Jack Dorsey - Afrikan Heroes

Why Twitter Chose Ghana Ahead of Nigeria to Set Up Africa Office

April 13, 2021

The choice of Ghana to site its first Africa office came to many Nigerians as a shock because Nigeria is seen as the tech hub of Africa, and with other tech giants such as Facebook, and Google already established in the country. However, with the announcement made through a tweet by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey where he thanked the president of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo for his hospitality and also looking forward to a long lasting relationship between Ghana and Twitter, it became clear that Ghana is the choice. The tweet also included a link to a post on Twitter’s official blog written by Kayvon Beykpour, Product Lead at Twitter, and Uche Adegbite, Director, Product Management, Global Markets.

The blog post noted that Twitter’s mission is to serve the public conversation, and it’s essential, for the world and for Twitter, to increase the number of people who feel comfortable participating in it. “To do this, we need to make it easier for everyone to join in and provide more relevant experiences for people across the world”.

An excerpt from the blog reads: “Today, in line with our growth strategy, we’re excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana. To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.”

According to the post, Twitter will be hiring across several teams including product, design, engineering, marketing and communications. Successful applicants will be onboarded remotely until there is an opportunity to open a physical office in Ghana.

When Jack Dorsey had his African tour in 2019, he visited Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and Ethiopia. For a lot of people this pointed at the possibility of a move into the continent. Now that the move is happening, one does wonder why Ghana was the choice of the countries visited.

Twitter’s blog post answers that question: “As a champion for democracy, Ghana is a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet, of which Twitter is also an advocate.” There are also reports that Twitter management is not happy with the way the Nigerian government handled the #EndSars protests which was heavily supported by Twitter. Twitter sees Nigeria as restraining human rights and freedom of expression especially by the armed forces and the Police and other para-military agencies. Moreso, Twitter believes that young people face a lot of harassment by law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.

On the business side, Twitter cites Ghana’s appointment to host the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a key indicator of the country’s importance in establishing Twitter’s presence across Africa.

Regarding their move into this new market, investing in these markets is key and Twitter has already had partnerships with several impactful African organisations including Amref Health Africa in Kenya, Afrochella in Ghana, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, and The HackLab Foundation in Ghana. The company says it plans to “continue to explore compelling ways we can use the positive power of Twitter to strengthen our communities through employee engagement, platform activation, and corporate giving.”

With Twitter on the continent, Africans can look forward to content and experiences more tailored to them. Twitter’s staff roles for the Ghana team can be found here.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Why Twitter Boss, Jay Z to Fast Track Bitcoin in Africa and India with $23.6 million-Fund

February 16, 2021

With the rise of Bitcoin to a record high trading above $48,000 after the support of Elon Musk, there are plans to fast track Bitcoin in Africa and India by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey who hinted that he is partnering with rapper and Tidal chief Jay Z to create a new endowment to fund Bitcoin development starting in Africa and India. This project which is called ₿trust will be launched with an injection of 500 Bitcoin currently valued at $23.6 million. It would be run without direction from Dorsey or Jay Z.

Jay-Z and Dorsey are also looking for three board members for the trust, which has the mission to “make bitcoin the internet’s currency,” according to the board application form. But in the countries where this project would run, the receptiveness towards Bitcoin differs.

India just announced that it will completely ban cryptocurrencies after giving investors a transition period to divest their holdings. In Africa, most especially Nigeria, on the other hand, there’s been a surge in cryptocurrency transactions in recent years. Last year, Nigerians traded more than $500 million worth of cryptocurrency on major local crypto exchanges, making it the only second to the US in terms of volume of bitcoin traded in the last five years.

However, Nigeria’s central bank recently asked banks and other financial institutions to close the accounts of cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. In South Africa, there’s scepticism from the government towards cryptocurrencies due to growing crypto scams.

While India, Nigeria and South Africa are sceptical towards crypto, Kenya and the corporate world is starting to embrace it. In Kenya, the Central Bank has decided to switch to use Bitcoin as a reserve currency in order to resolve growing financial problems in the country.

Last week, Mastercard became the latest payment company to support cryptocurrencies, joining Visa, and even US traditional banks. Telsa also announced that it would accept Bitcoin in payment for its electric vehicles, after buying up $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency. The announcement of this project could help change the receptiveness of many countries towards Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Twitter to Label the Verified Accounts of Governments and Officials

February 13, 2021

Twitter is planning to label the verified accounts of governments and government officials. The social media network believes this will help users when interacting with these leaders and associated institutions by adding context to what people see on Twitter. According to an official blog post, Twitter says it will add labels to verified accounts of key government officials, including foreign ministers, institutional entities, ambassadors, official spokespeople, and key diplomatic leaders. At this time, our focus is on senior officials and entities that are the official voice of the state abroad;

Twitter has also officially launched its new Quote Tweets feature – after initially testing it just last week. The feature allows Twitter users to see how many times a specific tweet has been retweeted with a comment.

“Tweets about a Tweet add more to the conversation, so we’ve made them even easier to find,” says the social platform. “Retweets with comments are now called Quote Tweets and they’ve joined the Tweet detail view. Tap into a Tweet, then tap “Quote Tweets” to see them all in one place.”

