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Facebook has opened its first office in Africa to advance the company’s commitment to assist businesses to connect with people and grow locally and regionally. This office, based in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, South Africa, will support the growth in businesses and people, using the world’s largest social media platform.

Facebook is already an important part of how people and businesses connect in Africa. The social networking site’s active users in Africa have grown 20% to 120 million people as of June 2015, from 100 million in September 2014. And more than 80% of these people access Facebook from their mobile phones.

Facebook's new African office will be led by Ogilvy South Africa’s advertising veteran, Nunu Ntshingila, as Head of Africa.

In her comments, Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook’s Vice President, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), said, “We are inspired by the incredible ways people and businesses in Africa use Facebook to connect. This momentum in Africa comes on top of strong advertiser partnerships and excellent adoption of our products across all regions.”

Nicola, who is Facebook’s most senior employee outside the United States, further said, “Africa is important to Facebook, and this office is a key part of our strategy to expand our investment and presence across EMEA. Facebook is already a central part of people’s lives in Africa, and with more than a billion people in Africa, we want to do more to help people and businesses connect.”

Meanwhile, Ari Kesisoglu, Regional Director, Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Facebook said: “Our new African office will support our customers across the continent. We know that a one-size-fits-all approach won't work when it comes to building products and solutions that address diverse needs on the continent, which is why we are committed to creating solutions tailored to people, businesses and specifically for African markets.”

Facebook will initially focus on growing its business in anchor countries in the major regions of Sub Saharan Africa:  Kenya (East Africa), Nigeria (West Africa), and South Africa (Southern Africa). Other supported territories include Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Mozambique and Ethiopia.

Facebook will partner with governments, telecom operators, agencies and other stakeholders to deliver localised solutions to advertisers and users continent-wide. It will continue to focus on tailoring solutions, metrics and ad formats to the needs of customers and advertisers in the mobile-first, mobile-only African environment.

In further comments, Nicola also mentioned that Facebook is delighted to have a strong leadership team on the continent to be led by Nunu Ntshingila, who will be joining Facebook in September. A graduate of the University of Swaziland and Morgan State University in the U.S., Ntshingila has also held senior positions at Nike and the South African Tourism board.