GoogleвЂ™s five physical offices in Africa are in Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos, Cairo, and Accra, but Gajria said it wonвЂ™t constrain their ability to seek opportunities across the continent.

Indeed, because most funding has stayed in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt, thereвЂ™s a demand for new money sources that can finance minorities like women-led startups in these countries, as well as entrepreneurs in less-funded regions like Francophone Africa. But as much as it is a Silicon valley giant, Google will probably not be a tech financing innovator in Africa since it is joining a market square that already features the worldвЂ™s big name investors, from institutional players like SoftBank, and Tiger Global to strategic tech investors like Mastercard, Visa, Alibaba, and Stripe. ItвЂ™s a subjective definition that will become clear when Google starts getting mentioned in African startup funding announcements. The fund will seek out startups вЂњsolving real challenges in Africa,вЂќ he said. On a call with journalists, Gajria said check sizes and equity stakes will differ with each startup Google invests in, and that there was no restriction as to sector. The package is similar to what the companyвЂ™s startup accelerator program has offered to over 80 early-stage startups since 2017 in Africa.ДЇor growth-stage African companies however, Google now has a $50 million venture capital fund. Some of the 50 have already raised six-figure funding from investors, but GoogleвЂ™s equity-free money comes with perks like credits for cloud storage which, for early-stage startups, frees up cash for other needs. The initiative resonates because even though Africa is a predominantly Black continent, white privilege has sometimes crowded out Black founders. One highlight of the event was when Onajite Emerhor, who leads GoogleвЂ™s startup accelerator in Africa, announced that 50 entrepreneurs will get a share of a $3 million fund for Black founders in Africa.

But Google is getting into a space that Facebook hasnвЂ™t entered yet: directly funding African startups with venture capital. When completed, the cable will вЂњprovide approximately 20 times more network capacity than the last cable built to serve AfricaвЂќ and reduce internet prices by 21%, Gajria said.Д®quiano is one of two subsea internet cable projects by Big Tech companies in Africa, in addition to FacebookвЂ™s 2Africa which was expanded this month to cover 26 countries. Helena, and South Africa, according to Nitin Gajria, the companyвЂ™s managing director for Africa. Google is вЂњmaking tremendous progressвЂќ on constructing the branches of Equiano that will land in Nigeria, Namibia, St.

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