Africa Blog
Google in Sub-Saharan Africa: news, stories and thoughts
Funding 21 news projects in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Finding new and meaningful ways to engage readers is a hot topic for news organizations of any size, and the first Google News Initiative (GNI) Innovation Challenge for the
Middle East, Turkey and Africa
prompted a myriad of different approaches. The GNI Innovation Challenges, part of Google’s $300 million commitment to help journalism thrive in the digital age, saw news innovators step forward with new thinking. In South Africa, Daily Maverick proposed a “relevancy engine” that would aggregate data feeds about reader behavior for small and medium publishers. In Jordan, podcast startup Sowt looked to tackle the challenge with a new hosting platform for news podcasts.
We launched the Middle East, Turkey and Africa Innovation Challenge last June, and received 527 applications from 35 countries. After a rigorous review, a round of interviews and a final jury selection process, we selected 21 projects from 13 countries to receive $1.93 million in funding. There are 7 projects from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa respectively.
The
call for applications
listed four criteria: impact, feasibility, innovation and inspiration, and the successful projects clearly demonstrated all four. Here are just a few of the awardees (you can find the full list on
our website
):
Demirören Teknoloji Anonim Şirketi
in Turkey wants to solve the tagging process for the Turkish language to help with the news discovery distribution process. Currently this work requires cumbersome manual work from their journalists, taking a precious share of their time.
Daily news publisher
Israel Hayom
will be creating a loyalty scheme where online users get real-life rewards in the form of tickets or money-saving offers.
Nas News
wants to engage Iraq’s citizens in video debates for positive change with a mobile-first social and news platform that allows users to read and debate on local and national topics.
L'Orient le Jour
in Lebanon wants to build a new loyalty plan to offer special and personalized privileges to subscribers via an interactive platform.
The National
in the UAE will develop a service that converts quality text news into audio in real time, in both English and Arabic.
Ringier Africa Digital Publishing
in Nigeria will be increasing personalization across their platform using a blend of prediction, recommendation and local information pages to increase user engagement.
A second round of the
Middle East, Turkey and Africa Innovation Challenge will open for applications later in the year: Watch for details
on our website
..
Posted by Sarah Hartley, Recipients Manager, GNI Innovation Challenges
====
Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison on Google Arts & Culture
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Nelson Mandela, photograph by Andrew Zuckerman, copyright Nelson R. Mandela, from the collection of the Nelson Mandela Center of Memory
Thirty years ago, Madiba was returned back to the people after having been incarcerated for more than 27 years as he fought the apartheid rule. Millions of people around the world had campaigned for his release for decades, and were finally able to watch him walk out of Victor Verster Prison and give his first address at Cape Town city hall. The 11th of February is a symbol of the ‘long walk to freedom,’ and a testament of how Madiba paved a new path for hope.
To commemorate this day, The Nelson Mandela Foundation and Google Arts & Culture have collaborated to launch a digital project allowing everyone to be inspired by Madiba’s life and legacy at
g.co/longwalktofreedom
. As one of the first partners to launch on Google Arts & Culture in 2012, we showcase our joint commitment towards preserving Madiba’s legacy and sharing it online with everyone, everywhere. By harnessing the power of technology, we invite you to join Madiba's journey through over 1000 high resolution photographs and videos, over thirty digital stories and two virtual tours with Street View.
Nelson Mandela walks out of the gates of Victor Verster prison, 11 February 1990, photograph by Gideon Mendel / Courtesy of ARTCO Gallery, from the collection of the Nelson Mandela Foundation
The digital project brings together activists, leaders and people key to carrying on Madiba’s legacy through intimate stories and photographs. Listen to Verne Harris, Madiba’s personal archivist, narrate his memories of the day and why he thinks it’s crucial for the collective memory of South Africa. Even if you were born free in the 2000s, Zulaikha Patel, an activist for gender equality, argues there is still a long way to go. Listen to her being inspired by that day, and how it has fueled her passion for activism and human rights.
