Google To Cut Down Cost Of Data In Africa

Google announced a $1 billion investment in Africa in 2021 with the goal of boosting local entrepreneurs, fostering innovation, and improving connectivity. The business claims that this investment is paying off after three years.

A recent report commissioned by the tech giant claims that its services, which include YouTube, Maps, and Search, contributed $16 billion to regional economic activity in 2023.

The goal is to revolutionize infrastructure projects like the Equiano subsea internet cable that connects Africa to Europe, according to Alex Okosi, managing director of Google for Sub-Saharan Africa.

Additionally, he spoke about the recently announced Umoja cable route linking Kenya to Australia, to the expansion of Google Translate to incorporate more African languages, and the role of AI.

Okosi claimed that Google’s African market has enormous potential in a recent interview with CNN.

“Over the next four or five years, more than 40% of the global youth population will be on this continent. That means that the workforce of today or tomorrow is going to come from Africa. We see Africa not just as an opportunity from a business standpoint, but as an opportunity for the globe to really benefit from the immense potential and talent that Africa has to offer”, he said.

Additionally, Alex Okosi stated that Google has numerous obstacles to overcome. There is still a digital divide on this continent. Thus, in order to help Africa reach its full potential, Google wanted to make sure that their investments were made in the proper manner, spanning all relevant value chains.

The Sub-Saharan MD of Google discussed the significance of infrastructure investments and the impact they have on African businesses and people, stating that the continent’s significant digital divide remains one of its greatest challenges.

“The cost of data is still high, connectivity is still a challenge. Investing in infrastructure like Equiano and Umoja are going to help bring down these costs and enable businesses to hopefully tap into this digital highway that enables them to be more efficient”, Okosi added.

The MD says the decrease in data costs won’t happen right away. Google still needs to collaborate with last-mile providers to ensure that they are taking advantage of this additional bandwidth in order to lower prices so that customers can benefit.

“We don’t want to leave anyone behind, and the only way to ensure that is to make sure the cost of data is lower”.

More African languages will be added to Google Translate in order to promote social inclusion and ease business communication throughout the continent.

He claimed that Google has been able to bring more languages online at a significantly faster pace thanks to the power of AI. Thirteen new languages have been added to Google Translate by the company. The internet will be accessible to over 300 million speakers of these languages in a language that comes naturally to them.

Google’s Search Business Is Now On Trial

With a number of prospects for the continent, Google established its first African AI research center in Ghana in 2018.

“The company’s AI research centers are going to benefit the continent in a lot of ways. For instance, one of the main things that really affect farmers on this continent is pest outbreaks. We’ve now developed an AI solution that enables us to predict possible devastating outbreaks on crops seven days in advance. Or when it comes to flooding or climate change … 23 African countries are now part of our flood forecasting hub that enables them to access information on when these floods could happen, and people are able to plan for it”.

Alex Okosi also spoke about the dangers of AI.

“There’s the challenges that AI can present: there’s misinformation, there’s cyber security challenges if people use it the wrong way. As Google, we talk about being bold, being responsible. It’s about working with the communities, with academia, with governments to make sure that we have frameworks for developing AI that best serves the citizens and the communities that we serve. The important thing is that we are rolling out AI responsibly and that we are mitigating the risk associated with AI”.

He concluded by saying that in ten years, a lot more people will be proficient in digital skills and able to use technology and artificial intelligence to truly change this continent. More employment opportunities, businesses, and growth will result from this.