In Africa, where Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has more than 100 million users, one in every ten Africans are joining the social networker every month, the company revealed on Monday, along with revealing the new target audience for the advertisers. As per the data, 80% of those users are accessing the site via mobile of those. Earlier this year, a study from Ericsson revealed that seven in 10 African consumers access the internet through mobile while 6% use desktop to do so.
Africa holds huge potential
Global mobile advertising revenue for Facebook increased over 150% in the second-quarter and contributed 62% of the total ad revenue.
Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook Inc’s vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said “there is a fantastic opportunity for business as well if you are local or a global business. Knowing that there is all these people now in Africa that you can connect with, that is exciting as well.”
The executive added that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has been known for customising products to fit the needs of the countries it is operating in. Globally, the Social networker has over 1.5 million active advertisers and more than 1.3 billion active users. There was no mention of the amount that the continent contributes as advertising revenue, but the company revealed that Europe, Middle East and Africa together account for 30% of the global revenue.
Facebook to invest more resources in Africa
According to Mendelsohn, the social networker will invest more resources in Africa to determine how the users in the region use Facebook. The company is, also, thinking of opening up an office in the region by 2015.
A few months back, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) supported an initiative to make internet accessible to Zambia in Southern Africa. With the help of Internet.org, local residents were able to gain access to the basic apps such as health and employment services, Wikipedia, Facebook, Google Search, a women’s rights and a weather app.
Facebook will work along partners like Unilever to test solutions in many countries like Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. Unilever has been focusing its efforts to global health and well-being.
“At Unilever we believe in putting people first. It’s our mission to connect our brands with the people we serve in order to help improve people’s health and well-being and enhance livelihoods,” said Jay Altschuler, Director of Global Media, Unilever.
Image credit/source: Facebook.com
