Twitter is creating a strong presence in Africa, takes HQ to Ghana

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on Monday announced that the company will create a strong presence in Africa. It chose Ghana as its headquarters on the continent.

In a statement, Twitter said it is now actively building a team of African talents in Ghana. It highlighted several roles including product, design, engineering, marketing, and communications. Full details on the available job openings can be found on Twitter Career Site. The company’s current work from home policy allows all applicants to apply and work remotely.

“Twitter’s mission is to serve the public conversation, and it's essential, for the world and for Twitter, to increase the number of people who feel comfortable participating in it,” Twitter said in a Blogpost. “To do this, we need to make it easier for everyone to join in and provide more relevant experiences for people across the world.”

Why Ghana?

Twitter’s choice of mounting its African headquarters in Ghana is driven by the country’s fair democracy which supports freedom of speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet. Ghana’s appointment to host The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligns with the company’s goal to establish a strong presence in the continent.

Besides having its HQ in Ghana and investing in local talent, Twitter has laid out plans to also invest in local communities. Some of the company’s plans include partnerships with Afrochella in Ghana, The HackLab Foundation in Ghana, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, and Amref Health Africa in Kenya.

“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,” Twitter added.

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo took to his Twitter page to make the big announcement. He said the development is a strategic move in the country and both the government and people of Ghana are welcome the move as it will also boost the country’s economy. The president revealed that he and Dorsey had a virtual meeting on April 7 to discuss the way forward for the Ghanaian economy and Twitter.

“As I indicated to Jack in our virtual meeting on 7th April 2021, this is the start of a beautiful partnership between Twitter and Ghana, which is critical for the development of Ghana’s hugely important tech sector,” Governor Akufo-Addo said. “These are exciting times to be in and to do business in Ghana.”

The big announcement comes after nearly 18 months when Dorsey paid a visit to Africa – he visited Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, in 2019. He met with different industry stakeholders on matters concerning Twitter and bitcoin. He said he would return to the continent to spend 6 months by 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the plan.