Facebook plans to open a new office in Lagos, Nigeria in the second half of 2021 as part of its investment in the continent. The new office will house the company’s sales, partnership, policy and communications team.
Speaking on the new office, Nunu Ntshingila, Regional Director at Facebook Africa says,
“We’re delighted to be announcing our new office in Nigeria…The office in Lagos will also be key in helping to expand how we service our clients across the continent.”
The establishment will be the first office in Africa with a team of engineers, and its second office on the continent. The social media giant opened its first office in Africa in 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa,
News of the new establishment comes four years after Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited Lagos in his first trip to Sub-Saharan Africa. Facebook has other offices in Nigeria, including a community hub space NG_Hub launched in partnership with startup accelerator CcHub and a Small Business Group (SBG) Operations Centre in Lagos launched in 2019.
Facebook’s Quest for African Talent and Markets
Part of the reason why Facebook is launching yet another office in the continent is to leverage the growing local talent, positioning itself in emerging markets. Nigeria is one of the ideal places to set up shop in Africa, being the third-largest developer country and the leading country in open source projects in Africa.
Facebook’s Head of New Product Experimentation Ime Archibong says, “All across Africa we’re seeing immense talent in the tech ecosystem, and I’m proud that with the upcoming opening of our new office, we’ll be building products for the future of Africa, and the rest of the world, with Africans at the helm. We look forward to contributing further to the African tech ecosystem.”
Further, the Nigerian office will help serve the country’s and the continent’s growing population, as big tech eyes for more ad revenue. A Lancet report on fertility, mortality, migration and population scenarios reveals that Africa’s population will triple between now and 2021, as the rest of the world population dwindles. Lancet says that Nigeria will be the world’s second-largest population after India, with the country’s population estimated to hit 790 million in 2021.
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