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Google has committed to supporting a range of initiatives from improved connectivity to investments in startups to boost Kenya’s digital economy. At an event attended by President William Ruto, Google says it will support Kenya’s public and private sector players to adopt and use Google technologies, platforms and expertise for better service delivery. The announcement made during the 15th  anniversary of Google Kenya follows an announcement made by Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai last year that Google will invest $1B in the next five years in various initiatives across Africa to deliver value for users, businesses, developers and educational institutions, and public sector stakeholders.

Among the numerous initiatives launched in Kenya include the provision of affordable smartphones through the Lipa Mdogo Mdogo campaign with Safaricom, the rollout of an Android Software Developer training course for students attending Technical and Vocational institutes(TIVETs) that targets to equip 10,000 students with employable software engineering skills and a digitisation programme for the judiciary, and the health services sector.

Speaking during Google’s 15th-anniversary celebrations, Ms Agnes Gathaiya, Country and Eastern Africa Director noted that the National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure Connectivity Support Project sponsored by Google PLC is working on digitising operations and linking 68 courtrooms, 11 public hospitals and 12 technical and vocational institutes (TIVETs) to the internet. This will make justice and medical care more accessible and affordable to Kenyans.

“During COVID, we learnt having digital skills is no longer a luxury. Our Grow with Google Programme equipped over one million Kenyans comprising entrepreneurs, software developers, small and medium businesses, women and students with digital skills enabling them to do business and learn online. We partnered with Safaricom to introduce a smartphone device financing plan, Lipa Mdogo Mdogo, where one deposits Sh500 and a daily deposit of Sh20 for the acquisition of an android smartphone,” says the Country and Eastern Africa Director.

President Ruto urged for closer partnerships between the government and  Google saying it will help unlock more job opportunities for Kenyans and deepen the availability of skilled ICT personnel in the country. “The Google Developer Training programme in TVETs is propelling our TVETs to the next level and transforming our ICT innovation space.  This determination translates to yet another opportunity for us to collaborate with the tech community and aggregate ideas for the establishment of the university, the development of its curriculum and its implementation. I propose that Google seriously considers the possibility of a partnership with county governments, TVETs and universities to implement YouTube Skills and Learning programmes” he said.

The Google Technical and Vocational Education and Training Developer Hub has been established at Kenya Technical Trainers College (KTTC) where 300 TVET Tutors from 50 TIVET institutions across the country will undertake training. The tutors will roll out software developer training courses in their respective institutions leading to an award of a globally recognised certificate in intermediate-level skills in the development of Android applications.

Google’s first Product Development Centre in Africa will be based in Nairobi and will champion the creation of local products and services for people in Africa and around the world. Google has since announced plans to hire software engineers, product managers, UX designers and researchers who will work at the centre that will lay the foundation for more localised products and services.

Through the Africa Investment Fund (AIF), Google will invest $50M, in African startups that have a strategic overlap with Google in key verticals, including fintech, logistics, e-commerce, and local language content. Google will partner with top investors who have a regional presence and local knowledge. Successful startups will have access to Google’s experts, network and technologies to help them build impactful products for their communities and the world. Since its launch, AIF has invested in three startups, Lori Systems, a logistics e-platform, Safeboda, a transport logistics company (Uganda) and Carry1st, a South African publisher of social games and interactive content.

Nairobi’s stature as a tech hub is also going a notch higher this year with the planned establishment of a dedicated Google Cloud Interconnect Hub to be linked to Google Cloud Region located in South Africa. A dedicated interconnect hub provides local companies, learning institutions and public sector entities with a  direct physical connection to Google's network and data storage facilities enabling them to transfer large amounts of data between their networks securely and safely, which can be more cost-effective than purchasing additional bandwidth over the public internet.