Tag Archives: Google in Africa

CEO Hilda Moraa’s plan to empower Africa’s entrepreneurs

Every morning, Hilda Moraa rises at 4 a.m for an early morning meditation and yoga routine, after which she’ll lose herself in a business podcast. “Discipline, structure and routine are very important to me as a founder,” she says.

She brings that same dedication to her work. Hilda is the founder of Pezesha, which is based in Kenya and an alumni of Google for Startups Accelerator Africa. Before the accelerator, Hilda was a part of the Google LaunchPad Programme, where she says Google’s resources and expertise enabled Pezesha to scale in new markets and ultimately experience 30% growth.

Before all of that, though, Pezesha was just an idea — one that Hilda was extremely motivated by. Poverty in Africa, and particularly in her home country of Kenya, is prevalent, and she wanted to be a part of changing it. “We launched Pezesha as a digital lending platform and we had this hugely ambitious idea of addressing unemployment and poverty in Africa.”

Pezesha’s lending infrastructure has three core services: Know Your Customer verification (KYC), credit scoring and embedded finance.

“By resolving the issue of small and medium enterprises securing working capital and gaining a credit score, I believe we can equip business owners with assets so they can compete and trade on a national scale.” Hilda hopes that empowering business owners will improve the economy as a whole. “There's much more of a ripple effect achieved so if you financially empower a business owner to meet their business goals, they can feed their family, employ people and ultimately support the wider community.”

Her ultimate goal is that Pezesha’s digital financial platform can address the $328 billion financing gap that exists for small and medium-sized businesses in Sub Saharan Africa — and that this, in turn, will create millions of job opportunities for African youths. At the moment, she’s still savoring the smaller wins. “My proudest moment to date would be helping more than 30,000 mid- and small business owners get a credit score and find affordable financing -- and these businesses have generated more than 10,000 jobs combined and our credit has propelled their business and prosperity to the next level”

“I am so inspired by my customers. They are the real-life heroes bringing their amazing visions to life — it’s so fulfilling to see the impact Pezesha has had on them.”

Hilda isn’t only excited to see her own company succeed; she sees her founder story as part of a new era for African businesses. “It’s truly a joy to see African entrepreneurs building successful businesses changing the narrative of Africa,” Hilda says. “ I am confident that we will continue to see a wave of unicorns emerge from Africa’s vibrant tech scene as we have continued to see Africa rise in the midst of the pandemic with more investments and success stories that show our future is here.”

Meet Mali – home of manuscripts, music and magic

Timbuktu is a city fabled to exist at the edge of the world, where the southern stretches of the Sahara desert end and a world of rich scholarly tradition, architectural wonder and abundant artistic creativity begins. In reality, it’s located in the West African country of Mali, a place filled to the brim with the kind of unmatched cultural richness that comes from traditions and influences from across the Sahara and Sahel melding together in harmony for centuries – all of which “Mali Magic” on Google Arts & Culture will share with you today.

Though popularly known as the historic home of Mansa Musa (the richest man in the world), the true magic of Mali doesn’t stem from these fractured fables so much as from the pillars that define its culture — its manuscripts, music, monuments and modern art — and their unbelievable resilience to human and environmental threats, thanks to the people’s quest to preserve their heritage.

M is for Mali

Mali’s story has often been told with attention to the violence and political unrest the nation has experienced, namely the 2012 coup and subsequent ten-month Jihadist occupation, which resulted in the destruction of many mausoleums, mosques and monuments, the burning of ancient manuscripts, and the breaking of instruments and cancelling of festivals to silence the music traditions that defined its culture. But the Malian people did not let their culture become a victim of destruction. From saving the ancient manuscripts that families protected for years from total destruction, to the contemporary artistic movements that are rising from times of turmoil, the resilience of Mali’s people and culture has been proven. Read more about their effort to preserve and digitize their libraries here.

Mali Magic on Google Arts & Culture shines a light on these heroic stories of resilience and presents Mali’s monuments, manuscripts, music and modern arts in a digital collection of sound and story like no other.

  • The cover of Fatoumata Diawara’s latest album, Maliba.

    On an exclusive album produced in and telling the story of Mali, Grammy-award nominee Fatoumata Diawara sings about her country’s legacy and hopes for the future.

  • Animated graphic of a Malian musician from the artists at home music video.

    Watch the music video bringing together contemporary Malian musicians from all over Mali, covering a song by the iconic Malian singer Ali Farka Touré.

  • Open manuscript bearing calligraphic text and decoration.

