Google South Africa has unpacked its support for startups, SMMEs and nonprofits in a bid to accelerate digital transformation and help South Africa’s economy recover.
This follows announcements made at the virtual Google for Africa event in October last year where Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, announced Google’s plan to invest $1-billion over five years to support Africa’s digital transformation.
The focus of these investments is on enabling fast, affordable internet access for more Africans; building helpful products; supporting entrepreneurship and small business; and helping non-profit organisations to improve lives across Africa.
As the Covid-19 pandemic enters its third year, these initiatives seek to help alleviate the devastation caused in communities and offer support to organisations that work to improve the livelihoods of South Africans.
Helping non-profits thrive
Non-profits are deeply impacted by the pandemic and the work done by these organisations to serve communities has been vital in helping South Africans over the past two years.
Google.org is awarding $500 000 in grant funding and training to Gift of the Givers and Food for Life South Africa to support them in their economic recovery.
“To date, 22 South African nonprofit organisations have tapped into $6,5-million in Google.org grants to bolster their work supporting under-served Black youth, SMMEs, and women with skills and knowledge to improve their livelihoods,” says Dr Alistair Mokoena, country director of Google South Africa.
Investing in next-generation entrepreneurs
Startups in South Africa have the potential to unlock a myriad of job opportunities for South Africans through innovative thinking and products that seek to solve some of the country’s most pressing needs.
Through a rigorous and competitive selection process, the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund in Africa Program has selected 50 black-led technology startups locally and across the continent to join the program.
The startups will receive $50-million in funding to help spur their growth as part of a broader Africa Investment Fund plan launched last year.
Carry1st in South Africa is one such startup that has already received equity investments. Google is part of a group of investors in the business, one of Africa’s leading mobile games publishers. Carry1st will use the additional capital to expand its content portfolio; grow its product, engineering, and growth teams; and acquire new users.
SMME support
Another investment priority for Google is the SMME sector, which forms the backbone of South Africa’s economy and is key to job creation.
In partnership with the Department of Small Business Development, Google aims to provide support, training and resources to these small enterprises through the newly launched ‘Hustle Academy’, a sub-Saharan African initiative aimed at supporting SMMEs and helping their businesses thrive.
Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, minister for small business development, comments: “Digital markets and digital transformation are important enablers for the Department of Small Business Development’s vision to ensure a transformed and inclusive economy, driven by sustainable, innovative small, medium, and micro enterprises and cooperatives.
“The initiatives discussed today at Google for South Africa are strongly aligned to this vision.”
In the coming months, Google, in collaboration with Kiva and a local financial service provider, will be disbursing $3-million in loans to qualifying small businesses in South Africa, unlocking further growth opportunities for SMMEs.
Fast-tracking digital transformation
During last year’s Google for Africa event, Google highlighted Equiano, the subsea cable investment, to run through South Africa, Namibia, Nigeria and St Helena and connect the continent with Europe.
The cable, which is scheduled to land in South Africa later in the year, will almost triple internet speeds in South Africa and Namibia by 2025 and reduce connectivity costs – a boost that is predicted to create 180 000 jobs in South Africa between 2022 and 2025 according to Google-commissioned research.
Lastly, Google Arts & Culture’s commitment to digitise and share Africa’s heritage with the world continues. Google Arts & Culture has partnered with the Origins Centre in South Africa on a new project called ‘Cradle of Creativity’.
Dedicated to preserving the creative history and heritage of Africa, the Cradle of Creativity project enables people from across the globe to explore more than 500 high-resolution images, 60 expertly-curated stories with audio narrations, as well as Street View virtual tours, helping to showcase Africa’s creative talent and heritage.
“We are here for the long-term, and our investments and programmes are geared to support this,” concludes Mokoena.