• Its second office in Africa
As part of its continued commitment and ongoing investment in Africa, Facebook has on Friday announced that it would open an office in Lagos and would be operational next year.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos, Facebook said this new opening would be its second office in African.
It says the opening of the new office aims to support the entire Sub-Saharan Africa region.
While stating that Facebook would be the first on the continent to house a team of expert engineers building for the future of Africa and beyond, it says the office would be home to various teams servicing the continent from across the business.
The business will include, sales, partnerships, policy, communications, and engineers.
Facebook’s Director of Public Policy, Africa, Kojo Boakye, explained that the new office in Nigeria presents an important milestone that further reinforces the company’s ongoing commitment to the region.
He adds, “Our mission in Africa is no different from other parts of the world, which is to build community and bring the world closer together.
“I am excited about the possibilities that this will create, not just in Nigeria, but across Africa,” Boakye said.
The policy director said since the opening of its first office in 2015, Facebook had made a number of investments across the continent, aimed at supporting and growing the tech ecosystem.
Boakye further noted that the support includes the recent rollout of its SMB Grants programme in Nigeria and South Africa.
He said this was aimed at supporting over 900 businesses by providing a combination of cash and ad credits to help small businesses as they rebuild from COVID.
According to Facebook’s Head of New Product Experimentation, Ime Archibong, the opening of the new office in Lagos, Nigeria presents new and exciting opportunities in digital innovations to be developed from the continent and taken to the rest of the world.
“All across Africa, we are seeing immense talent in the tech ecosystem and I am proud that with the upcoming opening of our new office, we will build products for the future of Africa, and the rest of the world, with Africans at the helm,” he adds.
“We look forward to contributing further to the African tech ecosystem.
“The investment of the new Facebook office follows the 2018 opening of NG_Hub, its first flagship community hub space in Africa.”
The hub, he said, is opened in partnership with CcHub, and the 2019 opening of a Small Business Group (SBG) Operations Centre in Lagos, in partnership with Teleperformance.
The Regional Director, Facebook Africa, Nunu Ntshingila expressed delight over the new office in Nigeria.
His words, “Five years on from opening our first office on the continent in Johannesburg, South Africa, we will continue to invest in and support local talent, as well as the various communities that use our platforms.”
“The office in Lagos will also be key in helping to expand how we service our clients across the continent,” Ntshingila said
