Facebook To Open Nigerian Hub Next Year

Mark-Zuckerberg

Facebook To Open Nigerian Hub Next Year

Facebook will open a community hub next year in Nigeria to encourage software developers and technology entrepreneurs to become the newest technology giant pursuing a training program in a growing Africa.

The US social media company said the center will launch an "incubation program" to support the development of technology start-ups while building 50,000 Nigerian digital skills.

Africa's rapid population growth, falling data costs and the proliferation of mobile phones instead of PCs are attracting technology companies looking for more users.

Facebook did not disclose details of the period during which its planned training would take place in Nigeria, which is the most populated country in Africa, with 180 million inhabitants, according to Reuters.

We understand the important role that Facebook plays here in Nigeria with developers and startups, and we are interested in helping those communities, said Emeka Afigbo in a statement Wednesday, his regional manager of the partnership.

Facebook said that training would be offered to software developers, entrepreneurs and students in cities such as Abuja, Port Harcourt, Calabar and Kaduna.

Last year, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg visited technology companies in Lagos, and his charitable foundation provided $ 24 million to Andela, the developer who trains developers.

Google's CEO, during a visit to Lagos in July, said the company's goal is to train 10 million people across the continent in online skills over the next five years. He also said he hopes to train 100,000 software developers in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

Although Africa does not offer as many opportunities to gain consumers such as China or India, large prosperity gaps mean that many people in countries like Nigeria have little disposable income. ,

Generalized poverty means that mobile adoption tends to favor basic phone models. This, coupled with poor telecommunications infrastructure, can result in slow Internet speeds and less Internet browsing.