Tech in Africa
American social media company Facebook is planning to open an office in Lagos, Nigeria. The move is expected to be actualized next year making it the second office in the continent after Kenya. The Lagos division targets teams specialized in sales, communication, engineering, and politics.
Back in 2016, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerburg met with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari alongside other top businessmen. The increased engagement hopes to develop products tailored continent – a move that keenly observed by other countries in West Africa.
In retrospect, the move to Nigeria was just a matter of time given the country’s large population, fast internet connection, and the highest GDP of the 54 African countries.
Facebook released findings done by Analysys Mason on The Impact of Facebook’s Connectivity Initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa details Facebook infrastructural investment impact in Sub-Saharan Africa at $57 billion over the next half-decade.
Most of Facebook’s activities in the continent have been run from South Africa which is the headquarters. However, increased internet penetration across the continent have made Kenya and now Nigeria as valuable areas for expansion.
Facebook’s investments across the continent
- The fiber investment under the OTNx umbrella (Uganda and Nigeria).
- Edge network infrastructure covering points in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, and caches operator networks in 44 other countries.
- The 2Africa cable submarine cables and data centers.
With over 3 billion users across all its platforms, Facebook is strategically positioning itself into key markets that will see it gain more customers and increase its business.
