebook said: “We regularly visit newsrooms to learn and share, and host journalists from around the world to discuss best practices so the skills learned will become an invaluable resource. This adapted training for the future journalists of Nigeria will provide the valuable skills needed in this digital age.”

The Facebook for Creators programme is set to rollout in cities across Nigeria, including Abuja, Lagos, Jos and Kaduna and will be free for participants.

Chike Maduegbuna, CEO, Afrinolly added: “We are very excited at the opportunity Facebook is providing media and creative entrepreneurs in Nigeria to increase both engagement and monetization. We are happy that Facebook is partnering with a multimedia content creation hub, like Afrinolly Creative Hub for this initiative.”

To apply, interested participants should visit www.afrinollycreativehub.com/facebook-for-creators

Award-winning journalist and broadcaster, Lamide Akintobi is the new host of Church Culture, the interactive talk show on Channels Television which focuses on the mission of the Christian faith, and the people, places, and priorities that drive Christianity in Nigeria and across Africa.

The show which airs every Saturday at 1pm is produced by Generation Y!, the producers of Rubbin’ Minds, also on ChannelsTV and eXploring on ONTV. It is produced in conjunction with the church media company also called Church Culture.

“We are delighted to have one of Nigeria’s most talented television presenters as part of the Church Culture team. This lends an exciting dimension to the programme, especially in creating new conversations about the Christian faith,” said Seun Oluyemi, Senior Manager, Y! Productions.

Guests who have appeared on the highly interactive and insightful show include Pastor Abel Damina, Pastor Sam Adeyemi, Pastor Olumide Emmanuel, Adeolu Adefarasin, Tosin Martins, Timi Dakolo among others.

Fifty-four winners have emerged from the Accelerate LABS program, an initiative of The Future Project supported by Microsoft Nigeria. The winners were announced during the Grand Demo Day held at the City Mall, Lagos on Saturday, 30 June, 2018.

The Demo Day provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn, network, and pitch innovative ideas to investors so as to scale for impact.

Speaking at the event, Project Lead of The Future Project, Bukonla Adebakin said: “Our quest to identify, spotlight, and support the most innovative entrepreneurs with impactful ideas has taken us to all the corners of the country including Abuja, Edo, Enugu, Kaduna, Bauchi and now, Lagos. Getting the best young minds across the country to showcase their ideas have been a fascinating experience as well as an eye-opening one as we have seen them accomplish mind-blowing feats”.

Divided into 3 streams, participants went through a 12-week incubation process covering taught sessions, mentorship, research and development. The initiative is blended in structure through Online and In-Class training, supporting different sectors of the economy ranging from technology, fashion, education, agriculture, transportation, and others to stimulate development.

“The initiative doesn’t just up-skill young people looking for an alternative to the conventional career route, but it also gives them tools and opportunities to put those skills to excellent use. Winners from Accelerate LABS Stream 1 have gone ahead to ‎access funds from our partner organizations. They represent a new generation of businesses, scion of the pilot phase of the program launched a year ago,” she added.

Speaking to participants and guests at the event, Olusola Amusan, Citizenship Lead, Microsoft Nigeria stated that the project has successfully trained over 2,212 participants across Nigeria, thereby “boosting employment opportunities, working to eradicate poverty, promote quality enterprise education, and contributing positively to national GDP”.

He further explained that the initiative is strategically positioned by Microsoft Nigeria to support the next generation of entrepreneurs by equipping them with resources needed to gain financial independence while seeking opportunities to scale, create employment, and impact the economy.

Launched in August 2017, Accelerate LABS aims to empower selected young entrepreneurs by providing technological resources, training, mentorship, and seed funding necessary to build socially-responsible businesses in their communities.

Continuing on from its commitment to train people in vital digital skills across Nigeria and here in Ibadan throughout 2018, Facebook rolls out two training dates specially designed for female SMBs and entrepreneurs in Ibadan:

She Means Business
Partnering with She Leads Africa (SLA), #SheMeansBusiness Nigeria is the first to launch in Sub-Saharan Africa and brings together thousands of female entrepreneurs in a series of day workshops and training sessions across six cities in Nigeria, including here in Ibadan and across Lagos, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Aba. Training sessions will be followed by post-training clinics aimed at re-engaging, advising and mentoring participants.

Training Dates:
She Leads Africa: #SheMeansBusiness training – July 6th and 7th

Is Genevieve Nnaji still relevant? Was Olu Jacobs ever young? On Episode 4 of Shade Corner Season 2, the Shady Bunch are coming for your favorite celebrities who have been around for too long.

Camille, Bayo, Noble, Makida and special guest, Chef Fregz have nothing but love and respect for the legends of Nollywood, but believe some of them may need to take the backseat and let the new generation flourish? Fair enough, right?

