Tech in Africa
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey shared on Twitter the arrival of its physical presence on the African continent. Jack posted, “Twitter is now present on the continent” alongside the Ghanian flag. He went forward to mention Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo in the tweet. In a further statement shared by the company, Twitter took time to express their excitement while giving reasons for settling on Ghana.
🇬🇭 Twitter is now present on the continent.
Thank you Ghana and @NAkufoAddo. #TwitterGhana https://t.co/tt7KR3kvDg
— jack (@jack) April 12, 2021
Ghana was pointed out as a champion of democracy in the continent. The country ranked high in its support of free speech, open internet, and online freedom – which Ghana is a major champion for. The hosting of The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area also worked in Ghana’s favor.
Twitter also pointed out that some of the endeavors it has done over the continent are: Amref Health Africa in Kenya, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, Afrochella in Ghana, and The HackLab Foundation operating in Ghana.
Dorsey once promised to live in Africa for 6 months only for the global pandemic to ruin some of those plans. Many assumed Dorsey’s interests in the continent were solely tied toward Bitcoin, but this new investment seems to change the prior notion.
According to the Democracy Index 2020 ratings carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Ghana ranks 6th in the continent, only preceded by Mauritius, Botswana, Cabo Verde, South Africa, and Tunisia.
The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is EXCELLENT news. Gov’t and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country. 1/3 #TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana https://t.co/HdCqFgXK0x
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) April 12, 2021
