Google on Wednesday announced its intent to establish a new Google Cloud region in South Africa – it’s first on the continent that would help create jobs and increase Africa’s presence online.
This was made known at the second Google for Africa hybrid
event in Lagos, and the Google Cloud is one of the ways Google is delivering on
the $1bn investment commitment made in 2021 by the company’s CEO, Sundar
Pichai.
Niral Patel, Director of Google Cloud Africa said that the
new Cloud Region would help users, developers, businesses, and educational
institutions across Africa to move more information and tools online.
Patel said it would improve access options for customers and
in turn, create jobs.
The Director, of Google Cloud Africa, said that Google
believed in growing an open and healthy ecosystem of technology solutions to
support Africa’s digital transformation goals
Patel said that the establishment of the cloud would lead to
more opportunities for businesses in Africa.
According to Patel, It is part of the company-wide ethics to
respect the environment, which is why it operates the cleanest cloud in the
industry, supporting sustainable digital transformation.
‘’Along with the cloud region, we are expanding our network
through the Equiano subsea cable and building Dedicated Cloud Interconnect
sites in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Lagos, and Nairobi.
“In doing so, we are building full-scale Cloud capability
for Africa,’’ he said.
The director said that Google Cloud is already working with
customers across the continent – helping them solve business-critical
challenges, get online, and access the benefits of digital technology.
According to him, while in Kenya, Google Cloud works with
Twiga Foods – a technology-driven company addressing and improving food
security in Africa.
He said it would help them connect 1,000 farmers to 140,000
vendors, delivering 12,000 orders every day and storing two million kilograms
of fresh produce.
Nitin Gajria, Managing Director, Google Africa said that
Africa’s internet economy has the potential to grow to $180 billion by 2025 –
5.2 percent of the continent’s GDP.
Gajria said to support African entrepreneurs in growing and
developing their talent, Google continues to support African small businesses
through the Hustle Academy and Google Business Profiles
He said that it helps job seekers learn the skills needed
through Developer Scholarships and Career Certifications.
Gajria said that Google, through its $50m Africa Investment
Fund that targets equity investments in tech startups, has since invested in
three businesses over the past nine months.
He said that the investments were SafeBoda, a transportation
app in Uganda and Nigeria, Carry1st, a South African mobile gaming startup, and
Lori Systems, an e- logistics company based in Kenya.
The Managing Director, Google Africa said that Google was
collaborating with governments, policymakers, NGOs, telcos, business leaders,
creators, and media to help accelerate Africa’s digital transformation.
He said that it is the talent and drive of the individuals
in the countries and communities of Africa that would power Africa’s economic
growth.
Gajria said that the Milestones achieved include the subsea
cable, Equiano, now running through Togo, Nigeria, Namibia, and South Africa,
with faster, lower-cost internet to the continent.
He said that a recent economic impact assessment conducted
by Africa Practice and Genesis Analytics found that by 2025, the cable is set
to accelerate economic growth with GDPs of Nigeria rising by $10.1b, South
Africa by $7b, and $260m in Namibia.
According to him, Equiano should indirectly create 1.6
million jobs in Nigeria, 180,000 in South Africa, and 21,000 in Namibia, driven
by the expansion of the digital economy and peripheral sectors.
Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies,
South Africa, Mr. Philly Mapulane, said that the National Development Plan 2030
calls for stimulating growth in the Information, Communication, and Technology
(ICT) sector.
Also at the event, Google announced the opening of its first
African product development center in Nairobi to develop and build better
products for Africans and the world.
Also, Sandy Ritchie, Speech Technologist, at Google
announced the launch of voice typing support for nine more African languages in
Gboard.
Ritchie said that on the Google keyboard the nine languages
were isiNdebele, isiXhosa, Kinyarwanda, Northern Sotho, Swati, Sesotho, Tswana,
Tshivenda, and Xitsonga.
He said that 24 new languages are now supported on Google
Translate, including Lingala used by more than 45m people across Central
Africa.
Williams Zacky, Software Development Engineer, Google said
that to make Maps more useful, Google also refreshed Street View in Kenya,
South Africa, Senegal, and Nigeria with nearly 300,000km of imagery.
Zacky said that this helps people virtually explore and
navigate neighborhoods on Google Maps.
He said that Google was also extending the service to
Rwanda, meaning that Street View is now available in 11 African countries.
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