On April 19, 2022, Google has announced the opening of an R&D center in Nairobi. It is the first on the African continent. This product development center is part of Google’s promised massive investment in Africa over the next five years.
Google hires 100 people in Nairobi
The Mountain View firm wants to invest a billion dollars in Africa for the development of digital on the continent. This fund will be used in several well-defined sectors. It will be used in particular for Internet accessibility thanks to the installation of digital infrastructures. At present, only a third of the 1,300,000,000 Africans are connected to high-speed internet according to the World Bank. The opening of this R&D center in Nairobi is Google’s second concrete investment in Africa. The first is the establishment of a dedicated center for artificial intelligence in Ghana in 2019.
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In Nairobi, Google wants to hire around 100 tech talents over the next two years. In particular engineers, researchers and designers to help the American giant work on several subjects: improving the experience of smartphones for Africans or even building a more reliable internet infrastructure, according to Google VP of Products, Suzanne Frey. The American firm is not the only one to establish itself in Nairobi. Two weeks ago, shortly after Microsoft opened its R&D center in the city, Visa also announced the opening of its first innovation center to create payment solutions specifically designed for the African market.
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For Charles Murito, Google’s Head of Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa, “Africa has been at the forefront of innovation, and we believe we will continue to grow and innovate here from the African continent”. To carry out its Internet accessibility project, Google plans to run a new submarine cable across the continent. It must cross South Africa, Namibia, Nigeria and the island of Saint Helena to arrive in Portugal, linking Africa to Europe. A first cable had already been installed by Google, but it was not enough. This should provide about 20 times more capacity than the previous one.
With its New R&D Center, the American giant said it plans to continue building partnerships, to support small and medium enterprises in Nairobi, and across the country. Nitin Gajria, general manager of Google in Africa, believes that “We have 300 million people with internet access in the region today. We also know that over the decade half a billion more people will be discovering the internet for the very first time, which is why it’s incredibly important that we build products and experiences that serve those people.”.