SocialPRO Clubs, an initiative by Nairobi-based firm Social Edge Africa, are promising to help universities and students tap into social media for knowledge and contact sharing.
Founded by Muthuri Kinyamu, 24, the SocialPRO Clubs are intended to bring together social media enthusiasts, speakers, lecturers, bloggers, industry experts, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, digital agencies and organisations who have contributed to the growth of social media in Kenya.
“SocialPro Clubs will help university students refine their business ideas and find a high-potential commercial opportunity, gather resources such as talent and capital, figure out how to sell and market the idea and manage rapid growth,” Kinyamu told HumanIPO.
The network will also create a platform that will enable product and consumer engagement through creativity and innovation, in return enabling brands to tap into the creative talents available in local universities.
Both students and lecturers can share the platform, Kinyamu said.
Social Edge Africa’s move to encourage learning and entrepreneurship is viewed as timely, with Kenya’s unemployment rate currently at 40 percent, with young people forming the majority of those without jobs.
Presently,SocialPRO Clubs has the Ministry of Information and Technology, Nairobi Hub, Kuza Biashara and University of Nairobi on board as its major sponsors.
The startup says it is targeting universities as “that is where most Internet and social media users are and probably the biggest market for companies products and as a resource pool.”
According to Kinyamu, the platform is now ready for piloting in October this year at the University of Nairobi (UoN). It is scheduled to be launched on October 11 by Kenya’s Ministry of Information and Communication permanent secretary Dr. Bitange Ndemo.
It will afterwards be expanded to Strathmore University, USIU Kenya, Multimedia University and across universities in the country. He is currently expecting more partners and brands that target the 18 to 24 age bracket to be part of this social media movement.
Kinyamu says he also has a mission to help university students create jobs at the universities or upon graduation.
”We come up with online strategies, monitor and manage our clients social media presence. Sales is about the right presence, engagement and interactions on social media,” Kinyamu said.
Kinyamu founded Social Edge Africa in March 2012 while still at campus, he had discontinued his ACCA classes at Strathmore University in 2010 to focus on blogging and social media.
“I discovered my passion wasn’t in finance and accounting thus quit in 2010 to concentrate on my love for brand management and strategy,” he said.
Social Edge Africa is based at the Nairobi Hub in Kileleshwa and operates as a social media consultancy for corporate firms. The firm has a 12-member team consisting of two graphic designers, two video producers, four marketers, three communication and PR graduates and one programmer.