    Delicate and decorative folio containing important teachings both religious and secular, are amongst the collections that families preserved in their homes for centuries before the evacuation from Timbuktu.

  • A 3D model of the Grand Mosque of Djenne with a person standing below for scale.

    A 3D model of the largest adobe structure in the world. The Grand Mosque of Djenne, that goes as high as 20 meters, and can hold up to a 1000 people.

  • Portrait of Abdoulaye Konaté in front of one of his art works, a multicolored wall tapestry.

    One of the most influential artists on Africa’s contemporary art scene, Abdoulaye Konaté renders vibrant wall tapestries in Malian cotton, inspired by African tradition and culture while raising awareness for pressing political, social and environmental issues within and beyond Mali.

M is for Manuscripts

Long before the European Renaissance, the Malian city of Timbuktu — which at one point was home to a community of scholars that made up a quarter of its whole population — gave birth to an abundance of learning in the fields of morality, politics, astronomy, literature and more surprising topics like black magic and sex advice. This work was captured in thousands of precious manuscripts. These pages have redefined our understanding of African history; Dr. Abdel Kader Haidara, the ‘badass librarian’ known for smuggling the manuscripts out of Timbuktu when their safety was at risk, has said that "they have said that in Africa there is no written history. It’s been said that all the history of Africa is oral. We have more than 400,000 manuscripts here written uniquely by the hands of the hands of Africans. They will see this and say the opposite. It’s a true Renaissance."

Finally, the manuscripts have made their way from family libraries to the world stage: a spectacular collection of 40,000 decorated folios and beautifully scripted Timbuktu manuscripts have been brought to Google Arts & Culture for the world to explore online, and is at the heart of discussions and celebrations to be held in Bamako on March 12th and at the Brooklyn Public Library on March 17th.

  • A colorful, gold-gilded manuscript page bearing both calligraphic text and decoration.

    Timbuktu’s manuscripts were renowned for their physical beauty as well as their wisdom. Calligraphy styles from the broad slashes of the West African Hausa tradition to the whorls and sweeps of curvaceous North African lettering. There are beautiful, centuries-old Korans with gilding and calligraphy within.

  • A graphic of a librarian in Timbuktu holding a manuscript volume.

    Some of the world’s most important astronomical and astrological developments were made by Islamic scholars, long before Galileo and his telescope; some mapped in the Timbuktu Manuscripts.

  • Old page of a Timbuktu manuscript displaying an astrological diagram.

    Many surprising things can be found in the Timbuktu Manuscripts, from human rights and mathematics to sex tips, black magic or the question if smoking should be banned.

  • A stack of books containing ancient manuscripts.

    The manuscripts have been preserved over the centuries not by a museum or institution, but by individual families who passed their libraries on through the generations. Because of them, Timbuktu’s written legacy remains for us to marvel at today.

  • A damaged manuscript lies amidst debris resulting from the damage caused by the extremist occupation of Mali.

    The fragile manuscripts, inked on Italian paper, goat, sheep and even fish skins, were swiftly rescued thanks to individuals who smuggled the pages out of the city by car and boat from under the noses of the Islamist intruders.

M is for Music

From tribal song and dance accompanied by unique traditional instruments, captured on video by Instruments4Africa, to the Festival in the Desert that has hosted the likes of U2 and Mali’s own Fatoumata Diawara, Mali is a place infused with rhythm courtesy of a widespread passion for music. It’s even said that rock ‘n roll and the American blues are deeply rooted in Malian musical and myth-telling traditions.

Today, Mali’s music scene remains strong — musicians from all over Mali have united to cover the iconic Malian artist Ali Farka Touré’s beloved song Houwkuna, Grammy-award nominee Fatoumata Diawara ushers Mali to the front of the world music scene with her brand new EP, Maliba (‘The Great Mali’), and festivals and live concerts are held by the Timbuktu Renaissance and Instruments4Africa to keep soulful sounds and social cohesion alive.

  • A Malian dancer performs at a ceremony wearing a colorful costume and mask.

    Mali’s musical traditions like the instruments, dances and costumes of the Funeral Ceremony for the Dogon Elders are at risk as the country moves away from a traditional way of life and the inroads of global culture dilute the rich traditions at the nation’s core.

  • A group of Malian musicians sit with traditional instruments.

    Performing live music is a crucial part of Mali’s musical tradition — streaming just won’t do at traditional ceremonies and events

  • The Entrance to the Festival au Désert Camp.

