Twitter Announces First African Headquarters in Ghana
The capital of Ghana, Accra, is set to host Twitter’s new Africa HQ. (Wikimedia Commons).
Twitter has announced it will open a new office in Ghana, its first-ever location in Africa. In a statement released April 12, the company said it would accept applications for 11 positions for remote work in the country, with the possibility of a physical office launch in the future. The advertised job opportunities in Ghana include product, design, engineering, marketing, and communications teams.
Twitter’s statement cited Ghana’s support for free speech and internet freedoms as a major reason for the decision, calling the country “a champion for democracy.” Ghana has exemplified democratic norms for the region since becoming a multiparty democracy in 1992. The government, moreover, continues to respect the foundational human rights enshrined in its constitution, including freedom of expression and access to information. In 2017, a report by the African Freedom of Expression Exchange, an advocacy organization, declared that “Ghana’s freedom of expression and media landscape is one of the freest on the continent.”
The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has its headquarters in Ghana’s capital, Accra, a fact that played a factor in Twitter’s decision. AfCFTA comprises 1.3 billion people living in 55 countries with a total GDP of $3.4 trillion, making it among the largest free trade areas in the world. According to Twitter, moving to Ghana alongside the AfCFTA will aid the company in its “overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support [its] efforts to improve and tailor [its] service across Africa.”
Twitter joins a growing number of technology companies with expanding into Africa. Google, for instance, which already has an office in Lagos, Nigeria, recently announced that it will open a new artificial intelligence research facility in Accra. Long neglected by tech businesses, Africa has become an increasingly attractive market, with internet use now at 39 percent and growing. “Africa will define the future,” Twitter’s founder and CEO, Jack Dorsey, said in 2019.
Ghana in particular has quickly become one of the most desirable beachheads for tech companies looking to do business in Africa, displacing the region’s traditional economic powerhouse, Nigeria. In addition to hosting the Secretariat of AfCFTA, Ghana’s relatively lax regulatory environment makes it easy to do business. Its strong political institutions and the pro-business overtures of its president also make the country appealing.
Twitter’s announcement has brought further hope to Ghana’s future as the tech hub of Africa. “These are exciting times to be in, and to do business in Ghana,” Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo remarked.