KENYA – Facebook is set to open a new Content Review Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, the first in Sub-Saharan Africa as part of its continued investment across the continent.
The office will support several languages including Somali, Oromo, Swahili and Hausa and according to Facebook, it will employ approximately 100 reviewers by the end of the year to bring this course to fruition.
The company has partnered Samasource, one of the largest digital employers in East Africa and a leading social enterprise who will support in its digital work.
“This further highlights our commitment to serving the community of people using our platforms across Africa, as well as our commitment to continuing to invest and partner locally across the continent.
I am delighted that through our partnership with Samasource we will be opening our first content review centre here in Africa,” said Ebele Okobi, Facebook’s Public Policy Director, Africa.
Founded in 2008 by Leila Janah, Samasource uses an internet-based model called “microwork” to break down large-scale digital projects from clients into smaller tasks for workers to complete.
It counts Walmart, Google and eBay among its clients and has offices in San Francisco, California and Nairobi, Kenya.
“At Samasource we believe that giving work is the most powerful solution to ending global poverty.
We use technology and private sector methods to measurably improve access to work and job training.
As one of the largest digital employers in East Africa, we’re excited to partner with Facebook in Nairobi to help keep people on Facebook safe and continue our mission.
Our team will receive extensive training and support, benefit from industry-leading facilities, and have the opportunity to advance their careers in tech through this partnership,” said Carolyn Komen, Samasource Program Director.
According to Fazdai Madzingira, Public Policy Associate for content, this builds on company efforts to enable people see the content they want to see and that which isn’t allowed on the platform.
In a bid to ensure the right content, Facebook launched the Community Standards and last year, it published the more detailed internal guidelines around these rules.