Business
Opeyemi Adeyemi Talks Social Media And Business In Africa
Social media is rapidly ushering in a new era of opportunities globally; from cyberpreneurs, to a vast array of dollar spining bloggers, the opportunities it presents is fast trickling down to every doorstep in Africa, one of the fastest growing economic regions in the world, and the rapidly emerging continent is wasting no time in exploiting the abundant potentials of this internet-driven enabler.
Though Africa has failed to match the internet adoption of other pacesetters, with internet penetration still at a dire 18 percent, the continent has found fortune with mobile. Its mobile penetration rate is estimated to stand at 80 percent with growth expected to continue at 4.2 percent annually, according to TA Telecom’s Africa Telecom Market 2013 Report.
Apart from businesses using social media to expand growth, ingenious Africans are also leveraging on this platform to drive entrepreneurial brilliance, creating a class of businessmen we refer to as social media entrepreneurs. One of such is Opeyemi Joseph Adeyemi, a Nigerian economist and project manager whose love for social media and eye for opportunities inherent in it is now a social media entrepreneur. In a chat with Ventures Africa, Adeyemi shares his opinion about the growing phenomenon:
How do you perceive Social Media?
O.J. : Social media, to me, is a way of interacting with different people across the whole world. It allows me to create, share, and exchange information and ideas on a variety of online platforms and applications.
There is a popular notion that Social Media is limited to social networks, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, BBM, etc. Social Media is bigger than that; Blogs, Online Video, Photo Sharing, Podcasting, and Presentation sharing are all types of Social Media. Many companies/organizations are yet to fully explore other areas of Social Media that can help promote their brands across the globe.
How important is social media to businesses in Africa?
O.J.: I believe that the importance of Social Media to businesses across Africa cannot be over-emphasized. It is very important, and presently, it is the cheapest and fastest means of reaching out to a large audience.