Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and Square, tweeted his farewell to Africa on Wednesday but announced he would return and move to the continent for at least three months in 2020. The tech exec earlier said that he would be touring the continent in November, exploring Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa. He was in Ethiopia this week. Dorsey is famous for his world travels and eccentric lifestyle. He was in Myanmar in December and tweeted that he did a 10-day silent vipassana meditation to celebrate his birthday. But this month’s trip seemingly has more to do with business, as Dorsey’s tweets document his meetings with entrepreneurs across Africa.Dorsey isn’t the only CEO fascinated by the continent’s potential. Former Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma was also in Ethiopia this week, where a government press release said Alibaba would work with it to establish a new trade platform. Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and the mobile-payments company Square, suggested that he may move to Africa for at least three months next year.
“Sad to be leaving the continent…for 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 monthlong tour across the continent that he tweeted in October he was making. 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 in December, where he said 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 🌍🌏🌎 (@jack) November 27, 2019
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 drawn attention for 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 traveling to Africa. Former Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma was also in Ethiopia this week, signing an agreement to establish a new trade platform.
