Google has announced its intent to establish a new  Google Cloud region in South Africa – its 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 State on Wednesday,
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.

The Director of Google Cloud Africa, Niral Patel, said 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, 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 the establishment of the cloud would lead to more opportunities for businesses in Africa.

He said: “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.”

The director said 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.

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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.

The Managing Director, Google Africa, Nitin Gajria, said Africa’s internet economy has the potential to grow to $180 billion by 2025 – 5.2 per cent 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 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 Google was collaborating with governments, policymakers, NGOs, telcos, business leaders, creators, and media to help accelerate Africa’s digital transformation.

He said 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 the Milestones achieved include the subsea cable, Equiano, now running through Togo, Nigeria, Namibia, and South Africa with its faster, lower-cost internet to the continent.

He said 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 $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.

The Deputy Minister, Communications and Digital Technologies, South Africa, Mr Philly Mapulane, said 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 if its first African product development centre in Nairobi to develop and build better products for Africans and the world.

Google Speech Technologist, Sandy Ritchie, also announced the launch of voice typing support for nine more African languages in Gboard.

Ritchie said 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.

The Google Software Development Engineer, Williams Zacky, said 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 neighbourhoods 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.

The Star