Facebook To Embrace More Nigerian Languages – Zuckerberg Declares

BEVERLY HILLS, August 31, (THEWILL) – The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, has pledged to use more Nigerian languages in offering services on Facebook.

Zuckerberg, who is currently on a business visit to Nigeria, made the promise at a meeting with software developers and ICT entrepreneurs on Wednesday in Lagos.

He said the social media platform currently allows the use of Hausa language on Facebook.

“I am glad we support Hausa and we are planning on supporting a lot more languages soon,” he said.

Zuckerberg also expressed his willingness to work with local content providers in bringing Nigerian communities to the internet.

He said that having local contents on the Facebook platform would ensure that more people were connected.

According to him, in the next 10 to 15 years, Facebook hopes to get everyone in the world connected online.

Zuckerberg is currently meeting with developers, entrepreneurs and start-ups in Lagos.

His first stop was the Co-creation Hub Nigeria (CcHUB), a social innovation centre in Yaba, dedicated to accelerating the application of social capital and technology for economic prosperity.

According to him, there are many talented developers and entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

“Thanks for such a warm welcome. There are so many talented people here. I am excited to get a chance to meet some of them.

“This is my first trip to sub-Saharan Africa. I will be meeting with developers and entrepreneurs and learning about the start-up ecosystem in Nigeria.

“The energy here is amazing and I'm excited to learn as much as I can,'' he said.

Zuckerberg said that at CcHUB, he was able to talk with children at a summer coding camp and entrepreneurs, who came to the hub to build and launch their apps.

Story by David Oputah