As you’re exploring Madiba's life and legacy and how he has influenced many people alive today, be sure to step into the Cape Town City Hall in VR. Take a few moments to reflect on where you are today, and what you want to create for the generations to come. As Madiba said “For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
Nelson Mandela arriving at Cape Town City Hall, photograph by Gideon Mendel / Courtesy of ARTCO Gallery
, from the collection of the Nelson Mandela Foundation
Nelson Mandela addresses spectators from the Balcony of the Town Hall, Cape Town, 11 February 1990, photograph by Leon Muller
, from the collection of the Nelson Mandela Foundation
Posted by Sello Hatang, Chief Executive, The Nelson Mandela Foundation and Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Google Policy Manager
====
A Safer Internet For Africa
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Safety is one the most important things for humans, and it is critical that online safety is top of mind for us. That is why today across Africa, we join many organizations in celebrating
Safer Internet Day
- an initiative that originated in the European Union two decades ago and is now observed in some 150 countries worldwide.
A third of internet users are children, and keeping them safe online is a high priority ongoing process. Through our philanthropic arm, Google.org, we are launching a pan-African 1,000,000 USD fund to support innovative project ideas by nonprofits and social enterprises around digital literacy and online safety of children, young people and families. The fund will be administered by a third party partner, on behalf of Google.org. You can submit an expression of interest to access the grant
here
.
Providing organisations with funds to help support the online safety efforts for children is one thing, we are also looking at expanding programs around internet literacy through our landmark program for kids,
Be Internet Awesome
. Starting today, the program will launch in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa today. By working with our partners across the region to teach kids how to be safe, confident explorers of the online world.
“Be Internet Awesome” is designed to help children practice smart tactics for analysing and evaluating information, sharing media with caution, protecting and securing private data, and handling cyberbullying, for example.
Protecting you wherever you are
Online safety isn’t just for children, grown ups also need to be cautious online and how they interact with the web. Last year we launched a refreshed
Google Play Protect
experience with built-in malware protection for Android devices. This has prevented more than 1.9 billion potentially harmful application installs from unknown sources since it was announced.
In August 2019, we made our
strongest security program
more accessible by enabling you to use your
Android
or
iOS
phone as a security key instead of a standard physical security key that you need to carry around. You don’t need to be an expert in computer security to stay safe, which is why we have designed the best-in-class security features to keep you protected against evolving online threats wherever you are on Google and across the internet.
In 2019 we launched our
online safety roadshow
and expanded our
Web Rangers
club, enabling us to reach over 100,000 kids, parents and educators. We've also built products such as
Password Checkup
, which scans hundreds of millions of passwords every day to warn you if your passwords have been compromised anywhere on the web. More than 100 million users have run the Password Checkup since we launched it in 2019.
Online safety is everybody’s concern. Celebrate Safer Internet Day with us through getting a
Security Checkup
, or try our
Phishing Quiz
. If you’re a parent, you could set digital ground rules for your children with
Family Link
, or share your top tips online with the #SID2020 hashtag. At Google, we’re constantly building, developing and investing in tools and projects to help you and your family stay safe. To learn more about our resources to keep you and your family safe, please visit the
Google Safety Center
.
Posted by
Mojolaoluwa Aderemi-Makinde, Head, Brand & Reputation, Google Africa
====
Announcing our first developer Space in Africa
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Today, we launched our first Google Developers Space on the African continent, in Lagos, Nigeria. The Google Developers Space is a hub for African developers, entrepreneurs and startups and will house the Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa.
Making good on our commitment
Back in 2017 our CEO, Sundar Pichai, made a commitment to African entrepreneurs to start the Launchpad Accelerator Africa program and launch a space to house these efforts in Nigeria. The Google Developers Space is the realisation of that commitment, and will provide a hub where entrepreneurs, developers, mentors, VCs and investors can connect and collaborate with each other.
To make sure we took the needs of the African tech ecosystem into account, we partnered and co-located with
Impact Hub
to bring the Space to life and worked with a local company,
Spacefinish
to design and create an environment that fosters collaboration and innovation.
Starting today, members of the African tech community can use this Space for free. In addition to housing Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa, the Space will support developer meetups, training, experts office hours, Women in tech events, Startup programs (outside of Launchpad), partner events that support the wider entrepreneur and developer ecosystem, as well as Google initiatives for empowering people through digital skills training.
Since the Launchpad Accelerator Africa programme kicked off in 2018, we have worked with 47 startups from 17 African countries: Algeria, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte D’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. They have collectively raised millions of dollars in investment, and created hundreds of jobs.
