I’m excited to start Afrodigital’s Pan-degree in Practical Digital Marketing – this is why

If you are a lazy reader and want to go straight to sign up for the 4 month Pan degree programme, it costs USD100 once off or USD40 per month. Click here.

Otherwise here’s my story:

Cause…

When lockdown began, the real lockdown, not the numerous extensions that made us lose track of time, there were countless jokes about how people would emerge from it – and my least favourite was the one that gave women three options: you would either come out with a new skill, pregnant, or fat. (I hate the word fat, but this is not the time for *that* conversation.) The word hustle also experienced a resurgence. Has it been used, in all its life, as much as it has since March? I came out of lockdown and her many extensions with none of the options offered, but no better than the person that had gone in.

Zimbabwe too, underwent a metamorphosis of her own. Whether or not we were ready for it, the COVID-19 pandemic proved to be the catalyst that this little country of ours needed to usher in a new era. The resistance in us had been strong, and enduring, but the need for companies to venture into the digital space proved not just inevitable, but urgent. 

This urgency applies to the individuals in these companies as well, and almost half a year since everything went pear-shaped, I feel myself ill-equipped to navigate the new business space. So while I escaped weight gain and breeding, conducting any sort of business is nothing like it was 6 months ago and the force within me is strong, pushing to learn how to fit in, and even better, excel.

…and EFFECT!

That’s why I’ve signed up for Afrodigital’s Pan-degree in Digital Marketing. It’s a four month program designed to make me an effective digital marketer. It starts in just under two weeks, on the 5th of October. I have no marketing background, but I am not daunted  by this. In fact, I am keen to take on the challenge. The whole purpose of this is to amass practical knowledge that I can apply to the many facets of my job, to ensure we don’t find ourselves an irrelevant fossil in an ever-revolving economic environment.

The course, though accredited by CPD UK, an international accreditation board, is designed to be relevant in Africa as well and this was a big consideration for me. Digital is the future, but it’s imperative I understand how to employ these skills and knowledge within the local context while making myself marketable internationally. The content has been curated by a team that has researched the region’s digital marketing needs so I know, and to use their own words, there is less abstract and more applicable takeaways.

The fact that I have to complete a project as well as take exams at the end of this is not something I relish. When we rewrite the script for adult education, let’s do away with testing altogether. I am not unwilling to admit that I can appreciate the utility of this and will try (our boss says try is a swear word) to approach this most unwelcome dimension of the proceedings with dignity and aplomb.

Resources, resources, resources

To help prepare participants of the program for both the project and the exams, there are weekly hour long webinars as well as individual time slots assigned for each student to have the audience of any of the trainers. This level of support is something I anticipate I will need being that most of the content will be fairly new to me.

Those that know him told me Trust, the head trainer, is an erudite tutor. I was very prepared to not believe this because, hey, a little skepticism never hurt. But I gave him a call to ask a few questions and this was my very first impression: he had all the patience for my questions; he addressed them all with nothing but enthusiasm, all the while maintaining an even cadence, with consistent enunciation. When he asked if I had any further questions, I really didn’t. And here I am, writing about it. 

What sold me on this wasn’t just its affordability – $100 once off or $40 per month for four months. It was that when he explained the course and what I stood to gain, he told me what it was I felt was missing from the way I was working.

Self – the ultimate motivation

The endgame for me, the topmost reason I want to do this program, is to be able to connect with as many of the people I am committed to serving as possible. The disconnect, the inability to grasp the needs of our patronage, as well as the lack of know-how on ways to bridge that gap is an utterly frustrating state of being. I want to prove a worthy resource for myself first and I want the confidence I accrue to seep into the person that I present to both my employer as well as the customer (both of whom are in essence my customers).

I am going into this with high hopes. If anybody is feeling as optimistic as I am, and made it out of lockdown(s) unscathed but unchanged, then maybe join me and let’s become, if not better, at least… different versions of ourselves.

If, like me, you’re ready to take a chance, then sign up for Afrodigital’s Pan-Degree in Practical Digital Marketing Certification here.

Best of luck!