Twitter launches its first African office in Ghana

Twitter is setting up its first African office in Ghana. Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, announced the launch in a tweet yesterday.

This move solidifies Jack’s interest in Africa. In November 2019, Jack Dorsey embarked on an African tour. He visited tech hubs and entrepreneurs in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa, after which he announced plans to expand Twitter's workforce in Africa.

Twitter's launch in Ghana actualizes Jack's plan. In a blog post that elaborated on the launch, Twitter explained that it is building a team in Ghana. This expansion aligns with its mission to serve public conversation and also boost the number of people who feel comfortable participating in it.

According to the Twitter statement, “today, in line with our growth strategy, we’re excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana. To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.”

Twitter said it’s expanding to Ghana due to the country’s value for democracy, unlike the other countries they visited. One of the tenets of democracy is free speech which leads to "healthy conversations". Thereby, making it a no-brainer for the social media company to choose a country that aligns with its values. They also named Ghana’s appointment as the host of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as another driving force for their decision to establish in 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,” READS an excerpt from Twitter's blog post.

Before this launch, Twitter has already invested in the African market through collaborations with notable organizations. The tech company has partnered with local communities in Africa like; Amref Health Africa in Kenya, Afrochella in Ghana, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, and The HackLab Foundation in Ghana to support people on the continent.

Through this launch, Twitter is committed to exploring ways they can leverage to strengthen their communities through employee engagement, platform activation, and corporate giving. They are currently looking for specialists to join their teams.

They listed openings across; product, design, engineering, marketing, and communications. Successful applicants will be onboarded remotely. However, the job descriptions reveal that although Twitter expanded to Ghana, its focus is on Nigeria.

This launch asides from being another win for Africa, it will also stir up opportunities that will allow Africans to experience content specifically tailored to their region.