Google opens product development centre in Nairobi, its first in Africa
Charles Murito, Google’s policy lead for sub-Saharan Africa. Google opened a new product development centre in Nairobi where it will build products and services for the African market and the world.
US multinational technology company Google has announced it will establish a product development centre in Nairobi, its first in Africa.
The centre will build “transformative” products and services for the African market and the world.
This comes after the tech giant revealed in October last year plans to invest $1 billion over the next five years.
The centre will be Google’s second major research and development investment in Africa after it set up an AI and research hub in Ghana in 2019.
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Susan Frey, Google’s vice-president of product management, said in a virtual media event that Google would also hire visionary engineers, product managers, UX designers and researchers to lay the foundation for significant growth in the coming years.
“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,” Ms Frey said.
“Today (Tuesday), 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.”
The centre is looking for talented, creative people 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.
Google joins a growing list of tech giants setting up innovation hubs in Nairobi.
Two weeks ago, shortly after Microsoft launched a research and development centre in Nairobi, Visa announced it had set up its first innovation hub to co-create payment and commerce solutions with partners.
“Africa has been at the forefront of innovation, and we believe that we are going to continue to develop and innovate right here from the continent,” said Charles Murito, Google’s policy lead for sub-Saharan Africa.
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Last October, at a Google for Africa event, CEO Sundar Pichai announced a plan to invest $1 billion over the next five years to support Africa’s digital transformation.
This investment focuses on enabling fast, affordable internet access for more Africans, building helpful products, supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses and helping nonprofits to improve lives across Africa.
The new product development centre is a continuation of that commitment and will build products for Africa and the rest of the world.
There are 300 million internet users in Africa who are young, mobile-first and show similar usage patterns as other young people globally, said Nitin Gajria, managing director for Google in Africa. 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,” he said.
Google said it plans to continue building partnerships, products and services to get more people connected to the internet, and support small and medium-sized businesses and non-profit organisations.
