The popular micro-blogging platform, Twitter, has announced it is planting its Africa operations hub in Ghana.
Twitter’s Africa command, so to speak, will be headquartered in the small West African country.
The announcement was made by Twitter CEO, Jack Patrick Dorsey, Monday via his official Twitter handle. “Twitter is now present on the continent…. Thank you Ghana and @NAkufoAddo. #TwitterGhana,” Mr. Dorsey tweeted.
In the same Tweet, he also announced that Twitter is already hiring people for the Ghana command. “Establishing Twitter’s presence in Africa….Announcing that, as part of Twitter’s growth strategy, we’re actively hiring for roles in Ghana, Africa.”
Before the announcement, Mr. Dorsey and the team at Twitter had had had a virtual meeting with President Akufo-Addo as was made clear in a tweet-up between President Akufo-Addo and the Twitter CEO.
President Akufo-Addo had tweeted, “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.”
Jack Dorsey had responded with, “Twitter is now present on the continent. Thank you Ghana and @NAkufoAddo. #TwitterGhana.”
Mr. Akufo-Addo would later tweet, “As I indicated to @Jack in our virtual meeting of 7th April 2021, this is the start of a beautiful partnership between Twitter and Ghana, which is critical for the dev’t of Ghana’s hugely important tech sector.”
Mr. Dorsey has since explained the reason Ghana was settled on. “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.”
The Twitter CEO also indicated the platform is very dedicated to 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.”