Facebook has opened a new business office in Johannesburg, South Africa which would mark the company’s first ever on the African Continent. The company would partner with telecom operators, government bodies, agencies and other stake holders to deliver localised content for users and also advertisers.
The Facebook Africa office which would serve as a sales hub is located at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg and would be headed by the Chairman of Ogilvy South Africa, Nunu Ntshingila who will assume the position of Head of Africa.
The new business office in South Africa will comprise of 25 employees which would be involved in the business and advertising aspect of the business. The number is expected to increase as time goes by; at the moment the office will not include Internet.org employees.
Facebook is one of the major ways people, brands and businesses communicate in Africa. The social media platform saw a massive 20% in Facebook Active user moving to around 120 Million in June 2015 from 100 Million in September 2014. The stats is incomplete without mentioning around 80% of the figures access the service via their mobile phones.
The social media giant has always been on the constant lookout for more user base and tap into the emerging market with programs like the Facebook Lite and Internet.Org initiative. Unsurprisingly, out of the 14 countries around the world which the Internet.org initiative has launched Six are from Africa.
Facebook is concentrating on growing its business in major countries like Nigeria (Western Africa), Kenya (Eastern Africa) and South Africa (Southern Africa). Other countries earmarked are – Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Image via Techloy
