Nigerian Facebook Hub Sets To Open Next Year

Facebook is set to open a “community hub space” in Nigeria next year to encourage software developers and technology entrepreneurs, and become the latest technology giant to pursue a training programme in fast-growing Africa.

The social media company said the centre would host an “incubator programme” to help develop technology start-ups, while it would also train 50,000 Nigerians in digital skills.

Africa’s rapid population growth, falling data costs and heavy adoption of mobile phones rather than PCs is attracting technology companies looking to attract more users.

Facebook did not provide details of the period over which its planned training would take place in Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous country with 180 million inhabitants, according to Reuters.

“We understand the important role Facebook plays here in Nigeria with developers and start-ups and are interested in helping these communities,” Emeka Afigbo, its regional head of platform partnership said in a statement on Wednesday.

Facebook said the training, aimed at software developers, entrepreneurs and students, would be offered in cities, including Abuja, Port Harcourt, Calabar and Kaduna.

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

Google’s chief executive in a July visit to Lagos said the company aimed to train 10 million people across the continent in online skills over the next five years. He also said it hoped to train 100,000 software developers in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

Although Africa may not offer as much opportunity to add consumers as China or India, because large wealth gaps mean that many people in places like Nigeria have little disposable income, Facebook said more than 22 million people already use its social media website every month in Nigeria.

Widespread poverty means mobile adoption tends to favour basic phone models. That, combined with poor telecommunications infrastructure, can mean slow Internet speeds and less Internet surfing.