    Famous on the world music scene is Mali’s Festival in the Desert, where the country’s top talent as well as world-class guests such as U2 and Led Zeppelin have played over the years. When the jihadist occupation forced the cancellation of the event, it was instead held ‘in exile’ as Malian musical champions refused to submit to the extremists.

  • Ali Touré Farka album cover.

    Mali’s long history of musical tradition peaked in the 1960s and 70s, a golden era of sorts in which both the state and private individuals significantly invested in music and culture. The result was a generation of musical bonafides, such as the famous Ali Farka Touré, and a large number of records produced during this period which would define Malian musical history.

  • The ‘nightingale of Timbuktu’ Khaira Dharby performing.

    During the extremist occupation, the traditions that strengthened Malian communities and identities were targeted - music was banned and instruments were destroyed,, in an attempt to silence the people’s voice and spirit. But Mali’s musicians continued to share their heritage and talent with the world whenever and however they could, so that Mali's musical tradition could live on.

M is for Monuments

A third layer of Mali’s unique cultural landscape is made up of its mosques, mausoleums and monuments. These structures are not just iterations of historic mud architectural styles and commemorations of past events; they are kept alive by the communities who have maintained them for centuries and the efforts to restore them after their recent destruction by those attempting to shake the foundations of Malian culture and identity.

From political unrest and the end of tourism to globalization and pollution, several factors threaten Mali’s monuments and its culture at large. Exploring the Great Mosque of Djenne in 3D, or the first ever Street View of Mali’s mosques and monuments, it’s clear that this built heritage is worth protecting and preserving for generations to come.

  • The mudbrick facade of the Djinguereber Mosque.

    In the first ever Street View of Mali’s endangered mosques and mausoleums, users can tour and learn the secrets of the Djinguereber Mosque: above the main door, there’s said to be a barely-legible inscription of the name Mansa Moussa, the richest man in history.

  • Local community members climb the Great Mosque of Djenne to replaster its facade in a festival.

    The incredible festival to replaster the Great Mosque of Djenne takes place every year by the local community, who use the opportunity to work together to preserve and celebrate their heritage. Despite racing to finish the neighborhood’s portion of work to win first prize, it is said that there has never been an injury during the festival.

  • A Malian mason in front of a reconstructed ancestral tomb site.

    Following the destruction of mausoleums and sites of ancestral heritage that were targeted during conflict, UNESCO collaborated with local masons to restore and reconstruct these built heritage sites.

M is for Modern Art

Carrying out Mali’s lasting legacy of creativity and vibrant culture are the country’s incoming generation of contemporary artists. Painters, sculptors, and mixed-media creators reflect the color and chaos that they see in the world around them, entwining Mali’s expressive culture with their own unique perspectives, ambitions and explorations.

Addressing the difficulties and destruction that Mali has endured throughout both recent and colonial history, the country’s art scene might represent a space in which Mali’s past can be processed and, through culture and creativity, a future can be rebuilt.

“The day we admit that we lost everything for the profit of others; that day we can truly begin to rediscover ourselves,” says Malian contemporary artist Amadou Sanogo.

  • Opa Bathily in front of his multicolored, multimedia paintings.

    From the early days of his career, Amadou Opa Bathily has engaged in ‘art recovery’, working with recycled metal to make sculpture. Bathily's paintings continue to be identified by these hard materials which he sculpts to his canvas. His works and materials are both flexible and enduring.

  • One of Souleymane Guindo’s semi-sculptural works on canvas.

    Drawing inspiration from the mountainous areas, stones, and boulders of the rocky escarpments of Dogon country, Souleymane Guindo’s works connect him to the culturally rich area in central Mali where he has his familial and ethnic roots.

  • Ange Dakou in front of one of his woven gris gris pieces of art.

    Artist Ange Dakouo’s current work is inspired by protective amulets known as gris gris that are attached to a child’s wrist or neck at birth or sewn into the outfits of traditional hunters in West Africa. He creates his own woven gris gris, which traditionally are thought to ward off evil djinn, bad luck, and even ammunition rounds of enemy fire.

  • Dramane Toloba’s artworks, using paper maché, fabric, and discarded materials.

    The works of Dramane Toloba are eco-responsible and based on the recovery of trash disposed by people into nature. His creations are inspired by the wastefulness of consumer society, contrasted with the natural world of traditional rural society, gratitude, and the constant battle of scarcity.

Discover more on g.co/MaliMagic online or through the Google Arts & Culture mobile app on iOS and Android.

