Facebook Opening Africa Office to Target Next Billion Users
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North America has a population of about 500 million, and two-fifths of them are on Facebook. In Africa, with more than 1 billion people, just 120 million use the social network. That’s an opportunity Facebook Inc. can’t ignore, though the region poses challenges unlike those the company has faced in more developed markets.
To spur growth on the continent, Facebook next month is opening an office in an affluent suburb of Johannesburg. The sales office will be headed by Nunu Ntshingila, 51, chairman of WPP Plc’s Ogilvy & Mather agency in South Africa, who will oversee Facebook’s business in the region.