Meta has acquired Manus, the startup that promised to build the world’s first truly general-purpose AI agent. This deal is said to be worth between $2 billion and $3 billion. It is a smart strategy that turns Meta’s apps – WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook – into a global team of autonomous workers. For business owners, especially in the fast-paced African market, this change is significant. It means that the software on your phone will not just talk; it will also do work for you.
To understand the excitement in the tech world, you have to understand the difference between the AI we’ve been using and what Manus offers. For the past two years, we have used Generative AI. This means you can ask ChatGPT or Meta AI to write an email or create a marketing plan, but you still have to go and do the actual work.
Agentic AI, which Manus specialises in, is different. It not only creates plans but also puts them into action. An AI Agent can plan, use tools (like a browser or a database), and complete multi-step tasks by itself.
Manus uses a “Multi-Agent Architecture.” You can think of it like a small office in the cloud. One agent plans the task, another executes the actions, a third checks for errors, and a fourth delivers the results.
If you tell a Manus-powered Meta AI, “Find me five wholesale shoe suppliers in Cotonou, compare their prices, and draft a WhatsApp message to the cheapest one,” it won’t give you a step-by-step guide. Instead, it will search the internet, gather the information, create a spreadsheet, and provide you with a ready-to-send message.
Why Meta Acquired Manus
Meta is not just hiring talent; they are planning for growth. Manus reportedly crossed over $100 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) in just eight months after its launch, a growth rate that even OpenAI would envy.
Mark Zuckerberg is currently in a “Year of Efficiency 2.0.” After spending nearly $73 billion on the Metaverse (Reality Labs) with mixed results, he is pivoting hard toward Superintelligence. Meta’s capital expenditure for 2025 is projected at $64 billion to $74 billion, most of it going toward AI infrastructure, including the “Hyperion” supercomputer. By acquiring Manus, Meta ensures that its massive hardware investment finally has the “brains” to drive real business value.
A Leapfrog Opportunity for African SMEs
This is especially relevant for us in Africa. Here, the primary tool for business is WhatsApp, not desktop computers. According to KPMG’s 2025 Africa CEO Outlook report, 71% of African CEOs have made AI their top strategic priority for 2026. However, there’s a massive gap: infrastructure. Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) don’t have the data teams or the high-end hardware to run complex AI.
The integration of Manus with Meta helps solve this problem in three ways:
- The “Zero-Infrastructure” Employee: SMEs in Lagos or Nairobi won’t need to hire a data analyst. A Manus-integrated WhatsApp Business account can manage tasks like inventory tracking, customer follow-ups, and market research right in the chat.
- Breaking the Language Barrier: AI systems often struggle to understand local languages and contexts. Meta is working on improving models to recognise “code-switching” (mixing English with local languages like Swahili or Pidgin).
- Autonomous Operations: Manus operates in a “cloud-based virtual machine.” This means it can continue to work even if your phone goes offline or your data runs out. You can send a command, go offline to save data, and return later to find the task completed.
Why You Should Care As a Business
By the end of 2026, Meta plans to automate advertising fully. This means business owners will be able to upload a single photo of a product, set a budget, and the AI will:
- Create video and image assets.
- Write the ad copy.
- Target the right audience.
- Manage bids to maximise return on investment (ROI).
We are moving into an era where “the person who can best describe the problem” wins, rather than the person with the biggest team.
Start Learning to “Manage,” Not Just “Prompt”
The acquisition of Manus by Meta marks the start of the Agentic Era. The key point is that your competition will not be the person with more money; it will be the one who knows how to delegate tasks to new digital assistants.
As a business owner, your role is changing from “Doer” to “Director.” The tools are becoming smarter, the execution is more automatic, and powerful AI agents will soon be available right in your WhatsApp “status” bar.
