Meta Platforms Inc. plans to roll out a new feature on Instagram in June that will allow creators in Nigeria to monetize their content on the social media app, according to the company’s president of global affairs
The announcement was made by Nick Clegg during a meeting with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in Abuja on Thursday, presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement. Clegg thanked Tinubu for facilitating an executive order that enabled Meta to land a deep-sea cable infrastructure project in Nigeria, which is expected to go live in the first quarter of 2025.
“It is an extraordinary infrastructure project,” Clegg said of the undersea cable, according to Ngelale. “When it comes on stream in the first quarter of 2025, it will be twice as much as the capacity of all subsea cables that exist.”
The cable was buried 50% deeper than normal undersea cables and has greater geographical reach, he said. Meta expects it to yield up to $37 billion in economic activity across Africa over the next two to three years.
Tinubu welcomed Meta’s increased investment in Nigeria and said the country aims to lead Africa’s digital technology drive. The Nigerian leader is pushing programs to develop technical talents, viewing the nation’s youth as key to participating in the artificial intelligence-driven global economy.
“We have to prepare our youths and make them ready to compete and participate in the global economy,” Tinubu said.
Minister of Communications Bosun Tijani also spoke about the importance of collaborating with Meta’s platforms to promote development in Nigeria’s digital economy sector.
–With assistance from Aderonke Oni.
(Sources: Statement from Presidential Spokesman Ajuri Ngelale; TheCable report)
