Google announces fund to support online safety in Africa.
Marking World Safer Internet Day Google though its philanthropy arm is launching a one million USD pan-African fund. To help in promoting online safety and keeping children safe online. To achieve this, google will empower social enterprises and non profits with project ideas focused on digital literacy and online safety.
Google also launched a children online literacy program, Be Internet Awesome initiative in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. It will work with partners to teach kids how to be safe, confident explorers of the online world.
The company announced this in a statement on its Africa social media page.
“Today we are launching Be Internet Awesome in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa. We will be working with our partners across the region to teach kids how to be safe, confident explorers of the online world. To help in promoting online safety, @Googleorg will be launching a $1M fund. Will be open to nonprofits to work on project that is focused on keeping children safe online.“
Google notes the core of its Be Internet Awesome initiative is working as a unit with parents, children and educators. On the ground rules that keep them safe online.
“Be Internet Awesome” is designed to help children practice smart tactics for analyzing and evaluating information, sharing media with caution, protecting and securing private data, and handling cyberbullying, for example.
Google is currently receiving an expression of interest from organizations who will like to access in the grant.
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Delivering on a promise, Google announces the launch of its first Developer Space on the African continent. The space similar to the Microsoft Reactor will serve developers, entrepreneurs and startups across Africa. It will be based in Lagos, Nigeria and co-located and in partnership with Impact Hub.
In 2017, then Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai visited Nigeria and made a number of promises. These include extending the Google digital skills training program, from one million to ten million people. Providing one hundred thousand Africans with mobile developer training. The Launchpad Accelerator Africa program and a space to house its efforts in Nigeria.
Google says the Developer Space will provide a hub where entrepreneurs, developers, mentors, VCs and investors can connect and collaborate. The hub will also house the Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa program.
Onajite Emerhor, Head of Operations Launchpad Accelerator Africa, Google, says this about the space.
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.
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, continues Onajite.
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Making sure your resources are highly skilled, is what Microsoft executive, Kunle Awosika, notes will drive innovation in Africa. He made the remark addressing over three hundred delegates. Representing CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, heads of IT, etc. in the banking and financial industry from across East Africa. At the second Africa BFSI Innovation Summit 2020 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Kunle Awosika, Small, Medium and Corporates Lead, Multi-Cluster Countries at Microsoft, shared insights on empowering digital transformation in the financial services industry (FSI). How these organizations can use emerging technologies to create better services and be agile. Microsoft is playing a big part in the evolution of industries he notes. Driving efficiency, automation and performance in financial services.
Skills is a critical part …
One of the challenges we are facing in Africa and within our region is this particular focus area of skills. He shares talking about the skills gap in our market. We see this as we engage our customers and partners. This is the biggest problem to driving innovation today within the banking sector, financial industry and many of the industries that we work in. Skills concern is the right of passage for you to move to the next level. We need to make sure our resources are highly skilled, this is what drives innovation at the end of the day.
Microsoft at Africa BFSI Innovation Summit
https://youtu.be/gxxwuunO7gE
Microsoft has been working through various learning platforms and partnerships to bridge the skills gap in the region.
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The second cohort of the Microsoft LEAP Apprenticeship program gets underway in Nigeria. With ten ladies from across Nigeria selected for the second edition of the program. The initiative is to increases diversity by training more women into software engineering roles.
The ladies will undergo four weeks of classroom and labs training in Software engineering. Followed by twelve weeks of hands-on project sessions with Microsoft Partner Wragby Technologies. Where they will work with mentors on projects.
Microsoft notes, ladies from the Microsoft LEAP Apprenticeship program first cohort have completed their training and are all full-time employees at Tek Expert.
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Microsoft announced the Africa Development Center with plans to recruit about 100 full-time software engineers by the end of 2019. Latest details show the company is far from reaching this target. As only about seventy roles and positions have been filled as at January 2020.
Jack Ngare, Managing Director, Africa Development Center Kenya, made this revelation speaking as a panelist on the Monday Report’s town hall session on Citizen TV Kenya. The town hall discussion was on the ‘Future of work – Rethinking Our Education, Training in Relation to Work Opportunities’.
Jack was answering a question on if Microsoft considers only technical skills for employment. He shared the “Africa development center is nearing seventy [software] engineers. We recognize at a lot of things related to skills. The last thing we look at is your university degree. We have a couple of engineers who did not go to university. These are Kenyans we are talking about. We respect more the skills and what your capabilities are. Your work ethics and attitude towards work.”
He noted that Microsoft is pumping resources into organizations through partnerships such as the AppFactory with Africa Digital Media Institute to upskill students.
Watch Microsoft Africa Development Center recruitment conversation below.
Microsoft plans to recruitment 500 software engineers for the Africa Development Center by 2023.
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