One year on from the launch of Google’s billion-dollar, five-year investment plan to foster digital transformation in Africa, the firm has announced a number of projects that are helping to improve digital infrastructure and support local startups on the continent.
Read more: Google Pledges $1B to Boost Internet, Startups in Africa
During a recent Google for Africa 2022 webcast, company executives revealed that from Johannesburg to Lagos, the tech giant has been expanding its African business and investing in the region’s digital future.
Nitin Gajria, managing director for Sub-Saharan Africa at Google, kicked off the virtual event by highlighting efforts made to increase internet coverage on the continent through infrastructure investments and pioneering innovative technologies.
Foremost among Google’s African infrastructure projects is the Equiano Subsea Cable, which runs from Portugal along Africa’s east coast to Cape Town, connecting Africa and Europe with state-of-the-art multiplexing technology that Google claims will provide 20 times more network capacity than the last cable built to serve the region.
Announcing that branches off the main cable have already landed in Togo, Nigeria, Namibia and South Africa, Gajria stated that the project will commence operations before the end of the year and will “help add more than $17 billion in economic growth and nearly 2 million jobs in its host countries.”
In rural areas, where it’s either too difficult or not economically viable to install fiber, Google is hoping that a novel technology being developed by Alphabet’s “moonshot” research and development arm, X, will help expand internet access to otherwise unconnected regions.
Gajria added that the Taara project, which is exploring the use of beams of light for wireless communications, is currently being piloted in six African countries, “working to bring affordable and abundant internet to more people across the continent.”
Read more: Google Set to Open First African Product Hub
Cultivating Africa’s Startup Ecosystem
Besides building the technical infrastructure needed to deliver faster, cheaper internet, Google is also supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through training and investment.
See also: Google’s CEO: Africa on Brink of ‘Digital Transformation’
Earlier this year, the firm launched the Hustle Academy, a program designed to help MSMEs in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa develop the knowledge and skills they need to grow their businesses. Training focuses on enabling entrepreneurs to design digital marketing strategies, create growth plans, identify the different forms of investment available and create pitch decks for investors.
What’s more, Gajria said that the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program had provided equity-free finance, working space and expert advice to 96 startups in 17 countries which have gone on to raise $230 million in capital between them.
Google’s Africa Investment Fund also has made three investments since its inception in 2021: in Ugandan mobility startup SafeBoda, in Carry1st, a South African mobile gaming startup, and most recently, in Kenyan eLogistics business, Lori Systems.
Read more: Google’s Africa Investment Fund Backs Ugandan Bike-Hailing Startup Safeboda
In addition to the Africa Investment Fund, Google launched the Black Founders Fund last year to invest in black-led startups in Africa.
Pointing out that 19 of the top 20 fastest-growing economies in the world are in Africa, James Manyika, Google’s senior vice president for technology and society, told event attendees that the continent’s internet economy has the potential to grow to $180 billion in the next three years.
To support that growth, Manyika said that Google has been tapping into the “tremendous entrepreneurial energy that is everywhere across Africa” by working with local startups to address local challenges.
In fact, supporting the breadth of Africa’s startup ecosystem appears to be a central pillar of Google’s strategy in the region.
As Manyika noted, Google has recently partnered with the African Union (AU) to accelerate digital transformation across the 55 member states, supporting the institution with policy formulation for startup bills that aim to improve the regulatory environment for businesses across the region.
Finally, to further show its commitment to building Africa’s digital infrastructure, Niral Patel, the director of Google Cloud in Africa announced the launch of a new cloud region in South Africa.
See more: Google Announces New Cloud Region in South Africa
Patel told attendees that the company will also build dedicated cloud interconnect sites in Johannesburg, Capetown, Lagos and Nairobi as part of Google’s efforts to build “full-scale cloud capability for Africa.”
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