Many Nigerians believe that Twitter’s decision is a rejection for the continent’s largest economy, which is experiencing rapid growth and investment in its technology environment.
Now it looks like your business will make that move first.
The social media giant also cited Ghana’s accommodation at the secretariat of the African Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) as another reason to move there, and said it fits into “its ambition to establish a presence in the region that will support our efforts to better adapt our service across Africa. ”
There is no facility to do business
Some Nigerians blamed one “unscrupulous business environment “for Twitter to choose Ghana over Nigeria.
Another commenter, Onye Ajuju, said Twitter’s decision was justified and that Nigerians had a “full sense of entitlement.”
“It’s amazing to see Nigerians getting angry because Twitter went to Ghana. The lack of awareness of how bad things are in the country, the sense of entitlement, the baffling expectations that everyone will accept Nigeria’s dysfunction … it’s amazing ! ” she said.
In 2018, Facebook opened its first community space in Africa in Nigeria’s commercial city, Lagos, while announcing plans to open an operational office last year also in Lagos, but for technology investors like Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, it remains to be seen whether Nigeria will continue to attract the necessary foreign investment.
“We need to think carefully about why Twitter chose Ghana, not necessarily in the context of whether we want to bring Twitter to Nigeria or not, but in the context of what we need to be a competitive destination for investors,” he said. Bark at CNN on Tuesday.
“We need to start thinking very carefully about improving democracy and the rule of law, freedom of expression and, most importantly, our role in the possibility of a free trade agreement in Africa. it’s enough for us to just be a big market … we have next door, a very competitive neighbor, who does everything right to become the center of West Africa, ”he added.
“A more productive market”
Another Nigerian businessman and technology investor Bosun Tijani told CNN that Twitter simply chose a more productive market to direct its operations in Africa.
“While Nigeria has a huge market that Twitter would love to target, the business environment here is quite demanding … It’s cumbersome … the cost of running a business here is high. But with the agreement of AfCFTA single market that is signed in Africa until a company like Twitter can choose to set up in a small market like Ghana (which offers the best opportunity for it to work) and continue to serve the Nigerian market, ”said Tijani, who runs a technology innovation lab, CcHUB.
Ghana was also ranked as the 43rd most peaceful country in the world, in the 2020 World Peace Index, placing 104 points ahead of Nigeria, facing the Boko Haram insurgency and periodic outbreaks of violence.