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This Infographic Shows That Facebook Has Done More In Africa In 2019 Than Any Other Big Tech

| December 12, 2019

Back in 2016, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of the world’s largest social media platform, Facebook, visited Africa for the first time, touching down on Nigeria and Kenya.

The ‘Big Tech CEO’ visit to Africa was taken by many as an effort by Zuckerberg to assess his Facebook empire in Africa and promote his business interests, especially since the number of subscribers on the continent increased by a whopping 732.8 percent between 2010 and 2016, more than any other region during that period.

Indeed, since Zuckerberg’s Africa visit, Facebook has ramped up its efforts on the continent, perhaps embarking on more projects in Africa than any other so-called “big tech firm”.

Today, the world’s largest social media platform, Facebook, released its ‘2019 Year in Review’ infographic, showcasing just some of its investments across Sub-Saharan in 2019.

Committed to giving people the power to build community and bring the world closer together, throughout the year, this translated into significant support and investments into growing the ecosystem of developers, entrepreneurs, creatives, and many other communities.

As contained in a press release, during 2019, Facebook made its presence felt in Africa in the following ways:

Trained over 7,000 women-owned businesses in digital skills across sub-Saharan Africa.
Celebrated 79 Community Leadership Circle meetups with over 2,650 people attending.
Reached its 45th Developer Circle, with circles now in 17 African countries and representing more than 70,000 members.
Hosted the first-ever iD8 Nairobi Conference with over 400 African developers and startups in attendance.
Expanded Third-Party Fact-Checking across 10 African countries.
Announced the creation of the world’s most detailed population density maps of Africa, created by Facebook AI researchers to help humanitarian aid and relief agencies; and much more.

According to Nunu Ntshingila, Regional Director Facebook Africa, who was quoted in the release: “Africa is important to Facebook, and we’re committed to investing in its youth, entrepreneurs, the creative industries, tech ecosystem as well as its many other communities.

“Our 2019 Year in Review highlights just some of these investments and the impact we’ve been able to have here in the region. I’m excited about the future of Facebook and our family of apps here in Africa, as well as the potential of this young, mobile and dynamic continent, and look forward to creating partnerships in 2020 and beyond.”