Twitter Plans to Set-up its First African Presence in Ghana

The Co-founder and CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey via a tweet on Monday, and in line with their growth strategy, made a surprise announcement about the company’s presence in the African continent…but for Twitter to build this team in Ghana, it’s actively looking to hire specialists to join several teams while they also “explore the opportunity to open an office in Ghana in the future.”

Twitter is looking for specialists to join several teams including product, design, engineering, marketing, and communications. Full details on current job openings can be found on the Twitter Careers site. Aligned with their existing Work-From-Home (WFH) policies, the micro-blogging platform is looking forward to welcoming and onboarding the new team members remotely so that they can make an immediate impact while they explore the opportunity to open an office in Ghana in the future. 

The Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, in his response, revealed that he held a virtual meeting with Jack on April 7, 2021, and enthused about the news he went further to reveal that Twitter’s Africa operations will have its Head Quarters in Ghana said “the choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is excellent news. Government and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country.”

The recent announcement by Twitter comes almost eighteen months after Dorsey’s visit with his Twitter team to Africa for the first time in November 2019 and during his tour on the continent, he visited Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and South Africa, where he met with different industry leaders and tech stakeholders on matters concerning Twitter and bitcoin. Otherwise, if it wasn’t for the global pandemic, Dorsey had also shown interest in the continent that at one point he even suggested moving to Africa for at least 3 to 6 months mid-2020.

…but why Ghana?

This is a genuine question that of all African countries in the continent what’s so special about Ghana that Twitter would want to set up offices in that country? Gladly, Twitter was able to share with us why it chose 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.”

Twitter added: “Whenever we enter new markets, we work hard to ensure that we are not just investing in the talent that we hire, but also investing in local communities and the social fabric that supports them. We have already laid foundations through partnerships with Amref Health Africa in Kenya, Afrochella in Ghana, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, and The HackLab Foundation in Ghana.”

As part of Twitter’s long-term commitment to the African continent, Twitter reiterated, “we will continue to explore compelling ways we can use the positive power of Twitter to strengthen our communities through employee engagement, platform activation, and corporate giving. We still have much to learn but we are excited to listen, learn, and engage. Public conversation is essential to solving problems, building shared ideas, and pushing us all forward together. We can’t wait for the next step on that journey.”