The trials and triumphs of the Timbuktu manuscripts

The ancient manuscripts of Timbuktu — some 400,000 pages of text detailing everything from the Koran to mathematics to astronomy and astrology — are more than important historical documents. Central to the heritage of the West African nation of Mali, they represent the long legacy of written knowledge and academic excellence in Africa, and hold potential to inspire global learning from the actions of the past in confronting modern day issues.

Today, thanks to the initiative of the families who have protected the manuscripts from harm for generations and the capabilities of technology, more than 40,000 of those pages are digitally available for the first time for the world to explore on Google Arts & Culture. With this comes the hope that this legacy can be preserved and its potential harnessed to promote peace and cultural understanding.

The heroes who kept the manuscripts safe

The history of the manuscripts is known worldwide, in part thanks to their heroic preservation story. The collection, which was not held by a museum or institution but by individual families willing to safeguard their cultural heritage, was in danger when extremists seized Mali in 2012, destroying heritage sites and burning the manuscripts they came across in their wake. But the people of Timbuktu did not let their written heritage be crushed underfoot. By jeep, car and canoe, they smuggled as many manuscripts as they could out of the occupied city to safety, though sadly not all of the pages were able to be rescued.

  • An ancient manuscript lying amongst debris.

    When extremists targeting sites of cultural heritage seized the country of Mali in 2012, many manuscripts were destroyed and the rest of the collection significantly endangered.

  • A trunk of ancient manuscripts.

    In the face of danger, the people of Mali banded together to smuggle the manuscripts out of Timbuktu to safety, doing the country and world a great service by bravely preserving the priceless collection for generations to come.

  • Scanning a page from an ancient manuscript.

    After scanning the manuscripts page by page, the collection on Google Arts & Culture now contains 40,000 digitized pages in high resolution, for scholars and the public alike to explore.

  • Cataloging the manuscripts.

    Conserving, cataloging, boxing and continuing to study these pages are all part of the preservation efforts taken on by SAVAMA-DCI, the organization now holding and promoting the collection.

  • Dr. Haidara in the stacks at the library containing the preserved manuscripts

    Preserving these collections physically and digitally will ensure that these pages and their teachings are passed onto forthcoming generations as both historical artifacts and documents with meanings still relevant to today to be studied and better understood.

Technology that creates new access

Now held at the headquarters of cultural preservation organization SAVAMA-DCI, their legacy can live on through continued study of the texts and maintenance of the delicate ancient pages. The digitized collection and experiment, visualizing a large manuscript archive available on Google Arts & Culture, opens a completely new door to understanding the past and the cultural significance of the archives. The documents that represent a Renaissance in African history – previously thought to be spoken but never written – are now accessible to the public and modern scholars around the world.

Though the manuscript collection became better known on the world stage after it was rescued during Mali’s 2012 extremist occupation, the texts’ legacy stretches far beyond the twenty-first century, containing a wealth of knowledge which filtered down through the scholars of Timbuktu, a key seat of Islamic-world studies, across nine centuries. While the manuscripts’ production reflects a keen skill for inscribing beautiful calligraphy styles on a range of materials — from Italian paper to fish skins — their content ranges from surprisingly contemporary topics, such as sex tips, the question of whether smoking should be banned and insight into practises of black magic, to ever-relevant teachings about peacekeeping, human rights and good governance.

  • An introduction to the manuscripts digital archive and stories.

    Enter a virtual experience introducing the manuscripts, their journey through history, and presenting the 40K+ digitized manuscripts.

  • A book viewer to flip and read through the manuscripts.

    Dive deep into an engaging 3D view of the compiled books to flip through the various manuscripts and study up close.

  • View of the digitized manuscript collection in its entirety.

    Immerse yourself in a Universe of Verse, the floating manuscript collection, and select pages to explore in more detail.

  • A page of an ancient copy of the Quran.

    Delicate and decorative folio like this page from an ancient copy of the Quran, containing important teachings both religious and secular, are amongst the collections that families preserved in their homes for centuries before the evacuation from Timbuktu.

  • A manuscript with a rare drawing of a musical instrument.

    As well as containing writings rich with ancient teachings on a wide range of subjects, many manuscripts are embellished with drawings and diagrams that shed light on life in medieval Timbuktu, such as this page displaying a traditional musical instrument.

  • A manuscript with astronomical and astrological diagrams.

    The Timbuktu manuscripts bear witness to the Islamic world’s understanding of astronomy, some emerging hundreds of years before the time of Galileo.

