Social media network, Twitter has announced its presence in Africa with the establishment of its continental headquarters in Ghana.
This announcement was made on the company’s official blog on Monday, 12th April 2021, where it stated that the move will grant the company the opportunity to “be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.”
Twitter explained that the reason behind choosing Ghana as its Africa headquarters is because the country is the champion for democracy, and also practices freedom of speech and online freedom.
The siting of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area was another reason the social media giant claimed influenced its decision.
“As a champion for democracy, Ghana is a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet, of which Twitter is also an advocate. Furthermore, 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.”
This announcement comes after the company’s CEO Jack Dorsey’s visited Ghana in December 2019.
Ghanaians welcome announcement
Ghanaians have welcomed the announcement by Twitter.
President Nana Akufo-Addo in a tweet described Twitter’s choice for Ghana as “Excellent news”.
“The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is excellent news. Government and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country. As I indicated to Jack Dorsey [Twitter CEO] in our virtual meeting of 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,” he added.
