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SMBs Can Now Join TikTok’s First Digital Marketing Academy In MENA
The digital marketing academy is the first virtual education platform of its kind in the MENA region, and it was created from the ground up to address the needs of SMBs.
In their never-ending race to compete with large enterprises, SMBs must take advantage of every tool that can give them even the slightest competitive advantage, and marketing their products and services on social media networks such as TikTok is a great example.
The only problem is that small and medium-sized businesses rarely have the resources to hire in-house marketing experts who know how to navigate popular social media networks. Now, TikTok’s business arm is offering all SMBs in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey (MENAT) region a cost-effective alternative in the form of its new digital marketing academy.
The digital marketing academy is the first virtual education platform of its kind in the MENA region, and it was created from the ground up to address the needs of SMBs. Those who decide to join it will complete a five-week training program consisting of five distinct courses that cover everything how TikTok works to advertising best practices.
“From introducing participants to the TikTok app to demonstrating how they can sign up to the Self-Serve ads, to best practice on optimizing their content and performance, to finally creating their first campaign, this module will provide participants with a shortcut to unlocking the potential of TikTok for their business,” explains Shant Oknayan, TikTok’s general manager of global business solutions MENA.
Also Read: How To Use TikTok Auto Captions To Make Your Videos More Accessible
After completing the entire course, participants will receive an SMB TikTok Pro digital badge. Although of little value to small businesses that have no intention of showing off their newly acquired skills to others, the digital badge is a boon to agencies, which may use it to promote their services.
You can learn more about TikTok’s first digital marketing academy in the MENA region on its official website.
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Lebanon Ministers Meet Visa Over National Digital Payment Platform
Finance and technology ministers say a comparative study and roadmap will follow before any decision on adopting a model.
Lebanon’s finance and technology ministers met representatives from Visa last week to discuss a proposed unified national digital payment platform for government services, according to a readout from the Ministry of Finance.
The meeting brought together Finance Minister Yassin Jaber, Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence Kamal Shehadeh, a Visa delegation, and experts from both ministries. Discussion focused on whether Lebanon could establish a single platform through which citizens and institutions would pay taxes, fees, fines and other official transactions electronically, using mobile phones and other digital channels.
The Visa delegation presented examples from countries that have adopted unified government payment platforms, including the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Estonia and Jordan. According to the readout, the examples were presented as having increased collection rates and expanded financial inclusion.
Talks covered settlement mechanisms, direct transfer to the treasury account, financial reconciliation, risk management, cybersecurity, fees, and an operational model that would involve the private sector. The parties agreed to continue technical and institutional consultations, prepare a comparative study, and develop an implementation roadmap before any decision on adopting a model for Lebanon.
Jaber said the Ministry of Finance had already enabled citizens to pay using credit cards and e-wallets through transfer companies, but described the proposed platform as a further step. He framed the development of electronic payment and collection systems as a priority within the ministry’s modernization plan.
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Shehadeh outlined the citizen-facing concept as a single mobile application through which users could settle obligations to ministries, government institutions and other bodies.
“The idea, in short, is that any citizen downloads an application on their mobile phone, through which they can pay all service obligations for all ministries, government institutions, or those owned by the Lebanese state, and others as well, as the platform is not limited only to state institutions,” he said.
Shehadeh added that the platform would not displace banks and money transfer companies that currently provide collection services to the state, calling it complementary to their work.
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