Google President of EMEA Matt Brittin has announced Ksh. 748,432,000 (USD 5.8 million) in Google.org funding to support foundational AI and cybersecurity training in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. The funding will support organizations providing foundational AI skills to workers, equipping them for the digital economy.
These organizations will educate teenagers about AI and its safe and ethical use, empowering future generations and equipping non-profit leaders with AI knowledge to enhance their impact and drive social change.
One of the organizations set to receive funding is the Data Scientists Network Foundation. The organization will be provided with a USD 1.5 million grant to create a program that trains unemployed and at-risk Nigerians in foundational digital and tech training, with the long-term goal of building advanced skills in data and AI.
Nelson Mandela University and other universities will participate in the Google.org Cybersecurity Seminars program, which includes USD 500,000 in grant support alongside course content and extensive training. The goal is to help 200 students learn hands-on cybersecurity skills while also supporting the digital defenses of 250 local organizations.
Raspberry Pi Foundation will provide USD 300,000 to the Young Scientists Kenya and Data Scientists Network Foundation to roll out AI literacy education for Kenyan and Nigerian youth.
This new funding builds on the USD 20 million of Google.org support for organizations helping Africans develop digital skills from Google’s economic opportunity initiative. In addition, Grow with Google, which is separate from Google.org, trained over 6.5 million people across Africa in 2023 alone in digital skills to help them build their careers or businesses.
Google is also committed to supporting Africa’s fast-growing developer system. There are nearly 716,000 professional developers across Africa, and Google’s own study showed that half of them have been part of a Google program.
The announcement came as part of the visit of Matt Brittin, the President of Google in EMEA, to Kenya and Nigeria. Speaking from Nairobi, he said, “AI could contribute USD 30 billion to the economy of Sub-Saharan Africa. But for this to be a meaningful change, everyone needs to be included. The USD 5.8 million announced today will help bring people, businesses, and non-profits along to take part in harnessing technology for good.”
Meanwhile, Jen Carter, Head of Tech and Volunteering at Google.org, who was also in Nairobi, said, “We’ve seen how AI can help social impact organizations accelerate and scale their work. The USD 5.8 million funding announced today will help organizations to create AI tools that will benefit not only communities across Africa, but across the globe.”