Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and mobile payments company Square, suggested that he may move to Africa for at least three months next year.
“Sad to be leaving the continentfor now,” Dorsey tweeted on Wednesday. “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.”
The bearded, 43-year-old tech exec was in Ethiopia this week, as part of a month-long tour across the continent that he tweeted he was making in October. He said he would be meeting with entrepreneurs in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa.
Dorsey is known for his world travels and sometimes-eccentric practices. He said he was in Melbourne, Australia in September, and in Myanmar last December, where he sad he celebrated his birthday with a 10-day silent vipassana meditation.
Dorsey appears to have continued his vipassana practice, tweeting a picture from his third 10-day vipassana meditation in South Africa last week. But the majority of his trip appears to have been spent meeting with the tech community across the country.
Jack Dorsey’s visit stands in stark contrast with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s 2020 goal to host public discussions on the future of technology in society, which has drwan attention or its lack of diversity.
Africa, much of which lacks the infrastructure of countries in the Western world, has traditionally been treated as an afterthought by many of the big tech companies.
Whether Dorsey’s trip to the continent signals a change remains to be seen. But he’s not the only tech bigwig travelling to Africa.Former Alibaba Group chairman Jack Ma was also in Ethiopia this week, signing an agreement to establish a new trade platform.
Pulse.com.gh