Facebook is setting up shop in Lagos, Nigeria. The new office is the company’s second in the African continent but the first one “to house a team of expert engineers building for the future of Africa and beyond,” the company says.
The Facebook Nigeria offices will serve the entire Sub-Saharan Africa region, with operations expected to kick off in the second half of 2021.
“Our new office in Nigeria presents an important milestone which further reinforces our ongoing commitment to the region,” commented Kojo Boakye, Facebook’s Director of Public Policy, Africa.
Boakye adds that their mission is “to build community and bring the world closer together.”
Facebook’s recent move is part of its ongoing investment on the continent at large. It first set up shop in Africa five years ago, in Johannesburg, South Africa, followed by several investments to support the growing tech community.
The social media giant’s recent notable investment is 2Africa, a 37,000 kilometers long sub-sea internet cable. 2Africa will interconnect 23 countries in Africa, including Kenya and other regions like the Middle East and Europe.
Facebook said 2Africa would deliver nearly three times the total network capacity of all the subsea cables serving Africa today.
“The opening of our 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,” says Ime Archibong, Facebook’s Head of New Product Experimentation.
“All across Africa we’re seeing immense talent in the tech ecosystem, and I’m proud that with the upcoming opening of our new office, we’ll be building products for the future of Africa, and the rest of the world, with Africans at the helm.”
“We look forward to contributing further to the African tech ecosystem.”