Continued support for Africa’s startups and developers
The launch of this space demonstrates our continued commitment to the Sub-Saharan African startup and developer ecosystems. As part of our support for developers we run programs such as
Google Developer Groups
and
Women Techmakers
, providing training and support for developers aligned with real-life job competency requirements. Community groups engage in activities like Study Jams - study groups for developers.
There are 173 active Google Developer Groups (GDGs) in Africa, which provide an opportunity for developers to meet other developers with similar interests at GDG meetup events, which include talks on a wide range of technical topics and hands-on workshops. GDGs also host DevFests - community-led developer events focused on community building and learning about Google’s technologies. Last year, we saw more than 100 DevFest events held across Africa. The continent is also home to 135 Developer Student Clubs (DSCs) - university-based community groups for students interested in Google developer technologies. Our Women Techmakers initiative, which enables women in technology to thrive by providing visibility, community and resources, has over 150 chapters across 25 countries in Africa.
Africa’s startup ecosystem is growing and we’re looking forward to working with startups and other players in the ecosystem from across the continent at the Space.
Posted by Onajite Emerhor, Head of Operations Launchpad Accelerator Africa
====
Accompagner la croissance des start-up et des développeurs : Google ouvre son Espace développeurs en Afrique
Aujourd’hui, nous avons inauguré notre premier Google Developers Space sur le continent africain, à Lagos, au Nigeria. Le Google Developers Space est un centre d’excellence pour les développeurs, les entrepreneurs et les start-up basés en Afrique. Il abritera également le Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa.
Respecter notre engagement
En 2017, Sundar Pichai, notre PDG, s’est engagé auprès des entrepreneurs africains à lancer le programme Launchpad Accelerator Africa et à créer un espace pour accueillir ces initiatives au Nigeria. Le Google Developers Space est la concrétisation de cet engagement et constituera un centre d’excellence où les entrepreneurs, les développeurs, les mentors, les sociétés de capital-risque et les investisseurs pourront se rencontrer et collaborer.
Pour bien prendre en compte les besoins de l’écosystème technologique africain, nous nous sommes associés à Impact Hub et nous sommes installés à la même adresse pour donner vie à l’Espace. Par ailleurs, nous avons travaillé avec Spacefinish, une entreprise locale, pour concevoir et créer un environnement propice à la collaboration et à l’innovation.
Dès aujourd’hui, les membres de l’écosystème technologique africain peuvent utiliser gratuitement cet espace véritablement dédié aux professionnels de ce continent. En plus d’abriter le Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa, l’espace accueillera les rencontres de développeurs, des sessions de formation, les consultations par les experts, les événements « Women in tech », les programmes pour start-up (en dehors de Launchpad), les événements organisés par les partenaires qui apportent leur soutien à l’écosystème plus large des entrepreneurs et des développeurs, ainsi qu'aux initiatives de Google destinées à favoriser l’autonomisation des personnes par la formation aux compétences numériques.
Depuis le lancement du programme Launchpad Accelerator Africa en 2018, nous avons travaillé avec 47 start-ups de 17 pays africains : Afrique du Sud, Algérie, Botswana, Cameroun, Côte d’Ivoire, Égypte, Éthiopie, Ghana, Kenya, Maroc, Nigeria, Ouganda, Rwanda, Sénégal, Tanzanie, Tunisie et Zimbabwe. Collectivement ils ont recueilli des millions de dollars d’investissements et créé des centaines d’emplois.
Un soutien sans faille aux start-up et aux développeurs africains
L’inauguration de cet espace est une autre façon pour nous de montrer notre engagement permanent en faveur des écosystèmes des start-up et des développeurs basés en Afrique subsaharienne. Dans le cadre du soutien que nous apportons aux développeurs, nous menons des programmes tels que les groupes de développeurs Google et les Women Techmakers, en proposant aux développeurs de la formation et un accompagnement en phase avec les exigences du monde professionnel en matière de compétences. Des groupes communautaires mettent en place des activités comme Study Jams- des groupes de travail animés par des développeurs.
