Facebook has hit 100-million users in Africa, with 80% of them accessing the social networking site via mobile phones.
Nicola Mendelsohn, EMEA vice-president at Facebook, says: “People in high-growth countries want to be connected to the world around them. In countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Turkey and elsewhere, mobile devices are increasingly the way people find new information, and share their new experiences in the world.
“We also know that people will experience Facebook in unique ways across the world, especially in high-growth regions like Africa.”
Rob Norman, chief digital officer of Global Group M, adds: “In Africa, we are seeing explosive growth and incredible momentum across the region. At the same time, when you look at the staggering cost of connectivity in many countries, mobile services need to deliver maximum utility on the biggest range of devices and consume the smallest amount of data, which is exactly what Facebook provides.”
Facebook’s growth in Africa is indicative of the company’s global success. The social media pioneer closed on the stock exchange yesterday with a market capitalisation of R200,88-billion.