Following Twitter Choosing Ghana, Amazon opts for South Africa for its First African Offi ce

By Further Africa Staff

AMAZON HAS ANNOUNCED that it would be opening its fi rst African offi ce in South Africa with a real estate investment of over R4 billion (about US$275M).

The announcement came just a week after Twitter choose to open its fi rst African offi ce in Ghana.

Authorities in Cape Town noted that Amazon would be occupying a new development in River Club, a prime section of the city. This new development will create 5,239 jobs in the construction phase alone, along with 19,000 indirect and induced jobs.

The 15-hectare parcel of land will cost R4 billion and include two sections. Authorities said the fi rst precinct of 60,000sqm will occupy diff erent layers of development; while the second section of 70,000 will hold Amazon headquarters in Africa. A Cape Town city spokesman said:

“The development is envisaged to take place in phases, with construction set to take place over three to fi ve years.

“It is clear that this development off ers many economic, social and environmental benefi ts for the area. We’re committed to driving investment to revitalise the economy, which is slowly recovering following the impact of Covid-19.”

Amazon already launched its data centres for Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Cape Town but its eCommerce services had until now not been available in Africa. https://furtherafrica.com/2021/04/23/following-twitterchoosing-ghana-amazon-opts-for-south-africa-for-itsfirst-african-office/ Image credit: Nasdaq