Mark Zuckerberg to visit Nigeria, Facebook’s largest African market

Related stories

Edwin Cortes: Prefers Being A Small Puerto Rican Than Big American

By Owei Lakemfa To be a citizen of the United...

June 12 And The International Pursuit of Justice For Abiola, By Femi Falana

The June 12, 1993, pro-democracy struggle in Nigeria is...

Breaking Down the West’s $146 Billion 2024 Defence Technology Investment

Advanced technologies like drones, sensors, and even artificial intelligence...

G7 vs. the World: GDP, Population, and Military Strength

Key Takeaways G7 countries represent 28.4% of global GDP...

US drillers cut oil and gas rigs for 10th week in a row, Baker Hughes says

U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of...

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, is visiting Nigeria for a few days. Zuckerberg says he’ll be “meeting with developers and entrepreneurs, and learning about the startup ecosystem in Nigeria” during his time in Lagos. In line with this, Zuckerberg’s first notable stop was at Co-Creation Hub (Cc Hub), in Yaba, Lagos’ Silicon Valley-style ground zero for start-ups. Over the years, Cc Hub has served as a start-up incubator and accelerator, housing successful start-ups such as BudgIT, a civic enterprise which focuses on accountability and transparency in government budgets. While at Cc Hub, Zuckerberg also met with young kids attending a summer coding camp.

Zuckerberg watching on at a Cc Hub session of a summer coding camp for kids. (Idea Engineers)

Tomorrow, Zuckerberg is expected to host a Q&A session sharing Facebook’s strategic plans in Africa’s largest economy. Though the visit is part of a series of global town hall meetings, Facebook’s strong ties with Nigeria cannot be ignored. With 16 million people visiting the social media platform monthly, Nigeria remains Facebook’s biggest market in Africa. In a bid to further grow that market, Facebook launched its FreeBasics service in Nigeria in May. Targeting a bulk of the population who cannot afford internet access, the service will allow users to access Facebook as well as other listed websites at no cost.

For his part, Zuckerberg has also given several nods to Nigeria over the past year, acknowledging the work of start-ups like BudgIT and job listing service, Jobberman. Most recently, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), founded by Zuckerberg and his wife, led a $24 million investment round in Andela, a Lagos start-up that trains and outsources local software developers.

The first major investment by the foundation, it was heralded as a big bet on the future of African tech. But just as the news was met with excitement locally, controversy soon followed. Nigerian tech enthusiasts were upset with the description of Andela as a New York company, and Iyin Aboyeji, the Nigerian co-founder of Andela, hardly mentioned in the press coverage that followed the investment. At the time, Aboyeji attempted to stem the criticism via a blog post explaining the company’s origins but two months later, he announced his departure from Andela to start Flutterwave, a new payments company. Zuckerberg visited Andela’s Yaba campus today.

Seni Sulyman, director of Andela Lagos said Zuckerberg’s visit “reinforces not only his support of Andela’s mission, but his belief that indeed the next generation of great technology leaders will come out of Lagos, Nigeria and cities across Africa.”

Quartz Africa
Quartz Africa
Hamilton Nwosa is an experienced, and committed communication, business, administrative, data and research specialist . His deep knowledge of the intersection between communication, business, data, and journalism are quite profound. His passion for professional excellence remains the guiding principle of his work, and in the course of his career spanning sectors such as administration, tourism, business management, communication and journalism, Hamilton has won key awards. He is a delightful writer, researcher and data analyst. He loves team-work, problem-solving, organizational management, communication strategy, and enjoys travelling. He can be reached at: hamilton_68@yahoo.com

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

Latest stories

NDN
Latest News
Edwin Cortes: Prefers Being A Small Puerto Rican Than Big AmericanJune 12 And The International Pursuit of Justice For Abiola, By Femi FalanaBreaking Down the West’s $146 Billion 2024 Defence Technology InvestmentG7 vs. the World: GDP, Population, and Military StrengthUS drillers cut oil and gas rigs for 10th week in a row, Baker Hughes saysExclusive! Tinubu Tips Late Ajimobi's Wife, Florence, Others for Ambassadorial PostsTinubu Mourns, Pays Tribute to Legendary Super Eagles Goalkeeper Peter RufaiNatasha vs Akpabio: Court Orders Senate President To Recall Senator NatashaHadi Sirika Denies Defection to ADC Coalition Rumors, Reaffirms Loyalty to Buhari, APCChina Snubs U.S. Crude for Third Month, Even as Ethane Trade RestartsHow Super Eagles Icon Peter Rufai passed Away at 61Dakuku Peterside’s Beneath the Surface Book Out in OctoberOil Prices Dip on Confirmation of Inventory BuildBuhari In Stable Condition - Ex-Aide ConfirmsBREAKING: Ex-President Buhari sick, hospitalised abroad
X whatsapp