E-Business
Twitter’s Investment in Africa
Ejiro Obodo
When Twitter announced that it is assembling a team and will soon launch a physical office in Ghana two weeks ago, there was joy and awe in Nigeria.
Joy, because the most boisterous social media platform on earth is finally berthing in Africa. Awe, because many expected Twitter to site its office in Nigeria, a country that considers itself the most vibrant market for the platform on the continent.
In spite of the mixed reaction, Twitter’s venture on the Continent is a big win for Nigeria. And for those who still do not understand what the platform stands for, it is worth noting that Twitter has been described as the “Usain Bolt” of social media.
A microblogging site, Twitter is one of the most sophisticated integrated marketing communications tools ever created. It is versatile, has extensive reach and is famed for disseminating information with record speed.
As far back as 2012, there were circa 400 million tweets per day, and the lifespan of the average tweet was just 22 seconds. Today, the pace and assortment of Twitter users has greatly morphed.
Presently, the platform is used by millions of big and small businesses, government officials and other citizens for customer support engagement, reputation management, polling, product assessment, research, awareness creation, news dissemination, among other things globally.
Africa’s numbers
In Africa, Egypt seems to have more active Twitter users than any other nation. Some sources estimate that with a population of 100.4million people, 3.7million are active Twitter users in Egypt (1 in every 27 Egyptians). But that is a far cry from the U.S. and Japan which host some of the largest concentration of Twitter users globally.
With a population of 328.2million, the U.S. has 69.3million Twitter users (1 in every 4 Americans). Japan with a population of 126.3million has 50.9 million active users (1 in every 2 Japanese).
Nigeria does not have such impressive figures. With a population of 201million, there are less than 3million active Twitter users in the country (1 in every 67 Nigerians), a situation which Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey described as “Not enough,” during a visit to the country in 2019.
If the ration of Nigerians on Twitter were to increase to 1 in every 3 Nigerians, there would be at least 55million Nigerians on the platform!
Behind the numbers
There are discernable reasons for low Twitter uptake on the continent. For many years, Twitter was perceived as an elitist platform even in Nigeria. It was viewed as a platform used by politicians and high caliber celebrities to engage their sophisticated audiences for many years.
Our research at Caritas Communications which covered Ghana and Nigeria suggests that there is paucity in understanding of the full value that Twitter brings. This may not be unconnected with the low participation in both countries.
In a survey of 2,500 individuals (60percent Nigerians, 40percent Ghanaians), 75percent of respondents were unable to identify any specific twitter product or service by name even though 70percent of them reported owning and operating Twitter accounts for over five years each!
Interestingly, 85percent of respondents are interested in knowing more about the products and services, while 75percent are open to subscribing for them in order to improve their user experience.
This finding, among others emanated from the survey, which was conducted between April 1 and 20, 2021 and it perhaps cuts out the work for Twitter as it forages into Africa.
Success on the continent will be as a result of how creatively the organisation communicates its services and products with a view of engendering greater uptake and revenue.
Twitter’s marketing and communications team has the task of demystifying the brand, not just to the elite but to millions of Africans who have handled the platform without a clear strategy and purpose.
Also, based on the survey, a number of issues need to addressed. First is the issue of videos and images. A considerable number of users indicate that they look forward to the day when Twitter will become the platform of choice for short videos.
For countries like Nigeria and Ghana, which are very transactional, a video or graphic may be the bridge to another sale for a small business looking for promotion.
One respondent specifically indicated: “we need more video clip time.” The thinking is that Twitter will match Instagram if this need is met. But of course it must be added that Twitter is not Instagram.
Other respondents indicated that the system should be optimized to accommodate more African languages (and letters). While this is up to the developers and policy makers at Twitter, I am of the view that a change in this regard could unlock Twitter to millions of Africans who may not be attuned to communicating in English.
One interesting aspect of our survey addresses the willingness of respondents to recommend Twitter to friends, associates and acquaintances. Respondents were asked: “How likely are you to recommend Twitter to your friends?” Interestingly, 80percent said “Very likely.” Only 10percent of respondents said they were unlikely to do so. This is a greenlight as it indicates the possibility for further expansion for Twitter.
There is no doubt that the landing of Twitter in Ghana is a plus for Nigeria. Not only because Ghana and Nigeria are sister countries but because of the common heritage both countries share in terms of language, neighborliness and history.
It is worthy of note that as Twitter berths in Africa, the biggest winners are the millions of African youth, businesses and governments that will be lifted by this new presence. Twitter policy is likely to better accommodate this pool of potential users.
Indeed, the evidence suggests that there is Twitter fever in Nigeria and Ghana already. Recent happenings, especially in Nigeria have proved it. But there are veils which have to be systematically ripped off to enable more Africans embrace the platform. That is job which the company’s communications team has to handle in the following weeks.
Ejiro Obodo is a senior communications manager at Caritas Communications
Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of Interior, has announced the launch of an Online Visa Approval Center to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks and reduce corruption in the visa application process.
Commissioned by the President in December, the new system ensures that applicants no longer need to visit a visa office, know anyone in the system, or lobby for approvals.
At a stakeholders’ sensitisation workshop on the implementation of the Nigeria Visa Policy (NVP) 2025, yesterday in Abuja, Dr. Tunji-Ojo said the visa is considered a very important document by the government because it is an instrument of migration management and an instrument of economic development.
The minister explained that Nigeria has to strike a delicate balance between national security and, of course, the ease of migration.
“And we think that it’s something that we can do and something we will do.
“We don’t have a physical Visa Approval Center. If you apply for a Nigerian visa anywhere in the world, you do so online. We process it here in Nigeria, and if approved, you receive your e-visa in your email,” he explained.