Il existe 173 Google Developer Groups (GDG - Groupes de développeurs Google) actifs en Afrique, qui offrent aux développeurs l'opportunité d'échanger avec des professionnels ayant des centres d'intérêts proches, à l'occasion des rencontres des GDG qui permettent d'aborder toute sorte de sujets techniques et de participer à des ateliers pratiques. Les GDG organisent également des DevFests, des événements destinés aux développeurs, menés par et pour la communauté et axés sur l’apprentissage des technologies Google. Rien que l’année dernière, plus de 100 événements DevFest ont été organisés à travers l’Afrique. Le continent compte également 135 clubs d’étudiants développeurs (DSC) - des groupes universitaires destinés aux étudiants intéressés par les technologies de développement Google. Notre initiative « Women Techmakers », qui permet aux femmes intéressées par les technologies de réussir en leur offrant une visibilité, une communauté et des ressources, compte plus de 150 sections réparties dans 25 pays d’Afrique.
L’écosystème des start-up africaines connaît actuellement un véritable essor. La création de cet espace est notre façon de l’accompagner et d’y participer. Nous nous réjouissons à la perspective de travailler avec des start-up et d’autres acteurs de cet écosystème de tout le continent dans le cadre de cet Espace.
Publié par : Onajite Emerhor, responsable des opérations du programme Launchpad Accelerator Africa
Google Startup Week Lagos - helping Launchpad Accelerator Africa startups take their businesses global
Thursday, November 28, 2019
This week, we witnessed a number of Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa startups take several steps closer to achieving their goals. Class 4 of Launchpad Accelerator Africa graduated in Lagos at the first-ever Google Startup Week in Nigeria, while select Launchpad Accelerator Africa alumni had a chance to pitch for funding from some of Africa & the UK’s top venture capitalists (VCs). The event featured startups from across Africa.
The alumni, from classes 1, 2 and 3, are fresh out of a three-month Google for Startups UK Africa Immersion Programme in London. This is a 12-week immersion programme designed to bring the best of Google and the London startup ecosystem to tech companies from Africa that do not yet have a presence in the UK.
Google for Startups UK Africa, in partnership with Launchpad Accelerator Africa, aims to connect high potential early-stage startups with dedicated support to help them take their startup to the next level.
Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa focuses on working with startups that are setting out to tackle some of Africa’s biggest challenges. It’s built into the selection process. As Launchpad Accelerator Africa, we believe African companies can solve Africa’s problems, and we want to help them do that.
Every year, Africa’s economic growth continues to strengthen. Google for Startups has put its weight behind supporting the continent’s startups as they continue to build great products and tackle key global social issues. This is an incredibly exciting space, which is very relevant to UK ecosystem and investors.
During Google Startup Week Lagos, the Launchpad Accelerator Africa team also celebrated the graduation of Launchpad Accelerator Africa Class 4, which comprises 12 startups from six countries, addressing six different sectors. Between them, they have raised $4.3m, created over 300 jobs and signed up over 110 000 users. These companies had collectively raised in excess of $600 000 before the programme, and have been able to use Launchpad Accelerator Africa to scale their businesses to new levels.
Google Startup Week Lagos was particularly special for me because it provided an opportunity for participants from all 4 classes get a chance to meet, engage with each other, and share their experiences for the first time.
Since Launchpad Accelerator Africa was first announced in late 2017, the programme has worked with 47 startups on their growth journey. These companies have raised millions of dollars in investments and created hundreds of jobs across the continent.
All the selected startups receive working space, and access to expert advisers from Google, Silicon Valley, and Africa. Participants also receive travel and PR support during each three-month programme.
The Class 4 startups graduating at Google Startup Week Lagos, in alphabetical order, are:
Afara Partners
(Nigeria): Afara Partners offers platforms that provide services to the financially underserved/excluded.
BrandBook
(South Africa): BrandBook is a mobile app that incentivises users to take a picture of their receipts, allowing it to harvest consumer purchase behaviour across all channels.
Elewa
(Kenya): Elewa is a toolkit for establishing scalable high-quality training programs within existing education- or professional institutions.
Eversend
(Uganda): Eversend is a multi-currency e-wallet that allows you to exchange, spend and send money at the best possible rates. It also includes insurance, virtual debit cards, and bill payments.
OZÉ
(Ghana): OZÉ brings African small businesses into the digital era, equipping their owners to make data-driven decisions to improve their performance and access capital.