Catch the episode on www.acceleratetv.com, and when you are done, try the buffet line of shows on our YouTube page for more action in music, fashion and lifestyle. Don’t forget to like, share and comment.

Twitter: @AccelerateTV

Instagram: @accelerate_tv

Facebook: AccelerateTV

Shade Corner Episode: https://youtu.be/dyesKPGqwi8

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeSLrwEZPSQmt6KwQTzwyzw

The penultimate episode of Corper Shun Season 1 aired on Accelerate TV on Thursday June 28, featuring Lala Akindoju as the new NYSC official who joins the attack on incompetent corps members.

While Zubi keeps harassing Gbenga over his reaction to the occasional mention of Halima, Gbenga drops the bomb on her, and things are about to get worse.

Watch the episode on www.acceleratetv.com, and be sure to stay with us all weekend for more dope content like Guess The Beat – which features Corper Shun’s Chiagoziem – out tonight.

Episode 10 Link: https://youtu.be/sPTErNODZig?list=PLUqsFygfaTt5cv6_r4t_LCxiWzLQ3Lujl

Accelerate Social Channels

Twitter: @AccelerateTV

Instagram: @accelerate_tv

Facebook: AccelerateTV

Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeSLrwEZPSQmt6KwQTzwyzw

Nigeria’s leading seasoning brand, Knorr, has kicked off the 5th Season of its Taste Quest TV Show. The reality cooking competition, which has become a household name, gives contestants an opportunity to display their creativity in cooking and compete to earn bragging rights as Nigeria’s top amateur Chef along with an amazing Grand Prize.

Since inception in 2013, four winners have emerged from the Knorr Taste Quest Cooking Contest, some of whom have gone ahead to become masters in the culinary world.

Auditions for this season took place in Abuja, Calabar and Lagos. After a rigorous process, 24 contestants made it to the first round where their cooking skills will be tested to select the final 12 for the next round.

At the end of the 13-week show, a winner will emerge to claim the grand prize of N5million cash and a brand new Chevrolet car.

Speaking on the new season, The Marketing Manager Savoury, Unilever Ghana and Nigeria, Nnenna Osi-Anugwa, said, “Through our brand operations we commit to improving health and well-being of our consumers and customers. The Knorr brand is fortified with iron and other ingredients that make our food nutritious and healthy.”

“The KTQ Show is a platform that gives Nigeria’s amateur chefs opportunities to showcase their culinary skills while they learn from professionals how to make creative and nutritious meals with Knorr,” she added.

The judges of the show remain celebrity chefs Dr. Robert and Chef Fregz, while it will be hosted by Arit Okpo.

Microsoft Nigeria, in partnership with The Future Project, has announced the final series of Demo Days across Nigeria to support over 2,000 Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) across Nigeria through the Accelerate LABS initiative.

Launched in August last year, the programme is intended to empower entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 through required technological resources, trainings, mentorship and seed funding required for them to build socially-responsible businesses in their communities.

Thousands of participants were registered under the initiative this year, with the demo days also providing an opportunity for entrepreneurs to sell their ideas, exhibit their products for purchase and also pitch ideas for possible investment.

The final phase of events in the first edition of the initiative have been held in the Northern region, starting with Abuja (North Central) on 20 June, 2018; Kaduna (North-West) on 21 June, 2018; Bauchi (North-East) on 23 June, 2018.

Additional demo days will be held in Enugu (South-East) on 28, June 2018; Edo (South-South) on 29 June, 2018 and Lagos (South West) on 30 June, 2018.

Speaking during the announcement, Olusola Amusan, Citizenship Lead, Microsoft Nigeria said, “Over 10 months, we have successfully educated, selected and empowered viable young ideas and startups that can be transformed into profitable businesses. As part of Microsoft’s objectives to improve entrepreneurship in Nigeria, Accelerate Labs has connected budding entrepreneurs in Nigeria to opportunities, resources and investors to impact their communities”.

The initiative is blended in structure through Online and In-Class trainings, supporting different sectors ranging from Technology, Fashion, Education, Agriculture, Transportation, and others to stimulate economic development through enterprise development and technology incubation.

In a statement released by The Future Project, the Project Lead, Bukonla Adebakin said, “Through our intensive trainings, we engaged over 8,000 participants across the country on the methods to build and sustain their businesses, with focus on pitch presentation, funding proposals, client relations, and others. With the success of the graduates in the first stream and focused assessments of participants in the second and third streams, the participants are capable of impacting the country through socially inclined, high profit, and highly competitive enterprises”.

The grand demo day for participants will be held in Lagos this Saturday, 30 June 2018.