Following months of speculation popular social network company Facebook has announced that it will open its first Africa office in South Africa.

Facebook, which claims to have 120 million active users in Africa, said in a statement that this move is to further its commitment to help businesses connect with people and grow locally and regionally.

The social network’s new office will be located in one of Johannesburg’s suburbs, Melrose Arch, and will be headed by Ogilvy veteran, Nunu Ntshingila, the company’s new head of Africa.

This office will support the significant growth in businesses and people using Facebook, reads the statement.

“We are inspired by the incredible ways people and businesses in Africa use Facebook to connect. This momentum in Africa comes on top of strong advertiser partnerships and excellent adoption of our products across all regions. In Q1 2015, 52% of our total ad revenue came from outside the US and Canada. But we’re just getting started,” said Nicola Mendelsohn, vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Facebook.

Mendelsohn added, “Africa is important to Facebook, and this office is a key part of our strategy to expand our investment and presence across EMEA. Facebook is already a central part of people’s lives in Africa, and with more than a billion people in Africa, we want to do more to help people and businesses connect.”

The statement further reveals that Facebook plans to initially focus on growing its business in anchor countries in the major regions of sub-Saharan Africa namely Kenya (East Africa), Nigeria (West Africa), and South Africa (Southern Africa).

Other supported territories include Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Mozambique and Ethiopia, the statement said.

Facebook also plans to partner with governments, telecom operators, agencies and other stakeholders to deliver localised solutions to advertisers and users continent-wide.