Phenomenal Technologies
(Zimbabwe): Phenomenal Technologies offers low-cost field excursions for learners through virtual reality.
REACH
(Nigeria): REACH recognises, categorises and interprets transaction data from SMS and other sources, making this data available as individual financial and market insights.
Sortd
(South Africa): Sortd aims to re-invent email with the world's first All-in-One productivity suite for Gmail and GSuite.
TradeBuza
(Nigeria): The TradeBuza is a cloud-based web and mobile application, which digitises contract farming and trade.
Tulaa
(Kenya): Tulaa is an online-to-offline marketplace for smallholder farmers in Africa.
XEND
(Nigeria) : XEND allows users to make and receive payments, offline or online.
WorkPay
(Kenya): WorkPay is a cloud-based employee management and payment solution using the power of mobile and biometrics.
London Immersion Africa Startups:
54gene
(Nigeria) - African DNA makes up only 2% of genetic research material used in pharmaceutical research. Founded in 2019, 54gene is creating the world’s first and largest pan-African biobank.
Fieldinsight
(Nigeria) - Fieldinsight helps to collect data in a structured manner using mobile and IoT devices. It then aggregates and represents this data through visualisations to help businesses make the best decisions.
Kwara
(Kenya) - Kwara powers financial cooperatives with technology so they can meet their members needs instantly.
OkHi
(Kenya) - 4 billion people across emerging markets do not have a physical address, costing economies $175bn a year. Based in Nairobi, OkHi creates digital addresses for people, which they can use (for free) to access reliable business services.
Paps
(Senegal) - Paps is an African logistics startup focused on the last mile delivery and domestic markets, with strong client care orientation, allowing live tracking, intelligent address systems and automatic dispatch.
Piggyvest
(Nigeria) - Piggyvest is an automated savings and investments platform that helps Nigerians save little amounts of money periodically, and then invest those funds for competitive returns.
PayGo Energy
(Kenya) - PayGo Energy’s connected home gas meter links to a global IoT-based infrastructure for cooking gas delivery within high-density, high-demand urban communities — changing the entire cooking experience for households and unlocking access to clean cooking for a billion people.
ThankUCash
(Nigeria) - ThankUCash is an analytics and rewards platform built to enable banks and businesses in Africa to acquire, reward and retain loyal customers.
Thrive Agric
(Nigeria) - Thrive Agric provides farmers with access to finance, data-driven advisory and access to a market upon harvest.
Voyc
(South Africa) - Voyc is on a mission to accelerate the world's transition towards customer-centricity by making it easy for companies to understand their customers.
Posted by Onajite Emerhor and Fola Olatunji-David, Launchpad Accelerator Africa leads
Helping families in Africa stay safe online
Thursday, November 28, 2019
At Google we take online safety very seriously. Educating children on how to be safe and behave wisely online is a priority for us. It’s a responsibility we have willingly embraced, and one that is shared by government, non-profit organizations, the education community and other stakeholders. This is why the annual Web Rangers Africa Summit is important to us, because it brings together learners, teachers, policy-makers, nonprofits and private companies to discuss and find creative solutions on how to scale digital literacy programmes so that more young people and families are empowered with the right information to protect themselves online.
At the 2019 Web Rangers Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya, we brought together Web Ranger students from
South Africa
,
Nigeria
and Kenya, as well as more than 30 of our online safety partners. Over the course of the 2-day summit we discussed the importance of and plans for making information and online safety curriculums easily accessible in schools and to families. We also shared the status of ongoing efforts to expand the Web Rangers program, as well as plans to team up with the Kenya Film Classification Board and the Nigerian National Orientation Agency in 2020 to kickoff a Digital Parenting program aimed at educating guardians, teachers and families on online tools that bring families together to learn, have fun and be safe online.
This year, apart from the Summit, we have advanced our goals to educate and build more awareness on the subject of online safety through roadshows and government partnerships. In October, we
partnered
with the
Cape Town Science Centre
to provide grants to local organisations in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa to deliver safety roadshows to students, parents and teachers. Over 36 000 students, 2 500 parents and 1 400 teachers have been trained as a result of this program.
