As Google wrote in a recent blog post, this new commitment builds upon the company’s existing US$20 million pledge toward digital skills development in Africa.
The Data Scientists Network Foundation will receive US$1.5 million to train unemployed Nigerians in digital and tech skills, with a focus on data and AI advancement.
Nelson Mandela University joins the Google.org Cybersecurity Seminars program with a US$500,000 grant aimed at training 200 students while strengthening digital security for 250 local organizations.
Additionally, the Raspberry Pi Foundation will channel US$300,000 to support AI literacy education for youth in Kenya and Nigeria.
“Artificial intelligence alone could contribute $30 billion to the economy of Sub-Saharan Africa,” Google wrote in the blog.
The investment aligns with growing AI interest in the continent, particularly in South Africa, where AI-related Google searches increased by 370% in 2023 and have grown 650% over the past five years.
This surge coincides with Google’s recent rebranding of its Bard chatbot to Gemini and the launch of a dedicated mobile app with a paid AI subscription service.