To enhance efficiency, the government has set a 48-hour deadline for processing e-visas.
“It is unprofessional and unacceptable for the Nigeria Immigration Service not to approve or provide feedback within 48 hours,” the minister stated.
“It breaks my heart that people need to lobby to even get visas to Nigeria. It shouldn’t be so. It shouldn’t be.
“For anybody that is qualified, for anybody that wants to do legitimate activities in Nigeria, such people should be able to come to Nigeria easily. And this is why we are opening our space. Mr. President is interested in foreign direct investments.”
Further, he said Nigeria is interested in partnering with the rest of the world to develop its economy but, “We can’t do that when we allow bottlenecks to hold us down. So these reforms, basically, are aimed at opening our space, enhancing national security, and we hope that the primary responsibilities of the visa scheme will be achieved.”
Kemi Nandap, controller general, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), said the NIS would fully digitize its e-visa platform and reduce visa classifications from 79 to 44 to enhance accessibility, transparency, and efficiency in the new visa policy.
She said, “At the core of this policy is the new e-visa platform—a fully digitized, centralized system that revolutionizes how foreign nationals interact with our country’s entry procedures. As part of this transformation, the Nigerian Visa Policy 2024 underwent a comprehensive review, resulting in a significant reduction in visa classifications from 79 to 44.
“These categories have been logically grouped to simplify procedures, reduce complexities, and greatly improve the user experience. Importantly, we have maintained the original purpose and intent of each visa class throughout this reform.”
Mr. Takao Shimokawa, director general, Economic Development Department at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has visited the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to discuss the forthcoming launch of the Nigeria-Japan Startup Hub Project.
Mr. Dejo Olawunmi, director of IT Infrastructure Solutions at NITDA and Mr. Takao Shimokawa, director general, Economic Development Department at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
This is in a strategic move to strengthen Nigeria’s startup ecosystem.
During his visit, Mr. Shimokawa was received by Mr. Dejo Olawunmi, director of IT Infrastructure Solutions at NITDA.
Their discussions focused on advancing technological innovation, fostering entrepreneurship, and enhancing venture capital development to support early-stage startups in Nigeria.
The Nigeria-Japan Startup Hub Project is designed to provide Nigerian startups with access to Japanese expertise, mentorship, and investment opportunities.
The initiative aims to create a collaborative environment where local entrepreneurs can scale their businesses by leveraging Japan’s advanced technology and business models.
By bridging Nigerian startups with Japanese investors and industry leaders, the project seeks to drive sustainable growth and innovation in Nigeria’s tech industry.
This partnership underscores the increasing economic and technological cooperation between the two nations, positioning Nigeria as a key player in the global startup landscape.
With the hub set to launch soon, stakeholders anticipate that it will provide critical resources for startups, enabling them to compete in the global market and contribute to Nigeria’s digital economy.
Kaspersky has identified and helped patch a sophisticated zero-day vulnerability in Google Chrome (CVE-2025-2783) that allowed attackers to bypass the browser’s sandbox protection system.
The exploit, discovered by Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT), required no user interaction beyond clicking a malicious link and demonstrated exceptional technical complexity. Kaspersky researchers have been acknowledged by Google for discovering and reporting this vulnerability.
In mid-March 2025, Kaspersky detected a wave of infections triggered when users clicked personalised phishing links delivered via email. After clicking, no additional action was needed to compromise their systems.
Once Kaspersky’s analysis confirmed that the exploit leveraged a previously unknown vulnerability in the latest version of Google Chrome, Kaspersky swiftly alerted Google’s security team. A security patch for the vulnerability was released on March 25, 2025.
Kaspersky researchers dubbed the campaign “Operation ForumTroll”, as attackers sent personalised phishing emails inviting recipients to the “Primakov Readings” forum. These lures targeted media outlets, educational institutions, and government organisations in Russia.
The malicious links were extremely short-lived to evade detection, and in most cases ultimately redirected to the legitimate website for “Primakov Readings” once the exploit was taken down.
The zero-day vulnerability in Chrome was only part of a chain that included at least two exploits: a still-unobtained remote code execution (RCE) exploit that apparently launched the attack, while the sandbox escape discovered by Kaspersky constituted the second stage. Analysis of the malware’s functionality suggests the operation was designed primarily for espionage. All evidence points to an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group.
“This vulnerability stands out among the dozens of zero-days we’ve discovered over the years,” said Boris Larin, principal security researcher at Kaspersky GReAT. “The exploit bypassed Chrome’s sandbox protection without performing any obviously malicious operations – it’s as if the security boundary simply didn’t exist.
The technical sophistication displayed here indicates development by highly skilled actors with substantial resources. We strongly advise all users to update their Google Chrome and any Chromium-based browser to the latest version to protect against this vulnerability.”
Google has credited Kaspersky for uncovering and reporting the issue, reflecting the company’s ongoing commitment to collaboration with the global cybersecurity community and ensuring user safety.
Kaspersky continues to investigate Operation ForumTroll. Further details, including a technical analysis of the exploits and malicious payload, will be released in a forthcoming report once Google Chrome user security is assured.
Meanwhile, all Kaspersky products detect and protect against this exploit chain and associated malware, ensuring users are shielded from the threat.
This discovery follows Kaspersky GReAT’s previous identification of another Chrome zero-day (CVE-2024-4947), which was exploited last year by the Lazarus APT group in a cryptocurrency theft campaign.
In that case, Kaspersky researchers found a type confusion bug in Google’s V8 JavaScript engine that enabled attackers to bypass security features through a fake cryptogame website.
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