In narrating stories of conflict resolution in African history between the empires and kingdoms of centuries ago, the manuscripts offer relevant points of comparison and wisdom that can be applied to periods of conflict and instability that ensue in our modern world. In this context, so too can the manuscripts play a key role in shaping African identity.

In these pages we can identify ourselves and our ancestors as the authors of histories of peace and wisdom — and so connect to our heritage through a certain recognition of ourselves within it.

Immerse yourself in the Timbuktu Manuscripts on g.co/TimbuktuManuscripts online or through the Google Arts & Culture mobile app on iOS and Android.

African developers: creating opportunities and building for the future

Every day, African businesses harness ingenuity to empower their communities. African software developers are an engine for digital transformation in local economies across the continent, and there’s no one better to solve challenges than local developers, founders, and entrepreneurs. And as African startup funding reaches unprecedented levels (growing by over 2.5x in 2021 over the previous year), understanding Africa’s developer landscape is key to support the growth of these startups.

For the second year in a row, Google published the Africa Developer Ecosystem report to map Africa’s developer landscape. We expanded this edition of the report to include year-on-year growth analysis, tech ecosystem components and key growth factors. The research was conducted in 16 African markets (Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda) and the findings were extrapolated to the rest of the continent.

Here are the five key takeaways from our study:


1. Africa’s developer population is growing across the continent.

We found that COVID-19 has continued to shape both the tech community at large and the nuances of the developer experience. Despite a contracting economy, the pool of professional developers increased by 3.8% to make up 0.4% of the continent’s non-agricultural workforce. Salaries and compensation also rose, and more developers secured full-time jobs.

2. VC investment in African startups rebounded as the digital economy expanded.

As local businesses transitioned online across the continent, they boosted the need for web development and data engineering skills. African startups raised over $4bn in 2021, 2.5x times more than in 2020, with fintech startups making up over half of this funding. The shift to remote work also created more employment opportunities across time zones and continents for African developers while lifting the pay for senior talent. As a result, international companies are now recruiting African developers at record rates.

3. Learners, junior developers, as well as underrepresented groups including women, need more support.

These groups faced challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Without access to in-person education — or affordable, reliable internet access and at-home equipment — they struggled to make gains last year. This can be seen in how the gender gap between men developers and women developers widened: there are 2.5% fewer women developers in the workforce than there were in 2020.

4. Educators, technology companies and governments are undertaking initiatives to strengthen the developer pipeline.

Educators, tech companies and governments can help developers succeed by improving internet access, education and business support. Bootcamps and certifications, run as part of formal and informal education, are working to bridge the vocational training gap between traditional education and employment moving forward. Global technology companies are investing in digital skill building across the continent to improve job readiness and alleviate the tech talent bottleneck. Governments can also play a vital role in strengthening the developer pipeline by investing in both internet access and education.

5. Nigeria is a striking example of the symbiotic relationship between digital transformation and developer growth in Africa.

The developer ecosystem in Nigeria is thriving, thanks to strong demand for developer talent, significant support from big tech, and Nigerian startups raising the largest total amount of funding on the continent in 2021. Nigeria had the highest number of new developers of all countries surveyed, with 5,000 additional developers joining Nigeria's developer population in 2021. As countries like Nigeria continue to transform, they will unlock more opportunities for developers, who in turn, grow the economy.

To support the continued growth of Africa’s developers, technology companies, educators and governments are tackling local challenges through innovative partnerships and programs. Google is committed to supporting developers at each stage of their journey through regional developer training, community, and mentorship programs, including Google Developer Groups, Google Developer Student Clubs, Women Techmakers and Google Developer Experts.

How companies can help accelerate Africa’s digital transformation

Editor’s note:Today Google CEO Sundar Pichai addressed the African Union Summit Business Forum on the potential for Africa’s digital transformation and how companies like Google can help accelerate it, in partnership with governments. Below is an edited transcript of his remarks. Watch the video on YouTube.

On behalf of Google and Alphabet, I am pleased to address this Business Forum on the occasion of the African Union Summit. Thanks to your leadership, the African continent has experienced rapid economic growth despite pressing challenges. It’s been especially inspiring to see the role technology has played in enabling “African-led solutions to African and global problems.”

Africa is increasingly a place where innovation begins. People all over the world now use mobile payment systems, first developed in Kenya. Renewable energy innovations on the continent are shaping a more sustainable future. The emerging digital technologies in air transport and tourism in Africa that you are discussing today will improve connectivity on a global scale.