In Nigeria, we partnered with the
Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council
to integrate a new online safety curriculum into the national syllabus for primary and secondary schools, with a goal of reaching 56 million learners (year on year) once it is fully integrated into the school system. Similarly, in South Africa, we are partnering with the
Western Cape Education Department
to pilot online safety curriculum integration in public high schools in the province. The pilot involves schools in the Cape Winelands and Metro South districts. In Kenya, we have collaborated with CODE-IP Trust, the
Ministry of Youth
and the
Kenya Scouts Association
to bring Web Rangers to over 55 000 students countrywide.
With more people and children in Africa coming online, the goal to provide education to help them protect themselves is no longer discretionary but a mandate. While the journey towards achieving this end goal is still far, we’re proud to see the impact being achieved by what has been done already. In the words of Harvard professor
Rosabeth Moss Kanter
, “...small wins, small projects, small differences often make huge differences".
Posted by Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Head, Government Affairs & Public Policy, Sub Saharan Africa
====
Titre : Aider les familles africaines à surfer sur Internet en toute sécurité
Chez Google nous prenons très au sérieux la sécurité sur Internet. Sensibiliser les enfants à la sécurité sur Internet et les aider à adopter un comportement adapté constitue une priorité pour nous. C’est une responsabilité que nous sommes prêts à assumer et que nous partageons avec le gouvernement, les organisations à but non lucratif, la communauté éducative et d’autres acteurs. En cela, lévénement annuel du Web Rangers Africa Summit est important pour nous : il rassemble des apprenants, des enseignants, des décideurs politiques, des organisations à but non lucratif et des entreprises privées dans le but d’échanger et de trouver des solutions innovantes sur la façon d’étendre les programmes d'apprentissage numérique. L'objectif est qu’un plus grand nombre de jeunes et de familles disposent des informations nécessaires pour aller sur Internet en toute sécurité.
Lors de l’édition 2019 du Web Rangers Summit qui s’est tenue à Nairobi, au Kenya, nous avons réuni des étudiants participant au programme Web Rangers, qui étaient originaires d’
Afrique du Sud
, du
Nigeria
et du Kenya, ainsi que plus de 30 partenaires dans le domaine de la sécurité en ligne. Au cours de ce sommet de deux jours, nous avons expliqué l’importance de rendre l’information et les programmes de sécurité en ligne facilement accessibles dans les écoles et de les diffuser auprès des familles, et présenté des projets dans ce sens. Nous avons aussi fait le point sur les actions en cours pour étendre le programme Web Rangers, ainsi que sur le projet de s’associer au Kenya Film Classification Board et à la Nigerian National Orientation Agency en 2020. Ce partenariat a pour but de lancer un programme d’éducation parentale au numérique avec pour objectif de sensibiliser les tuteurs, les enseignants et les familles aux outils en ligne, lesquels rassemblent les familles pour apprendre, s’amuser et surfer en ligne en toute sécurité.
Cette année, outre le Sommet, nous avons réalisé une partie de nos objectifs d’éducation et de sensibilisation en matière de sécurité sur Internet grâce à des tournées de présentation et à des partenariats avec les gouvernements. Au mois d’octobre, en
association
avec le
Centre des sciences du Cap
nous avons octroyé des financements à des organisations locales au Kenya, au Nigeria et en Afrique du Sud pour organiser des tournées d’information sur la sécurité à l’intention des élèves, des parents et des enseignants. Plus de 36 000 élèves, 2 500 parents et 1 400 enseignants ont été formés grâce à ce programme.
Au Nigeria, nous avons établi un partenariat avec le
Conseil nigérian pour la recherche et le développement en éducation
visant à intégrer un nouveau programme de sécurité sur Internet dans les programmes nationaux des écoles primaires et secondaires, avec l’objectif d’atteindre 56 millions d’apprenants (d’une année sur l’autre) une fois le programme pleinement intégré au système scolaire. De même, en Afrique du Sud, nous travaillons en partenariat avec le
Département de l’éducation du Cap-Occidental
pour mettre en place une action pilote d’intégration du programme sur la sécurité en ligne dans les établissements secondaires publics de la province. Le projet pilote concerne des écoles des districts de Cape Winelands et de Metro South. Au Kenya, nous avons travaillé en collaboration avec l’organisation CODE-IP, le
Ministère de la Jeunesse
et l’
Association des Scouts du Kenya
pour faire passer le nombre de Web Rangers à plus de 55 000 dans tout le pays.
