Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s visit to Nigeria in August 2016 generated considerable excitement, particularly within the country’s growing technology and startup community.
Zuckerberg arrived in Nigeria quietly on Tuesday, August 30, 2016, with his first major stop being the Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) in Yaba, Lagos.
During his visit to the innovation centre, Zuckerberg interacted with Nigerian entrepreneurs and young technology enthusiasts. He was reportedly impressed by the energy, creativity and commitment of the young people developing ideas and learning how to code.
His arrival in Nigeria came shortly after a visit to Rome, where he met Pope Francis.
Zuckerberg also attracted attention by moving around Lagos without the kind of elaborate public spectacle often associated with visits by global business figures.
He was seen walking the streets of Yaba and was later reportedly spotted jogging on the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge.
His visit further highlighted the growing interest of the Facebook founder in Nigeria’s technology ecosystem.
His visit further highlighted the growing interest of the Facebook founder in Nigeria’s technology ecosystem.
Facebook had already established a relationship with several Nigerian entrepreneurs and technology startups before the visit. In particular, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative had invested $24 million in Andela, a company that trains and develops African software engineers.
Facebook had also launched its Free Basics service in Nigeria earlier in 2016, providing access to selected online services without data charges through participating mobile networks.
For technology enthusiasts, Zuckerberg’s trip was therefore seen as an opportunity to strengthen Facebook’s relationship with Nigeria’s technology ecosystem, engage with startups and explore further opportunities for investment and collaboration.
Meet Nigerians Working at Facebook
While Zuckerberg’s visit attracted global attention, relatively little was known at the time about the Nigerians and people of Nigerian heritage who had built careers within Facebook and the wider technology industry.
Several talented professionals of Nigerian origin were already working with Facebook in different capacities, contributing to areas ranging from engineering and product development to partnerships, public policy, marketing, payments and risk management.
Here are some of the Nigerians highlighted in the report:
Chukwuemeka Afigbo.
Chukwuemeka Afigbo joined Facebook after working at Google, where he served until 2015.
At Facebook, he was involved in Strategic Product Partnerships for Sub-Saharan Africa and was described as one of the professionals who played a role in Zuckerberg’s Nigeria engagement.
Ime Archibong.
Ime Archibong was the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Facebook, where he led a team responsible for connecting Facebook’s products and strategies with business partners.
His work covered several areas of Facebook’s product ecosystem, including the Messenger platform.
Before joining Facebook, Archibong worked with IBM as an Advanced Technology Business Development professional.
Nmachi Jidenma.
Nmachi Jidenma managed Payments and Commerce Partnerships for Facebook Global from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Before joining Facebook, she had worked with companies including PayPal, Google and JPMorgan.
She was also identified as the founder of CPAfrica.
Ebele Okobi.
Ebele Okobi headed Public Policy for Facebook in Africa at the time.
Before joining Facebook, she served as Global Head and Senior Legal Director for Human Rights at Yahoo!.
Her work placed her at the intersection of technology, public policy and human rights across the African market.
Laurence Aderemi.
Laurence Aderemi was known for building Moni, a person-to-person money transfer application that won the 2013 edition of Start with e-Nnovation.
His technology and business experience reportedly helped attract the attention of Facebook, where he was associated with Payments and Commerce Partnerships.
Morin Oluwole.
Raised in Nigeria and having lived on three continents, Morin Oluwole was described as a multilingual professional who spoke several languages.
At the time, she was serving as Chief of Staff to the Vice President of Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook.
Her international background and experience were highlighted as part of her professional rise within the technology company.
Lauryn (Hale) Ogbechie.
Lauryn Ogbechie worked with Facebook’s Global Platform Partnerships organisation in Menlo Park, California.
She was involved in strategic partnerships with mobile developers, helping them build, grow and monetise applications through the integration of Facebook platform products.
Before joining Facebook, she worked as a digital organiser on President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.
Francis Ebong.
Francis Ebong joined Facebook in November 2015 and worked in online operations.
He was also a graduate of The George Washington University.
Teniola Adedipe.
Before joining Facebook, Teniola Adedipe held two positions at Konga within a period of about 14 months.
She began as Head of Merchandise Planning in January 2014 and later became Associate Director of Retail Operations.
She subsequently joined Facebook as a Program Manager in the Deal Desk and Global Agency team in the New York City area.
Monica Ugwi.
Monica Ugwi was described as a relatively new member of Facebook’s Product Operations division at the time.
She studied Computer Science at Grinnell College and later obtained an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
Olaoluwa Okelola.
Olaoluwa Okelola was identified as a Nigerian-born software engineer working at Facebook.
He attended the International School Ibadan before proceeding to Avi-Cenna International School and later Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Okelola gained early professional experience through internships at Microsoft and Google before joining Facebook in 2007.
Ibrahim Shekoni.
Ibrahim Shekoni worked as a Product Specialist in Facebook’s San Francisco Bay Area operations.
Before joining Facebook in April 2015, he served as Mobile Product Manager at optionsXpress, where he worked on mobile trading applications across multiple platforms.
He had also worked as a Business Analyst at Phoenix Bits Ltd.
Kunbi Adeyemo.
Kunbi Adeyemo served in different capacities at Facebook.
Between 2013 and 2014, she worked on Facebook’s North America Small and Medium Business team as a Customer Insights Analyst.
She later moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she worked in Diversity Programmes, with a focus on women in computer science.
Isaac Nwokocha.
Isaac Nwokocha graduated with a First Class degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2010.
He subsequently explored entrepreneurship and co-founded startups, including TrafficDey, a real-time road traffic web application.
Nwokocha later obtained a master’s degree in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University before joining Facebook, where he worked in product data integrity and community operations/project management.
Michael Awotedu.
Michael Awotedu held an MBA in Finance, graduating summa cum laude from the University of Tampa’s John H. Sykes College of Business.
At Facebook, he worked in Risk Programme Management, contributing to strategy and execution for risk management across products and services.
Before joining Facebook, Awotedu had overseen risk management for Walmart’s check-cashing portfolio.
Why Zuckerberg’s Visit Mattered
Zuckerberg’s 2016 visit came at a time when Nigeria was rapidly emerging as one of Africa’s most important technology and startup markets.
Beyond the excitement generated by the Facebook founder’s presence, his trip drew international attention to the growing pool of Nigerian entrepreneurs, software developers and technology professionals contributing to the global digital economy.
His engagement with CcHub, Nigerian startups and the country’s technology community was widely viewed as an indication of the potential Facebook and other international technology companies saw in Nigeria.
For many young Nigerians building careers in technology, the visit also offered a powerful reminder that ideas developed locally could attract global recognition and investment.
Source: Techpoint.ng
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