The pilot phase will first be rolled out in University of Nairobi and its constituent campuses and colleges, and thereafter proceed to other universities such as Strathmore University, Multimedia University, Kenyatta University and USIU in October and November 2012. The reason for exploitation of this phase through university students is because they are heavy users of the internet and social media and at the same time are the single largest market for different products and services. These clubs, once operational, will also provide corporations with a large talent pool of graduates who have a solid understanding of the social media, and who can be used to assist in fixing the knowledge gap that is currently present in today’s corporate world.
SocialPro clubs will enable a great deal of collaboration and exchange of ideas, concepts and social media strategies among students in the different universities. This will, in turn, spur innovation at the university level, and allow for information sharing with external partner bodies thus boosting entrepreneurship and connecting students to opportunities and information to bridge the gap between the universities and employers. One would wonder how the establishment of these clubs would directly benefit a corporate entity; these clubs focus on social media only, targeting SMEs especially, and other individuals like celebrities, government officials, politicians, and business owners who would like to keep tabs on what’s happening in the social media world. The clubs will help them to professionally manage their presence online and monitor the activities. They would also help firms with recruitment of social media managers, digital managers, and social media editors as they have the experience, having served several big clients
Among the guests speakers at the SocialPro launch included Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo from the Ministry of Information and Technology, Maryanne Michuki, who is the Digital and Social Media Manager at Safaricom Ltd, Joan Mgugua, Partnerships and Alliances Manager at Kuza Biashara Ltd, and CEO of Marketing Society Of Kenya, Ms. Waithera Ng’anga. The Permanent Secretary emphasized the need to have this collaboration of institutions of higher learning and players in the industry to educate students, create awareness, and enhance exchange of ideas among the students and the industry and in the process nurture creativity because students would be exposed to the limitless possibilities online.
Social Edge has partnered with the Ministry of Information and Technology, Nairobi Hub, Kuza Biashara and University of Nairobi at the initial stage of SocialPro clubs, to create interest at the university level in the pilot phase between October and December 2012 in the five universities. As the pilot phase is being undertaken, interested students can form an informal SocialPro club at their university, to explore their potential and dreams using this platform model.
Social Edge Africa operates at a Nairobi Hub in Kileleshwa, as a social media consultancy firm, with a 12-member team consisting of graphic designers, coder, video producers, marketers and communication graduates and has already introduced the concept regionally to a group of students in Rwanda, who are currently overseeing the development of a similar project there.
