Twitter has explained why it chose Ghana to set up its first African presence. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, tweeted on Monday that the company is setting up its first presence in Africa. The country of choice is Ghana. “Twitter is now present on the continent. Thank you, Ghana and Nana Akufo-Addo,” he tweeted.
TwitterGhana https://t.co/tt7KR3kvDg
— jack (@jack) April 12, 2021
In an explainer on its website, Twitter gave an explanation on why it choose Ghana over other countries including Nigeria. The population of Nigeria on social media only (33 million) is greater than the entire population of Ghana (30.42 million).
This is what Twitter gave as an explanation on its choice of Ghana:
“As a champion for democracy, Ghana is a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet, of which Twitter is also an advocate. Furthermore, Ghana’s recent appointment to host The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligns with our overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support our efforts to improve and tailor our service across Africa.
“Whenever we enter new markets, we work hard to ensure that we are not just investing in the talent that we hire, but also investing in local communities and the social fabric that supports them. We have already laid foundations through partnerships with Amref Health Africa in Kenya, Afrochella in Ghana, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, and The HackLab Foundation in Ghana. As part of our long-term commitment to the region, we’ll continue to explore compelling ways we can use the positive power of Twitter to strengthen our communities through employee engagement, platform activation, and corporate giving.
“We still have much to learn but we are excited to listen, learn, and engage. Public conversation is essential to solving problems, building shared ideas, and pushing us all forward together. We can’t wait for the next step on that journey.”