According to The Verge, users have always been able to search for quote tweets by entering a tweet’s URL into Twitter’s search box, but a dedicated button makes the process much more convenient.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

COVID-19: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Donates $1bn, Representing 28% Of His Entire Wealth

April 8, 2020

Jack Dorsey, founder and CEO of Twitter has announced he is moving $1bn of his total equity in Twitter to his foundation, Start Small LLC to fund global COVID-19 relief. Dorsey, who has a net worth of about $3.3 billion according to Forbes, announced the plan Tuesday on Twitter. He said the $1 billion represents 28% of his net wealth. The funds will be distributed through the Start Small Foundation, a donor-advised fund through the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

“Why now? The needs are increasingly urgent, and I want to see the impact in my lifetime,” Dorsey wrote on Twitter. “I hope this inspires others to do something similar. Life is too short, so let’s do everything we can today to help people now.”

Here Is All You Need To Know

According to a Google Doc that Dorsey set up to disclose his donations, the first funding he contributed was $100,000 on April 2 to America’s Food Fund, an initiative launched by Leonardo DiCaprio, Apple, Laurene Powell Jobs, and the Ford Foundation and backed by Oprah Winfrey to provide food to those in need during the coronavirus crisis.
Dorsey said that “After we disarm this pandemic,” the focus of the fund will shift to two other causes: girl’s health and education and universal basic income. That’s because “I believe they represent the best long-term solutions to the existential problems facing the world,” he wrote. “UBI is a great idea needing experimentation. Girl’s health and education is critical to balance.”
Jack Dorsey also explained that he is tapping into his Square holdings and not Twitter because “I own a lot more Square” and that he will need to pace sales of the stock “over some time.” He added, “The impact this money will have should benefit both companies over the long-term because it’s helping the people we want to serve.”

Dorsey explained why is #startsmall is an LLC:

“This segments and dedicates my shares to these causes, and provides flexibility. Grants will be made from Start Small Foundation or the LLC directly based on the beneficiary org. All transfers, sales, and grants will be made public in tracking sheet.”

Dorsey said the transparency is important to show his work “so I and others can learn.” He also said he had discovered and funded ($40m) many organisations with proven impact and efficiency in the past, mostly anonymously.

“Going forward, all grants will be public,” he said.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.

Jack Dorsey Delays His Temporary Relocation to Africa

March 7, 2020

Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey will probably delay his planned temporary relocation to Africa due mainly to the Covid-19 epidemic ravaging the world presently. It could be recalled that the Twitter boss had in November 2019, during a visit to Nigeria surprised many by announcing that in 2020 he will be moving to a country in Africa for six months. Adding that “Africa will define the future, but 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.”

However, Jack Dorsey seems to be backtracking from his African plans, citing concerns over the global Coronavirus outbreak. He made this known during a telecoms conference over the week that there is need to take a cautionary approach to the planned relocation as events are unfolding globally especially as concerns the corvid-19 outbreak. Speaking, he said that “ with everything happening with the world, particularly coronavirus, I have to reconsider what’s going on and what that means for me and for the company,” he said, adding, “next time we give updates on this, I’ll explain all the ‘whys’ and give much deeper context.” He added that “I had been working on my plans where I’d work decentralized, as my team and I do when we travel, but in light of COVID-19 and everything else going on I need to reevaluate,” Dorsey said. “Either way we’ll continue to pursue opportunities in Africa.”

Analysts however say that Dorsey’s change of plan has nothing to do with the Corvid-19 but that the CEO is facing a restive board and likely shareholder revolt. Shrtly after his return from his African trip late last year, Prof. Scott Galloway wrote to demand for Dorsey’s replacement over his announcement of a move to Africa. He also faulted Dorsey’s leadership of two companies. Aside his being head at Twitter, Dorsey is also the CEO of financial services company, Square.

Galloway’s letter while citing concerns over Twitter’s performance, what was left unsaid was the widely held belief that Dorsey was moving to Africa for his other company, Square. His tweet in November expressing a belief in a future for cryptocurrency in Africa may have fueled this belief. In the end, Galloway’s letter did not change the state of affairs at Twitter, but a more influential investor is looking to do that.

Just last week, a New York based Elliott Management Corp bought 4% shares of Twitter and has now nominated four directors to Twitter’s board as it reportedly makes plans to remove Dorsey as CEO. While Galloway’s open letter might have made some headlines, it is Elliott Management which will be able to force Dorsey out from the company he co-founded. Observers say that Elliot will most likely call for a change in Twitter as they are known to have done elsewhere, especially with Pernod Ricard. Thus it is no surprise that this sequence of events coincide with Dorsey’s announcement. Even with his preference for remote work, trying to retain his control of Twitter will need him to be on the ground.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Africa is the Future, Says Twitter CEO

November 30, 2019

Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey has hinted that he will spend most of next year in Africa because Africa is the best kept secret that will define the future in virtually every aspect of e-commerce. The Twitter chief who said he has set his sights set on Africa said that he felt a tinge of sadness leaving the continent after his visit promised that he will be in the continent for 3-6 months from mid 2020. Grateful I was able to experience a small part.

Uganda Introduces e-Commerce Tax

Dorsey who has been visiting Ethiopia for a business meeting with entrepreneurs and cryptocurrency professionals while he also paid a visit to Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa was in Ethiopia to hold talks on bitcoin and blockchain which he said has a great future in the continent. He tweeted that his move will be more focused on the business around cryptocurrency. It is unclear whether the work will be more tailored to Twitter or Square.

Analysts say that Africa has been on priority for many top CEO’s of tech firms from across the world basically because the continent offers great opportunities, the youngest populations, and huge head room for growth as these form parts of the bigger trends top tech companies are looking to explore in various countries within the continent.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry