Why Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey Is Moving To Africa In 2020 After Recent Tour
Jack Dorsey, the CEO and co-founder of Twitter and Square, was in Africa for most of November.
Dorsey was visiting Africa for the first time on a tour that took him to four countries including Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and Ethiopia.
Headed to Africa for all of November! Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa. Going to spend a lot of time with entrepreneurs, including @betelhem_dessie @noelkudu @GETNETASEFFA! pic.twitter.com/PcLCw8LZwr
— jack ??? (@jack) October 4, 2019
And just as he said he would, Dorsey and the rest of the traveling party spent most of the time meeting tech entrepreneurs and connecting with the local startup ecosystem. Plus there were a lot of selfies with big grins and smiling faces.
So grateful to finally be in Nigeria ??
— jack ??? (@jack) November 7, 2019
Dorsey’s tour of Africa got off to a start in Nigeria where the team perhaps had the most fun and scored its biggest highlight. It was during the tour of Nigeria that Dara Tobi — a Nigerian developer who built the popular Twitter bot, @QuotedReplies — landed a job at Twitter.
When @kayvz asked @QuotedReplies to come work at Twitter. #TechpointMeetsJack #JackInNigeria pic.twitter.com/8nhCAly4r6
— Techpoint Africa (@Techpointdotng) November 8, 2019
The founder of @QuotedReplies just got a job offer with Twitter. The announcement was made at the meeting with media and tech entrepreneurs in Lagos.
Thanks to @Techpointdotng
Congrats Dara!! pic.twitter.com/9jYhQNXGek— #NMCLAGOS2019 (@OloriSupergal) November 8, 2019
That was after Tobi took advantage of a chance encounter by pitching the bot to Dorsey and the rest of the team during a town hall meeting in which the Twitter team took questions from invitees and Dorsey even affirmed that he is interested in investing in African startups.
Asking @jack @ZekyyHenry question. pic.twitter.com/3AVcJVCffn
— Techpoint Africa (@Techpointdotng) November 8, 2019
Dorsey and the team left Nigeria for Ghana after a couple of days. And after Ghana, South Africa was their next port of call. Then from Mzansi, the team made a final stop at Ethiopia.
Dorsey bade Africa goodbye yesterday but not without a promise to return. And soon too.
Sad to be leaving the continent…for now. Africa will define the future (especially the bitcoin one!). Not sure where yet, but I’ll be living here for 3-6 months mid 2020. Grateful I was able to experience a small part. ? pic.twitter.com/9VqgbhCXWd
— jack ??? (@jack) November 27, 2019
The Twitter CEO tweeted that he will be returning to Africa next year in a temporary move that will see him stick around for 3 to 6 months. And that’s because Dorsey believes Africa will “define” the future of cryptocurrency, especially.
“Sad to be leaving the continent for now,” Dorsey tweeted on Wednesday. “Africa will define the future (especially the bitcoin one!). Not sure where yet, but I’ll be living here for 3-6 months mid-2020.”
Africa, much of which lacks the infrastructure of countries in the Western world, has traditionally been ignored by many of the big tech companies. But it looks like that is beginning to change.
In 2016, Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, made a surprise visit to Nigeria after investing in Andela; the Nigeria-headquartered outsourcing firm for software developers. Zuckerberg met with players in the Nigerian tech ecosystem before meeting President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.
Earlier this month, China’s richest man and founder of Alibaba Group visited Nigeria before heading to Ethiopia this week and signing an agreement to establish a new trade platform.
By all accounts, Dorsey, a known crypto enthusiast, will be returning to Africa next year presumably to explore the continent’s crypto potential which places the continent among the hottest spots for bitcoin globally.
