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Mark Zuckerberg visits Nigeria to explore startup industry

30 Aug 2016, 07:30 pm
Financial Nigeria
Mark Zuckerberg visits Nigeria to explore startup industry

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- While in Nigeria, Zuckerberg says he plans to listen, learn, and take ideas back to California on how Facebook can better support tech development and entrepreneurship across Africa.

Mark Zuckerberg, Founder/ CEO, Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, has arrived Nigeria for a weeklong trip to visit the Yaba technology hub in Lagos and explore Nollywood.

While in Nigeria, Zuckerberg said he plans to listen, learn, and take ideas back to California on how Facebook can better support tech development and entrepreneurship across Africa.

“This is my first trip to sub-Saharan Africa. I'll be meeting with developers and entrepreneurs, and learning about the startup ecosystem in Nigeria. The energy here is amazing and I'm excited to learn as much as I can,” Zuckerberg said.

The Facebook founder visited a 'Summer of Code Camp' at the Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) in Yaba, which is known as the Silicon Valley of Nigeria. At CcHub, Zuckerberg met with developers like Temi Giwa, who runs a platform called Life Bank that makes blood available when and where it is needed in Nigeria.

“The first place I got to visit was the Co-creation Hub Nigeria (CcHUB) in Yaba. I got to talk to kids at a summer coding camp and entrepreneurs who come to CcHub to build and launch their apps. I'm looking forward to meeting more people in Nigeria,” said Zuckerberg.

After leaving CcHub, Zuckerberg went to Andela, an engineering organization that trains top tech talents in Africa in partnership with Silicon Valley tech giants. Earlier this year, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) invested $24 million in Andela after being impressed by the company's innovative model of learning and its drive to connect the global technology ecosystem with the most talented developers in Africa.

“We are excited and honoured to welcome Mark Zuckerberg to Lagos. His visit reinforces not only his support of Andela’s mission, but his belief that indeed the next generation of great technology leaders will come out of Lagos, Nigeria and cities across Africa,” said Seni Sulyman, Director of Andela Lagos. “Mark’s visit demonstrates to all Nigerian developers and entrepreneurs that they’ve caught the attention of the tech world, and they are capable of succeeding on a truly global level."

Zuckerberg also visited a Facebook Express WiFi stand in Lagos owned by Rosemary Njoku, a Nigerian entrepreneur. (Facebook's Express WiFi allows entrepreneurs to set up a hot spot to help their community access apps and services built by local developers).


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