Google pledges to expand in Africa: The investment and initiatives by Google

Africa has been surveyed to have the least rate of internet connectivity compared to any region in the world. However, internet usage has increased in Africa during the pandemic. Around 20 million more Africans subscribed to mobile services during the pandemic. The 4G connections are expected to double in the coming 4 years, as forecasted by the industry’s apex trade group Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA).

The technology giant Google announced its commitment to invest $1 billion in Africa in the next five years, focusing on the business grants, supporting entrepreneurship, and developing the infrastructure significantly to broaden access to the internet throughout the continent.

The CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, announced that the company would set up a world-class product development center in the Eastern African country of Kenya. For the smooth operations of the same, there will be broad-scale recruitment of product managers, engineers, researchers, and UX designers to build the services for the African people and the people around the world.
In an interview, Nitin Gajaria, Managing Director for sub-Saharan Africa, said that the $1 billion commitment will be spent on the continent and this would majorly be divided into 3 areas.

They are:

Firstly, the initiatives related to connectivity will be taken care of and how more and more people will be able to avail internet.
Secondly, Google will help small businesses and entrepreneurs to grow and succeed in their businesses with the help of the internet.
Thirdly, Google’s commitment to renewing the non-profit partnerships in Africa will be fulfilled.

So, with all these initiatives of Google, there will be a surge of Silicon Valley companies ensuring their presence in Africa and tapping the infinite possibilities. This is indeed the much-awaited African renaissance that is underway.

Reference Links:

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/29/africa/nitin-gajria-google-africa-billion-dollar-investment-mpa-spc-intl/index.html
https://bootcamp.uxdesign.cc/googles-expansion-into-africa-the-next-frontier-ffc013c4adf0