Google’s lifeline is the ability to provide digital contents and tools to the end consumer. The African continent is perhaps the remaining continent that has yet to register high computer and digital literacy. That in itself is bad business for Google, as it competes with other tech giants like Facebook and Microsoft to tap into this largely untapped Africa market.
To break into this market, Google has first decided to create inroads across the continent that will deliver computer and digital literacy to as many people as possible. It goes without saying, as fast as possible.
The search engine giant has launched an online portal offering free digital skills training. For the first run of the program, Google is targeting to train at least 500,000 Africans. The curriculum being offered at the eLearning portal includes web analytics, mobile marketing, and social media management.
Hopefully, these skills will enable the successful graduates of the digital skills training to have the necessary business acumen and tech ability to start a 21st-century competitive business. Hence, create jobs and boosts their economy. Successful graduates will be issued with Certificate of Online Proficiency. The learning portal currently hosts 89 lessons available in both English and French language. There are also plans to add learning content in Portuguese shortly.
“We hope the portal will enable more people in more African countries to make the most of the web,” said the Head of the African Digital Skills Program, Bunmi Banjo.
There is no doubt Google is eyeing returns in the future regarding these newly created businesses using its premium services like online advertisements among other business tools Google has to offer.
This initiative by Google comes after yet an almost similar program it launched in April 2016, dubbed the Digital Skill Africa program. The program aimed at having successful graduates with digital skills to the tune of one million over the next one and a half year since its commencement.
The just commissioned second program by Google will ensure another half a million batch of fresh graduates also enter the market. However, the second program is aimed at people wishing to learn the Google’s digital skills training program, but are unable to attend sessions physically and prefer online classes instead.
“Helping people in Africa take advantage of the web is a task for everyone, and we’re very grateful to the many partners and collaborators that have given their support and played important roles in helping to get the program this far,” said Bunmi. “We hope that through this and similar programs, Africans will begin to reap greater benefits from the internet.”