Looks like Facebook is heading our way and they are coming in hot with some rather big plans afoot.

Yes it’s true, Mark Zuckerberg and co are opening an office in Jozi. Africa has a combined population of over a billion people yet boasts only 120 million Facebook users, so how do they plan on getting more of us to wile away the hours looking at pictures of people we haven’t spoken to in years? This from TIME:

…Facebook has hired Nunu Ntshingila, the chairman of Ogilvy South Africa…The new office will focus on sales and improving Facebook’s ability to attract local businesses to advertise on the social network.

Ah, I see, it’s businesses they are after. The way in which Africa’s users experience Facebook is also different from the rest of the world, with this below from BusinessInsider:

More than 80% of the continent’s 120 million users access Facebook from their mobile phones.

Not only are these users mobile-only, but they’re usually using bare-bones “feature” phones or “typical” Android smartphones (Facebook refuses to call them “low-end”). That means that advertisers need to make sure their products are easy to understand and to view no matter the screen size or resolution…

Facebook has been working on this problem already, by sending its engineers on expeditions to foreign countries and through a dedicated “empathy” room in its HQ that simulates the sluggish wireless connections that many experience abroad. It launched a Creative Accelerator program earlier this year to help advertisers think of unique ways for advertisers to connect with regional audiences.

Simulating sluggish internet connections? Just wait until they start dealing with Telkom, there will be no simulation necessary.

It is believed the office will start off small, hiring just 25 employees. No doubt competition will be stiff, best start readying those CV’s if you’re so inclined.

[sources:time&businessinsider]