X (formerly Twitter) closed Africa office..... then deployed Starlink

M. Mbems, London, UK
April 25, 2024

G hana Ghana had over 1.1 million users on the social media platform X (former Twitter) at the start of the year 2024¹. Since Elon Musk acquired the company in October 2022, the social network X has gone through a orofound restructuring, which aimed to cut losses, increase revenues and streamline operations.

X cut staff worldwide, appointed a new CEO, and updated features of the social media platform, including a subscription service called X Premium. The new subscription features certify the authenticity of the account. The company also changed its corporate logo from the blue hummingbird to a cryptic letter X. Under Musk, the mission of the platform has not changed. It gives everyone the power to create and share ideas and information without barriers².

First Africa Office

X opened its first office on the African continent in 2021 before the takeover by Elon Musk. The company wrote on the then Twitter blog that ‟we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent”. Kayvon Beykpour who was then Product Lead at the company said that X selected Ghana as it Africa headquarters because ‟Ghana is a champion of democracy” and a ‟supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open internet, of which Twitter is also an advocate”³.

The company declared at that time that ‟Ghana’s recent appointment to host the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aligns with our overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support our efforts to improve and tailor our service across Africa”. After the acquisition of Twitter, Elon Musk assessed the financial situation of the company and concluded that the company was losing money, making a restructuring necessary for its survival.

Users in Africa

According to the Internet Society, Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest growth of global internet penetration compared to other emerging regions. Between 2019 and 2021, internet use in Africa jumped 23 percent. According to Dawit Bekele, Vice President of the Internet Society, during the COVID pandemic, the internet emerged as an essential lifeline that showed the power of connectivity on the African continent⁴. Mobile telephony is the main driver of internet use. Data from mobile phone companies show that the market is growing, but the market potential remains untapped as two-third of the continent, over 900 million people, still have no access to the internet⁵. In Western and Central Africa, for example, the World Bank reports that only 34 percent of the population had access to broadband connectivity in 2022⁶.

Occasional arbitrary suspensions by governments have not dented the popularity of X in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its use grows as internet penetration expands. Users in Africa, specifically professionals, journalists, and civil society leaders, have a positive image of the X social media platform.

South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana have the highest users of the platform in the region. The four countries host the continent’s most active X users by volume of geo-located Tweets, according to data compiled by datareportal.com.

Rising X-Africa

In West Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, and Senegal are rising regional technology hubs. In East Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Rwanda have developed a business friendly regulatory framework for technology companies, including social media. Southern Africa is ahead on the continent, in terms of internet access and early adopters of the X platform. Other potential, yet untapped markets are the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, and Cameroon. These four countries have a combined population of 175 million, of which 50 percent are young, savvy internet, and social media users. In September 2023, Facebook was the leading social media in Africa, followed by YouTube. X was third, before Instagram and Pinterest⁷.

Starlink

Sub-Saharan Africa remains a part of Elon Musk global vision. The SpaceX owner is contributing to the accessibility of the internet on the African continent through StarLink.

According to the company website, Starlink is a satellite internet constellation developed by SpaceX, a private spaceflight company, to provide low-cost, high-speed internet to remote locations and other areas with limited internet options. Starlink is the world's first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit (closer to Earth, at about 550km) to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more.

Since January 2024, Starlink is available in eight African countries. West Africa countries include Nigeria and Benin. On April 25, 2024, the National Communications Authority (NCA) approved the application of Space X Starlink GH LTD, operators of Starlink Satellite Broadband, to offer Satellite Broadband Services in Ghana. The approval of the application follows the policy approval of the Satellite Licensing Framework in Ghana by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation.

In East Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia have access, while in Central Africa, Rwanda is the only country that connects to this service. South Africa remain a market for Starlink despite service restrictions. On the continent, Starlink appeals to high netwoth individuals and to large corporation but also startup that are seeking high and reliable internet access. Despite the relative high cost, Starlink is currently the best alternative to other forms of internet access in Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to Forbes Magazine, the ‟continent has the highest potential for growth in connectivity” and the internet ‟could create up to 44 million jobs if 75 percent of Africa had internet access”⁸.

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