Twitter to set up its first African office in Ghana, plans to hire first members soon

Social media giant, Twitter Inc. on April 12 announced that it will open its first African office in Ghana as the company seeks to dive into some of the world’s fastest-developing markets. Kayvon Beykpour, Twitter’s head of product in a statement on Monday announced the company’s future plans and expansion of business in Africa and called the effort an “exciting” part of the tech giant’s growth strategy. He also said the move is to make people feel more comfortable across the globe participate in public conversation.

The statement said, “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.”

The company is also planning to hire its first product and engineering team in Africa and Beykpour invited aspirants to work with the social media giant. He said, “We are looking for specialists to join several teams including product, design, engineering, marketing and communications.” Twitter cited Ghana’s support for free speech and online freedom to support its selection as the company’s first office in the continent.

Apart from that, the Twitter product lead also said, “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.”

Ghanian President calls it ‘excellent news’

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo on Monday hailed Twitter’s new venture as ‘excellent news.’  In a  statement on Twitter, the Ghanian President said that the people and the government welcomes the social media giant and noted, “These are exciting times to be in, and to do business in Ghana.”

“The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is EXCELLENT news. Gov’t and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country,” Nana Akufo-Addo wrote on Twitter.

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