Jack Dorsey, CEO, Twitter, is currently on an African Twitter listening and learning tour that will see him visit Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, and South Africa.
So far, Jack has visited Nigeria and Ghana and attended two Bitcoin meetups while also meeting other tech communities in the two countries.
Jack and his team are visiting Africa for the first time. He is accompanied by his engineering team that includes Twitter CTO, Parag Aggrawal, Engineering Lead Team, Mike Montano, and Product Lead, Kayvon Beykpour.
[UPCOMING EVENT]
Recent photos he posted on Twitter shows Jack in the company of Ali Dangote, Africa’s richest person, Flutterwave, Andela Nigeria, University of Lagos, Yele Bademosi, Binance Director, Africa, Chris Maurice, CEO, YellowCard, and the CEO and team of BitSika in Ghana.
According to Jack, Twitter plans to expand its workforce in Africa and the tour is an important part of this development.
“I want to live in Nigeria for three to six months next year, full time, no travelling.” – @jack. | Highlights from the town hall meeting with Jack Dorsey and the Twitter team at Techpoint Africa https://t.co/Ti13dsZjFD
— Techpoint Africa (@Techpointdotng) November 11, 2019
It is noteworthy however that while the CEO has met with local blockchain and bitcoin communities, there is no Nigerian and Ghananian associations that were invited for the meetups.
Bitcoin meetup Nigeria pic.twitter.com/YYqzk7denp
— jack (@jack) November 9, 2019
According to recent post, veteran practitioners who are playing major roles in building the blockchain ecosystem in Nigeria, were not invited to meet and greet Jack and a few have aired their concerns on how the tour was organized.
BitcoinKE reached out to the various players in the Nigerian blockchain space to get their opinion on the above:
“Most crypto users in Nigeria are using more of Twitter than Facebook and most crypto influencers are more available on Twitter. Jack’s tweet ‘bitcoin meetup Nigeria’ is slightly not the case. The meetup was not a representation of Nigeria bitcoin community.” ~ CEO, SaBi Exchange
Mini bitcoin Ghana meetup with @atsudavoh @sy_boahen pic.twitter.com/vJ5a0P2q8e
— jack (@jack) November 11, 2019
“It came as a surprise to me when everyone I know said they weren’t involved. It has to do with the people who helped coordinate his engagements. I consider those meetings to be some private arrangements rather than public engagement with stakeholders in the ecosystem.” ~ President, Cryptographic Development Initiative in Nigeria (CDIN)
“A more inclusive meeting with local blockchain and crypto groups would have been a great opportunity to feel the pulse of the industry and the status of regulations in our jurisdictions. For me, its an unnecessary undersight.” – CEO, Blockchain Nigeria User Group (BNUG)
While the above responses from industry leaders are worrying, it is nevertheless good to see the passion and drive in the space.
BitcoinKE has reached out to the Ghana community for feedback on the same and will do the same for South Africa and Ethiopia.
FREE CRYPTO TRADING CLASS
Join us for a free cryp
to margin trading class on November 30th, 2019, Nairobi, Kenya. Get to learn how to open a crypto trading account, analyze charts, and manage Bitcoin trades