En raison du nombre croissant d’internautes, jeunes et adultes que compte l’Afrique, il est désormais impératif de les aider à se protéger des risques d'Internet. Même si nous sommes encore loin de nos objectifs, nous sommes fiers de voir l’impact des actions menées à ce jour. Pour reprendre les mots du professeur de
Rosabeth Moss Kanter
, professeur à Harvard, : « les petites victoires, les petits projets, les petites différences font souvent d’énormes différences ».
Poste par Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Responsable, Affaires gouvernementales et politiques publiques, Afrique subsaharienne
Google for South Africa: creating a more helpful internet for South Africans
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Today, at our first ‘Google for South Africa’ event, we announced products and initiatives to help people in South Africa make more of the opportunities the internet has to offer.
Google Station: high-quality Wi-Fi hotspots in the Cape Flats
Access to the internet in Africa is growing but it’s still limited. Only 39 percent of Africans have access to the web, compared to 54 percent of people in Asia, 68.9 in Latin America, 87 in Europe and 89 in North America. Many people in Africa don’t have Wi-Fi in their homes, relying instead on the few public Wi-Fi hotspots to connect, communicate and learn.
Today, we’re announcing
Google Station
for the Cape Flats in the Western Cape: a program to provide fast, free and open Wi-Fi hotspots in partnership with ThinkWifi, an Internet service provider in South Africa.
Google Station is available in more than 100 locations across Langa, Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Delft, Elsies River, Philippi and more. These areas are some of the most underserved communities with high unemployment and crime rates. By gaining access to information via the internet, we hope that people in these communities will get a more equal opportunity to learn and develop and live more empowered lives.
Bolo and Google Go: Helping you learn and enjoy the best of the web
Google Go
makes it easier to discover the best of the internet even on low-RAM smartphones or unstable network connections. Today, we're announcing some updates to make Google Go even more helpful. The
Discover feed
is now integrated within Google Go to help you stay in the know with your interests, like the latest content on your football team, people of interest, music and news stories. Users are also able to use Google Go’s ‘read out loud’ feature to hear a website or a news story by tapping the play icon when they open a search result.
Starting today, you can access the Google Assistant directly from Google Go. Using only your voice, you can ask Google to call your mum, play the latest Kwesta video, or find the best route to your favourite kota place.
Bolo
is a speech-based reading app that helps kids learn how to read in English. It encourages them to read out loud and then provides individual, customised feedback to help improve their reading capabilities. It’s already available in India, Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya and today we’re bringing it to South Africa.
Cameos and the Google Assistant: doing more with Google Search and the Assistant
People come to Google Search for information, you want to know more about the world you live and connect with the things and people you like. You are constantly asking questions and searching for answers from celebrities and influential people as well, from where they grew up to how they got their careers started. So, we created Cameos, a selfie-style video app, which allows celebrities and public figures to answer questions about themselves directly within Google Search.
More and more people are searching using their voice, and often they come to Google Assistant for everyday actions like setting timers or learning how to make the best roast chicken. South Africans have been using the Assistant to get things done since we launched it in South Africa. Now the Assistant can help you do more. From today, you can ask your Google Assistant to order you an Uber or read you South African specific news from your favorite local news outlets.
Every day, people in South Africa and around the world turn to Google for help. We hope that the products and updates we're announcing today will make Google even more helpful for getting things done. We remain committed to bringing the transformational power of technology to people everywhere.
Posted by Nitin Gajria, Regional Director, Google Africa
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Google pour l’Afrique du Sud : pour un Internet au service des Sud-Africains
Posté par Nitin Gajria, Directeur régional, Google Afrique
Aujourd’hui, à l’occasion de notre premier événement intitulé « Google pour l’Afrique du Sud », nous avons annoncé le lancement de produits et d’initiatives destinées à aider les Sud-Africains à profiter davantage des possibilités de l’Internet.
