Facebook opens office in Africa, targets one billion users

The online social networking service, Facebook, has launched its first headquarters in Africa in a bid to expand its 120 million African users.

With more than one billion people, the African continent holds some of the most promising prospects for growth and expansion.

“This is one of the places where our next billion users are coming from," Facebook's vice-president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa Nicola Mendelsohn told Bloomberg news.

The new office will be located in Johannesburg, South Africa and will focus on the growing markets within the continent including countries like Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Senegal, and Ghana.

Nunu Ntshingila, the chairman of Ogilvy South Africa, will be leading the new African sales team in Johannesburg according to Bloomberg news. The new office will focus on sales and help advertisers create and deliver ads appealing to African customers.

“We are committed to creating solutions tailored to people, businesses and specifically for African markets,” said Ari Kesisoglu, regional director for Facebook in the Middle East and Africa.

The social network has already been seeking to expand its presence on the African continent for some time. One of its largest initiatives is the Internet.org program, a partnership between Facebook and six other companies (Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Opera Software, Nokia, and Qualcomm). It aims to bring affordable Internet access to developing countries and facilitate access to basic information and online services.

One of the first products of the Internet.org initiative was an app that allows people in developing countries to access basic web services free of charge, allowing users to access vital health, employment, and local information services. It first launched in Zambia and has been expanded into Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, Colombia, and parts of India.

In March, reports showed that Facebook was testing solar-powered drones to down laser-guided internet signals. Facebook says it plans on bringing internet connections to the even the most remote locations.

The goal of Facebook’s expansion and efforts to improve internet access in Africa is increased advertising revenue although Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has said that advertising to Internet.org users was “not an immediate priority.”