It also focuses on helping non-profits improve lives across Africa.
In Summary
• The centre is looking for talented, creative people who can help solve difficult and important technical challenges.
• This involves improving the smartphone experience for people in Africa and building a more reliable internet infrastructure.
Image: ELIJAH MUOKI
As part of its billion-dollar commitment, Google launched its first product development centre in Africa, located in Nairobi.
Last October at the first Google for Africa event, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a plan to invest $1 billion over the next five years to support Africa’s digital transformation.
This investment focuses on enabling fast, affordable internet access for more Africans, building helpful products, and supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses.
It also focuses on helping non-profits improve lives across Africa.
The new product development centre seeks to create transformative products and services for people in Africa and around the world.
Visionary engineers, product managers, UX designers, and researchers will be hired to lay the foundation for significant growth in the coming years.
The centre is looking for talented, creative people who can help solve difficult and important technical challenges.
This involves improving the smartphone experience for people in Africa and building more reliable internet infrastructure.
The new product development centre is a continuation of that commitment and will be working on building Africa and the world.
Google has already opened an Artificial Intelligence Centre in Ghana, the first one in Africa.
It focuses on innovations that can be applied to various challenges that we face as a continent.
Google vice president for products, Suzanne Frey said that the company’s mission to Africa is to make the internet helpful in order to shape the next wave of innovation in Africa.
“I am excited to welcome all Africans passionate about improving the digital experience of African users by building better products to apply for the open roles at our first product development centre in Africa,” Frey said.
Google in Africa managing director Nitin Gajria said that by 2030, Africa will have 800 million internet users and a third of the world’s under-35 population.
“The potential for Africa to become a leading digital economy is right on the horizon and Google is committed to accelerating Africa’s digital transformation through human capital,” Gajria said.
“We also want to enable African-led solutions to African and global problems through better products.”
Google Developer Programme started by Google has also benefited 105,000 developers who are well vast in Android and Web applications development.
In March this year, the Ministry of Education partnered with Google to develop an Android Developer Skills Masterplan to be used in Technical, Vocational, and Educational Institutions (TVETs).
This means that software developers could soon be readily available across Kenya.
The six months initiative would see 300 TVET tutors trained thereby bringing intermediate-level skills in the development of android apps to 10,000 learners in 50 institutions.
So far, Google has trained 300 tutors from 45 TVETs.