Facebook has announced that 16 million people in Nigeria visit Facebook every month with 100% of them checking in on mobile. Of the 7.2 million people who visit Facebook daily, 7 million use a mobile device.
Facebook’s visit coincided with Friends Day (4 February), or Facebook’s 12th birthday. During the past five years, the global Facebook community has more than doubled in size, and its community in Nigeria continues to grow.
Though a large number, Facebook has just scratched the surface of its Nigerian fanbase. According to Nicola Mendelsohn , Vice President, EMEA, at Facebook “…we’re only 1% done in Nigeria and inspired to do even more in this fast-moving, mobile first country. For us, Friends Day in Nigeria was about hearing the stories of our community using Facebook our platform to grow and connect with others. We have made amazing progress over the past year. ”
Not oblivious of the great potential Nigerian users portend for the social media giant, Nunu Ntshingila, Head of Africa for Facebook, said: “This is the year we deepen our partnerships with Nigerian businesses. We’re committed to Nigeria, and during this visit we shared insights with our business and agency partners on how to deliver personalised marketing, at scale, where people are – on their mobile phone. We want to make sure Nigeria – its people, its agencies and its businesses – realise the opportunity that technology and mobile bring.”
Ntshingila continued: “We know the mobile platform people use the most in Nigeria is Facebook and up to 77% of Nigerians on Facebook use their mobile device to discover new products and services. Nigerians are sophisticated mobile users and this sophistication is increaseing fast – people are ahead of businesses, and we’re here to help businesses create mobile-first solutions to grow their business.”
As part of their inclusive and localised content strategy, Facebook also hosted a dinner for women leaders in Nigeria where Mendelsohn and Ntshingila spoke about how entrepreneurship and technology can drive economies and create jobs.
