On his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa, Mark Zuckerberg decided that Nigeria would be his first stop! So on Tuesday August, 30th he touched down in Lagos, the business capital of Nigeria on what many are calling a sort of messianic visit considering how inspirational the Facebook founder has been to the budding tech industry Nigeria. What an honour to all the young men and women in Nigeria who look up to him as a modern day proof of hardwork, dedication and absolute success. Nigeria couldn’t have needed this visit any other time as much as right now. With a declining currency value and stagnant economy, Zuckerberg’s visit is a ray of sunshine and hope for Nigeria during these rough economic times.
We have curated a timeline of Zuckerberg’s visit which included meeting with developers, Nollywood stars and entrepreneurs and eating pounded yam like as though he’s a son of the land (love it!).
First stop, the Co-creation Hub Nigeria (CcHUB) in Yaba
In his words, “I’ll be meeting with developers and entrepreneurs, and learning about the startup ecosystem in Nigeria. The energy here is amazing and I’m excited to learn as much as I can.. I got to talk to kids at a summer coding camp and entrepreneurs who come to CcHub to build and launch their apps. I’m looking forward to meeting more people here!
He met with entrepreneur, Rosemary Njoku at the Facebook Express Wi-Fi stand she runs in Lagos
According to Mark, “Express Wi-Fi empowers entrepreneurs to build a business by providing their community with access to the internet. Facebook designed the technology, and local internet providers add the connectivity. Express Wi-Fi is part of our Internet.org initiative.”
He continued, “Rosemary already had a business before she also started selling Express Wi-Fi as well, but she told me she now has 3,000 customers and makes much more money from Express Wi-Fi. She’s a great example of how local entrepreneurs spread internet access around the world.
This week, we’re launching a satellite into space to enable more entrepreneurs across Africa to sell Express Wi-Fi and more people to access reliable internet. That means more connectivity and more opportunity for entrepreneurs like Rosemary everywhere.”
He took a run across Ikoyi Bridge
In his words, “Quick run this morning across the Ikoyi Bridge with entrepreneurs in the Lagos Road Warriors running club. Best way to see a city!”
He hung out with Nollywood stars and musicians, hey, all work and no play makes Mark a dull boy…
In his words, “Visited Nollywood, crashed a hip hop music video, and met some of Nigeria’s biggest stars.”
He ate jollof rice…Listen to him talk about Nigerian food…
He held a meeting which aired on Facebook Live with developers and entrepreneurs in Lagos.
Next stop is Nairobi, Kenya where the tech guru hopes to continue with his gospel of internet for all as he continues to meet with and inspire Africa entrepreneurs and developers.
