Canva Deepens African Expansion With South African Office

Canva Deepens African Expansion With South African Office. Canva has expanded its presence in South Africa with the launch of a local office, new education partnerships and tailored digital tools aimed at small businesses, creators and students, marking a deeper move into the African market.

The visual communication platform, which reports more than $3.5bn in annual revenue and 260 million monthly users globally, said South Africans created over 77 million designs in 2025.

To support regional growth, the company has established a nine person team in Johannesburg, working from AfricaWorks in Rosebank to coordinate strategy and engagement across local markets.

It has also expanded language support to nearly 20 African languages, including isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans and Swahili, aiming to make the platform more relevant to local users.

New design templates reflect South African cultural and commercial moments such as Wedding Season, Back to School, township business branding and Black Friday, alongside curated packs for small businesses and creators.

These include Pocket Business Kits and WhatsApp business starter templates, while local illustrators and designers are contributing regionally inspired visuals for broader use.

Through Canva for Education, partnerships have been formed with the University of Cape Town, University of Johannesburg, University of Pretoria, Rhodes University and African Leadership University.

The initiative provides free access to design tools and classroom training, extending digital communication resources to students and educators across multiple institutions.

Beyond South Africa, an agreement with the Ministry of Education Ethiopia and integration with Snapplify’s authentication platform enables access for hundreds of thousands of learners and teachers.

The company has also introduced the Canva Africa Design Challenge, inviting South African designers to submit templates that may be licensed for global distribution.

The programme is supported by the Canva Africa Design Community, Canva Africa Creators and a Canvassador network focused on helping creators generate income through template licensing.

To improve accessibility, local pricing has been introduced in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana, alongside payment options designed to reduce foreign currency fees.

Available methods now include M-Pesa, Verve cards and direct bank transfers through NIBSS, widening payment flexibility for businesses, creators and educational users across the region.

With a dedicated local presence and expanded partnerships, the platform is strengthening its engagement with South African users across education, business and creative sectors. Its combination of regional content development and broader access initiatives reflects a structured approach to supporting adoption while aligning services with local needs and market participation across Africa.