The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
Twitter Inc Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey returned from a trip touring African startups ready to go back.
He said in a Twitter post recently that he’ll spend three to six months somewhere on the continent next year. Dorsey had spent much of November meeting with startups and people in the tech industry in South Africa, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Ghana.
But investors have appeared less convinced of the executive’s intentions over the following days. Twitter’s shares have declined since Dorsey announced his plans —down about 2.4% since November 27— and his other company, payments firm Square, has fallen almost 4% compared to a 1.3% drop in the S&P 500 Index.
“Sad to be leaving the continent…for now. Africa will define the future (especially the bitcoin one!). Not sure where yet, but I’ll be living here for 3-6 months mid 2020. Grateful I was able to experience a small part,†Dorsey tweeted.
The continent is one of the fastest growing regions for tech adoption thanks to a young population and an emerging middle class. People there have become early users of new technology, such as payments apps. Funding of African startups more than doubled last year to $1.16 billion, according to a report from venture capital firm Partech Partners.