Facebook launches accelerator for EMEA e-commerce players

On Monday (3 August), Facebook announced the launch of two new start-up accelerator programmes focusing on the themes of commerce and connectivity.

The two 12-week programmes will take on a new format and will be held online to help early-stage start-ups explore collaborative partnerships that can support their businesses.

In a statement published by Facebook’s global head of start-up programmes, Michael B Huang, the company outlined how its programmes help start-ups to scale effectively through immersive and locally-tailored training.

The company’s accelerator programmes provide one-to-one mentorship from Facebook employees, training on Facebook’s approach to products and businesses and access to a global network of start-up peers, successful founders and industry experts.

Facebook’s e-commerce accelerator

The company launched Facebook Accelerator: Commerce to support businesses of all sizes as they adapt their business models to reduce the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and pivot to online sales.

Huang said: “Our goal is to make shopping seamless and empower anyone from an entrepreneur to the largest brand to use our apps to connect with customers.”

The accelerator is open to start-ups in Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, which are building on commerce platforms, innovating solutions around catalogue functionality and are enhancing the overall commerce experience through conversational tools and immersive shopping experiences. Applications for the accelerator opened on 3 August.

Huang highlighted some of the alumni from Facebook’s previous commerce-focused accelerators, which includes conversational commerce platform Jumper.ai. The start-up focused on helping businesses manage conversing with, selling to, and supporting their customers on their preferred channels.

Facebook’s accelerator programme paired the Jumper.ai team with Facebook experts that helped the start-up define product roadmaps, solve UX issues, refine sales and marketing strategies and rework price models. According to the social media firm, the lessons the start-up learned during the accelerator helped Jumper.ai grow its client base tenfold.

Improving connectivity

In addition to the social media platform’s online accelerator targeting Latin American and EMEA-based start-ups, the company also launched a new connectivity accelerator calling for applicants in the Americas.

Huang noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed some “hard truths” about the digital divide and the need for reliable, affordable internet connectivity. To reflect the company’s efforts to reduce that divide, it also launched the Facebook Accelerator: Connectivity.

This programme aims to strengthen emerging start-ups focused on the goal of bringing more people online to a faster internet. The programme focuses on improving connectivity through technologies, solutions and new models that address the availability and affordability of internet access.

At a previous accelerator focusing on connectivity, Facebook worked with social media start-up Gaius Networks to provide connectivity and access to hyper-localised content in emerging markets, eventually bringing connectivity to more than 100,000 people. More information this programme and where to apply can be found here.

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