Google announced today that it will invest $1 billion in Africa’s digital transformation over the next five years. The investment will go towards enabling more Africans to have access to fast, affordable internet, developing useful products, encouraging entrepreneurship and small businesses, and assisting organizations in improving people’s lives across the continent.
The announcement was made at Google’s first-ever Google for Africa event, which was live-streamed and held virtually.
It expands on Google’s ongoing support to Africa’s digital transformation and entrepreneurship. Google launched its Grow with Google initiative in 2017, with the aim of training 10 million young Africans and small businesses in digital skills.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said, “We’ve made huge strides together over the past decade — but there’s more work to do to make the internet accessible, affordable and useful for every African. Today I’m excited to reaffirm our commitment to the continent through an investment of $1B over five years to support Africa’s digital transformation to cover a range of initiatives from improved connectivity to investment in start-ups.”
To date, Google has trained over 6 million people in 25 African countries, with over 60% of participants experiencing career and/or business growth as a result of their participation. Google has also invested over $16 million in over 50 nonprofits across Africa, allowing hundreds of millions of Africans to access the internet for the first time through Android.
Nitin Gajria, Managing Director for Google in Africa added “I am so inspired by the innovative African tech start-up scene. In the last year, we have seen more investment rounds into tech start-ups than ever before. I am of the firm belief that no one is better placed to solve Africa’s biggest problems than Africa’s young developers and start-up founders. We look forward to deepening our partnership with, and support for, Africa’s innovators and entrepreneurs.”
