According to online media, Ghana's Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has confirmed that Twitter founder Jack Dorsey will be based in the country for six months to set up the Twitter Africa HQ, while visiting other African countries.

In early April ITWeb reported on Twitter’s decision to establish its first physical presence in Africa in Ghana.

It quoted a statement from the social network: “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.”

An additional excerpt continues: “...as a champion for democracy, Ghana is a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet, of which Twitter is also an advocate. Furthermore, Ghana’s recent appointment to host The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligns with our overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support our efforts to improve and tailor our service across Africa.”

Ghana president Nana Akufo-Addo is reported to have 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."

ITWeb Africa also reported that Ghana has on previous occasions made headlines that link it to social media clampdowns and threats to shut down the internet.

Minister Owusu-Ekuful, in February 2020, urged social media operators to self-regulate.

She was quoted as saying “If we don’t self-regulate the state will be compelled to set in place the mechanisms to regulate our usage of the internet.”