Google opens first innovation hub in Africa –
Summary
Google said its will hire over 100 tech talent including software engineers, researchers and designers over the next two years to help solve difficult and technical challenges, such as improving the smartphone experience for people in Africa, or building a more reliable internet infrastructure, said Google VP for products, Suzanne Frey. Google joins the growing list of tech giants setting up innovations hub in Nairobi. Two weeks ago and shortly after Microsoft launched a research and development center in Nairobi, Visa announced that it had set up its first innovation center to co-create payment and commerce solutions with partners. Google said it plans to continue building partnerships, products and services to get more people connected to the internet, support small and medium-sized businesses and non-profit organizations. We also know that in the course of the rest of this decade, we’re going to have another half a billion people who will experience internet for the very first time, which is why it is incredibly important that we build products and experiences that are helpful to these people that are going to be experiencing the internet just in Africa,” said Google in Africa managing director, Nitin Gajria.