Google Station : points d'accès Wi-Fi de haute qualité dans les Cape Flats
Bien que l'accès à Internet gagne du terrain en Afrique, il reste limité. Seuls 39% des Africains ont accès à Internet, contre 54% en Asie, 68,9 % en Amérique latine, 87 % en Europe et 89 % en Amérique du Nord. En Afrique, nombreux sont ceux qui n'ont pas le Wi-Fi chez eux ; ils se servent donc de rares points d'accès Wi-Fi publics pour se connecter, communiquer et apprendre.
Aujourd’hui, nous sommes heureux d’annoncer la mise en place de
Station Google
dans les Cape Flats, dans la province du Cap-Occidental : ce programme a pour but de fournir des points d’accès Wi-Fi rapides, gratuits et ouverts en partenariat avec ThinkWifi, fournisseur de services Internet en Afrique du Sud.
Google Station est disponible sur une centaine de sites dans les districts de Langa, de Khayelitsha, de Gugulethu, de Delft, d’Elsies River, de Philippi et d’autres encore. Ces quartiers abritent les communautés les moins bien desservies, avec des taux de chômage et de criminalité élevés. En accédant à l’information via Internet, nous espérons que les membres de ces communautés pourront à leur tour bénéficier d’opportunités d’apprentissage et de développement, et prendre davantage leur vie en main.
Bolo et Google Go : vous aider à apprendre et à profiter du meilleur du web
Google Go
permet de profiter aisément d’Internet, même sur les smartphones à capacité de mémoire limitée ou avec des connexions capricieuses. Aujourd’hui, nous annonçons un certain nombre de mises à jour qui rendront Google Go encore plus performant. La fonction
Discover feed
est maintenant intégrée à Google Go pour vous aider à suivre l’actualité qui vous intéresse, comme les derniers résultats de votre équipe de football, les personnalités que vous suivez, la musique et les informations. Les utilisateurs peuvent également utiliser la fonction de lecture à voix haute de Google Go pour « écouter un site Web » ou un article d’actualité en appuyant sur l’icône de lecture lorsqu’ils ouvrent un résultat de recherche.
À partir d’aujourd’hui, vous pouvez accéder à l’Assistant Google directement depuis Google Go. Simplement à la voix, vous pouvez demander à Google d’appeler votre mère, de visionner la dernière vidéo de Kwesta ou de trouver le meilleur itinéraire pour vous rendre chez votre vendeur de kota (sandwich traditionnel) préféré.
Bolo
est une appli de lecture basée sur la parole qui aide les enfants à apprendre à lire en anglais. Elle les encourage à lire à voix haute et leur fait ensuite un retour individualisé et personnalisé pour les aider à améliorer leurs capacités de lecture. L’appli est déjà disponible en Inde, au Nigeria, au Ghana et au Kenya et elle arrive aujourd’hui en Afrique du Sud.
Cameos et l’Assistant Google : pour une meilleure utilisation de Google Search et de l’Assistant Google
La fonction Google Search permet de rechercher des informations sur le monde qui vous entoure et de vous connecter à ce qui vous plait et ceux que vous aimez. Parce que constamment vous posez des questions sur les célébrités et personnalités influentes, leur région d’origine et la façon dont elles ont commencé leur carrière, nous avons créé Cameos, une application vidéo de type selfie, qui permet aux célébrités et aux personnalités en vue de répondre directement aux questions à leur sujet dans Google Search.
Vous êtes de plus en plus nombreux à faire des recherches avec la fonction vocale. Vous utilisez par exemple l’Assistant Google au quotidien pour régler une minuterie ou connaître la meilleure recette de poulet rôti. Depuis que nous avons lancé cette fonctionnalité en Afrique du Sud, les Sud-Africains utilisent l’Assistant pour les aider dans leurs tâches du quotidien. Aujourd’hui, l’Assistant vous offre encore davantage de possibilités. Vous pouvez désormais demander à votre Assistant Google de vous commander un Uber ou de vous lire des informations qui concernent l’Afrique du Sud à partir de vos médias préférés.
Chaque jour, en Afrique du Sud et dans le monde entier, les gens se tournent vers Google pour se faire aider. Nous espérons que les produits et les mises à jour que nous annonçons aujourd’hui rendront Google encore plus utile pour faire avancer les choses. Nous maintenons notre engagement à mettre à la portée de tous, partout dans le monde, le pouvoir qu’a la technologie à transformer nos vies.
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