A paragon of the success of online innovations and businesses, social media giant
Facebook
has revealed that it has 100 million Africans logged on to its platform, ironically the company has no physical office in the whole of Africa, which contributes 30 percent of the company’s $7.9 billion revenue, together with Europe and the Middle East.
One out 10 Africans log on to Facebook every month representing 100 million or 10 percent of the continent’s 1.1 billion population, said the world’s No.1 online social media on Monday, as it presented a new target audience for advertisers.
Facebook says 80 percent of the 100 million people in Africa logged on its platform are accessing it via mobiles, thanks to the rapid growth of Smartphones and internet enabled mobile devices.
Still basking in its 2013 revenue of $7.87 billion, Facebook’s global mobile advertising revenue skyrocketed over 150 percent in the second quarter of 2014, accounting for about 62 percent of overall ad revenue. The company now looks to even further add to the impressive ad gains by marketing its booming African base.
“There is a fantastic opportunity for business as well if you are local or a global business. Knowing that there is all these people now in Africa that you can connect with, that is exciting as well,” said Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook’s vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
She added that Facebook would be pouring more resources into Africa to understand how consumers use its product and is considering opening an office on the continent in 2015, though he did not say where the office might be.
Mendelsohn also disclosed that the company is customising products to fit the needs of individual countries, stating that it can now target users based on their internet speeds.
Created in 2004, Facebook has more than 1.3 billion active users globally, over 1.5 million active advertisers; and according to Mendelsohn, Africa, together with Europe and the Middle East, contributes 30 percent of the company’s global revenue.
