Four years after Mark Zuckerberg’s first official visit to Sub-Saharan Africa, Facebook has announced plans to open what will be its second office in the continent. The tech giant, which already has an office in South Africa, has announced plans to open an office in Lagos, Nigeria next year.
The company is expected to secure a location by the second half of 2021 and speculations are rife that the company could embark on a recruitment process. The office is expected to host a team consisting of engineers, sales, partnerships, policy and communications personnel.
Facebook’s head of New Product Experimentation says that the attraction comes from the pool of tech talents in Nigeria.
Read: Facebook Building Robust Undersea Cable To Boost Internet Connection In Africa
The team will be tasked with building African-focused products while making a contribution to the growth of the African Tech System. Operations from the new office are expected to boost growth in the Sub-Saharan countries.
Facebook has been running its African operations from South Africa for the last five years under the leadership of Nunu Ntshingila-Njeke. Its operations have mostly been centered around activities in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.
Read also: Facebook Infrastructure And Connectivity Investments In Africa To Grow Economy By $57 billion
Nigeria ranked among the fastest growing developer communities in 2019 and is said to have the highest number of executives from the continent in Facebook’s global offices. More Nigerians are also reported to use Facebook more than any other country in the continent.
A report showed that between 2015 and 2020, internet penetration in Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria has grown from 16 percent to 33.2 percent.
The company recently announced that it had partnered with Google to lay down a robust 37,000km undersea cable that would boost internet connectivity in up to 24 countries by 2024.
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