Global social media company Twitter has established its first physical presence on the African continent in Ghana, 15 years after the launch of the micro-blogging platform.

The company says the West African country was chosen as its stepping stone into Africa because Ghana is a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the open Internet, of which Twitter is also an advocate.

Furthermore, Twitter says Ghana’s recent appointment to host the secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligns with the US-based company’s overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support its efforts to improve and tailor service across Africa.

The social network is particularly popular in the US where, as of January 2021, the micro-blogging service had an audience reach of 69.3 million users. Globally, as of the third quarter of 2020, Twitter had 187 million monetisable daily active users, according to research firm Statista.

Announcing the Ghana move, Twitter says: “Today, in line with our growth strategy, we’re excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana. To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place everyday across the African continent.”

The company on its blog adds: “Twitter’s mission is to serve the public conversation, and it’s essential for the world and for Twitter, to increase the number of people who feel comfortable participating in it. To do this, we need to make it easier for everyone to join in and provide more relevant experiences for people across the world.”

It is now looking for specialists to join its Ghana teams, including product, design, engineering, marketing and communications. Full details on current job openings can be found on the Twitter Careers site.

“We look forward to welcoming and onboarding our new team members remotely so that we can make an immediate impact while we explore the opportunity to open an office in Ghana in the future.

“Whenever we enter new markets, we work hard to ensure we are not just investing in the talent that we hire, but also investing in local communities and the social fabric that supports them.”

Reacting to the news, Ghana president Nana Akufo-Addo tweeted: “The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is excellent news. Government and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country.

“As I indicated to @Jack [Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey] in our virtual meeting of 7th April 2021, this is the start of a beautiful partnership between Twitter and Ghana, which is critical for the development of Ghana’s hugely important tech sector. These are exciting times to be in, and to do business in Ghana."