The social networking giant Facebook said it plans to train about five lakh people in India on digital skills by 2020 and has also unveiled two programs which are designed for startups and individuals. These two programs-Facebook digital training and Facebook startup training hubs are being rolled out in India before any other country. 

Ritesh Mehta, Facebook head of programs mentioned that India is ready to have a digital economy worth $1 trillion by 2022 and the best way to prepare the country for this digital economy is by providing knowledge, skills and tools people need to succeed. He also added that the tools will help people learn digital skills and will enable entrepreneurs and small and medium business in digitizing their programs.

Through these initiatives, Facebook hopes to train more than half a million people in the country by 2020. More than 51,700 SMBs have been trained by Facebook in the country, including 12,000 women entrepreneurs, through Boost and SheMeansBusiness. Facebook is also working with organizations like EDII, StartupIndia, DharmaLife and Digital Vidya in order to develop the curriculum which is designed to work in low network strength regions as well.

Facebook has the largest user base in India after the United States, with 217 million users in the country. 4 million small businesses have their pages on Facebook. The content has been kept light keeping the network conditions of the country in mind and it will be available in English and Hindi. Facebook will continue to add lessons and content in the coming period, adapting the curriculum based on the feedback received from the users.

Through Facebook digital training, the social networking company will offer free social and content marketing training for anyone who is keen to develop their digital knowledge and skills. This training is not limited to Facebook only. Through Facebook startup training hub program, Facebook will cover a range of subjects which include how entrepreneurs can protect their ideas, how to go about getting a funding, how to hire and regulations and legal hurdles an entrepreneur needs to consider among many others.