Google has just launched new products and programs to help grow the Kenyan economy.
According to Google, since it opened its doors 11 years ago, it has been focused on making information accessible and useful to Kenyans and it has initiated programmes to connect people, equip young Kenyans with digital literacy skills, support local businesses to get the most out of the web, and to put Kenyan tourism on the global map.
Here are the new products and programs.
Google.org initiative – Training 100,000 smallholder farmers in digital skills
Google is launching a $1 million Google.org initiative to provide digital skills training to more than 100,000 smallholder farmers in low-income and rural Kenya in the next year. the cmpany will be partnering with One Acre Fund, a non-profit organisation headquartered in Kakamega, Kenya and that has experience in providing training, products and services on credit to smallholder farmers.
The aim is to help these farmers make the most of the web for their agribusinesses, so that they can increase yields and productivity. The funds will allow them to digitise operations and tasks (training, payments, crop health etc).
Over the past decade, Google has continually improved Google Maps to help find the best places to go to, the best time to do it and how to get there efficiently.
Today, it is launching Street View of 9,500 km of beautiful imagery of Kenya available on Google Maps and accessible to everyone around the world. With Street View, Kenyans and tourists alike will now get a more immersive experience as they navigate and explore cities and destinations around the country.
“Every day we make decisions about where to go, how to get there, when to set out; and Google Maps can help with these choices. The motorbike, or ‘bodaboda’, has become a popular way to get around in Kenya with over a million Kenyans using motorbikes as their preferred mode of transport.” Today, for the first time in Africa, Google announced a dedicated travel mode for motorcycles, which will provide directions and voice navigation. Google hopes that Motorbike Mode will help keep Kenyans on the move and it will be working to make the feature even more useful in the coming months.
Last year, Google announced initiatives aimed at getting people in Africa the right skills and tools to make the digital world work for them, their businesses and their communities.
As of today, the digital skills program has trained more than 2.5 million Africans as it works to reach the 10 million promised. In Kenya, Google has trained over 200,000 job seekers and over 400,000 businesses on various digital skills relevant to their career goals and business needs.
Launchpad Accelerator Africa
In March, Google kicked off the first class of Launchpad Accelerator Africa, its program to provide over $3 million in equity-free support to African tech startups including mentorship, working space and access to technology. Four startups from Kenya have already benefited from the program:
- Pezesha – Class 1- a scalable Peer to Peer microlending marketplace that allows Kenyans to loan to other Kenyans, securely, via mobile money using big data and credit analytics.
- Flexpay – Class 1 – an automated and secured layaway e-commerce system
- Cloud9xp – Class 2: an online marketplace and booking service that allows people to buy and sell experiences in various locations across Africa and the Middle East.
- PayGo Energy -Class 2: PayGo’s smart meter and connected software service allows players in the LP gas (LPG) value chain to better service their customers, driving the adoption of clean cooking fuels.
The application process of the ongoing Google Impact Challenge in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa closed with over 5,500 entries. This is part of Google’s $20m Google.org commitment to Africa over the next five years and it’s the first time it is running a Google Impact Challenge in Africa.
Many African innovators are doing great work with real impact and Google is keen to shine a light on them, and give a financial boost to their projects and ideas. The process of selecting the 12 finalists has begun and the winners will be unveiled on November 28 in Lagos, Nairobi and South Africa.
YouTube Silver Buttons
Over the past year, Google has witnessed an 80% increase in mobile usage of YouTube: more people spending more time watching YouTube videos. This growth is fueled by all of the incredible content that creators are uploading to YouTube. Globally, over 400 hours of video are uploaded on YouTube every minute.
Today Google awarded the Silver Play Button, an award for YouTube channels that surpass 100k subscribers, to five Kenyan YouTube creators:
This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication that these creators have shown in developing their channel to such a professional level.
