GOOGLE has announced its first product development centre in Africa to be located in Nairobi Kenya.
The new product development centre will help to create transformative products and services for people in Africa and around the world and will be hiring visionary engineers, product managers, UX designers and researchers to lay the foundation for significant growth in the coming years.
The centre is looking for creative individuals who can help solve difficult and important technical challenges, such as improving the smartphone experience for people in Africa or building a more reliable Internet infrastructure.
Last October at a Google for Africa event, the Chief Executive Officer, Sundar Pichai, announced a plan to invest $1 billion over the next five years to support Africa’s digital transformation.
The investment focuses on enabling fast and affordable Internet access for more Africans, building helpful products, supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses and helping nonprofit entities to improve lives across Africa.
In 2018 Google also opened an AI research centre in Accra, Ghana, to help drive useful innovations.
The new product development centre is a continuation of that commitment and will be working on building for Africa and the world.
Speaking during the virtual announcement, Vice President for Products, Suzanne Frey, said: “Google’s mission in Africa is to make the Internet helpful to Africans and partner with African governments, policymakers, educators, entrepreneurs and businesses to shape the next wave of innovation in Africa. Today 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.”
Managing Director for Google in Africa, Nitin Gajria, added: “There are 300 million Internet users in Africa, who are young, mobile-first and have similar patterns to mobile youth globally. 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 and enabling ‘African-led solutions to African and global problems’ through better products.”