Expanding opportunities through technology is deeply personal to me. Growing up in India, every new innovation — from the rotary phone to the refrigerator — improved my family’s life.

The chance to bring technology to more people is what drew me to Google, and to its mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

For 14 years, we’ve partnered with African governments to deliver on that mission. We opened our first office in Egypt in May 2007, and Google’s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, hired our very first African Googlers. Since then our presence has grown to include offices in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, and an AI research lab in Accra, Ghana. Together we have helped 100 million Africans affordably access the internet, trained six million people in digital skills since 2017, and invested in the African startup ecosystem.

Across all of these efforts, digital technology has been a powerful engine for progress. That opportunity will only grow: 300 million more people will come online in the next five years — many of them young, entrepreneurial and digitally-savvy.

What’s more, the African Continental Free Trade Area will boost intra-African trade and generate investments in infrastructure. Said simply: Africa is on the brink of a digital transformation. Companies like ours can play an important role, in partnership with governments, the African Union, and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

Last year we announced a plan to invest $1 billion to support digital transformation in Africa. We are focused on the priorities outlined in our “Digital Sprinters” report, which illustrates how adoption of technology can accelerate economic growth. It starts with expanding affordable and reliable internet access for more people, with infrastructure investments such as our Equiano subsea cable. Working with partners like Econet, X’s Taara team is helping to bring internet connectivity to more communities. It uses light to transmit information at super high speeds through the air.

We’re also investing in startups in areas important to Africa’s economy. That includes transport and tourism, the theme of today’s Forum. For example, we’ve invested in startups like SafeBoda, an app that connects passengers to a community of safe, trusted drivers, through our $50 million Africa Investment Fund. And Send, a logistics platform that helps move cargo across Africa, received equity-free funding from our Black Founders Fund.

At the core of all these initiatives is partnership. Success means working in close collaboration with African governments, the AU, UNECA, and businesses in the digital ecosystem. We are committed to doing just that, to ensure every person in Africa can shape and share in the opportunities technology creates.

Sundar Pichai against a textured backdrop with a plant in the corner
10:25

Click above to watch Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s address to leaders at the African Union Summit business forum.

From Lagos to London, this marketer is making an impact

Welcome to the latest edition of “My Path to Google,” where we talk to Googlers, interns and alumni about how they got to Google, what their roles are like and even some tips on how to prepare for interviews.

Today’s post features Oiza Sadiq, an Associate Product Marketing Manager based in Lagos, Nigeria (soon to be London) who seeks ways to make real-life impact through her work.

What do you do at Google?
I’m an Associate Product Marketing Manager (APMM) at Google. The APMM program is a two-year rotational development program for early-career digital marketers. During our rotations, we work on different teams across Google Marketing to get experience and build our skills. In my current role as a Growth Strategist on the Growth Lab team, I work with product marketers to develop strategies and campaigns to help people better understand how to use Google products.

What have been the driving forces behind your career?

I’ve always been passionate about helping individuals and businesses grow. I get fulfillment from seeing people impacted by either the knowledge I share or the work I do — through creating campaigns, supporting product marketers, launching new features or learning more about our users. And I know that I can’t give what I don’t have, which is why I’m so driven to find inspiration and success myself.

Oiza, wearing a Google t-shirt, smiles and holds up the two-finger “peace” sign in front of the Google logo.

Oiza in our Lagos, Nigeria office

How would you describe your path to Google?

When I got to university, I learned about a group of students — the Google Student Ambassadors (GSA) — who shared resources and trained other students on Google products. I was drawn to how helpful and knowledgeable they were, so I joined the program in my second year.

After building my skills as a Google Student Ambassador, I landed my first job after university as a project and campaign manager at a digital agency. I eventually reached out to a Googler, who led the GSA program at the time, and told her I wanted to take on more challenging projects and someday become a Googler like her. She shared that there was an open contract role at Google for a Strategic Partner Manager, who would help establish partnerships to provide public Wi-Fi in Nigeria. She encouraged me to apply and put my best foot forward.

So I did, interviewed and got the role. After 16 months in that position, I transferred to the APMM program — and now, here I am.

What surprised you about the interview process?

I typically dread interviews, because it feels like you are in a hot seat trying to prove and convince people of your worth. So when I spoke with my Google interviewers, I was surprised that it felt like any other chat. Everyone was friendly and engaging, which really helped me be myself.

Oiza, with her arms crossed and wearing black glasses and an orange top, smiles at the camera for a headshot image.

What’s next for you at Google?
As part of my second rotation with the APMM program, I’m moving to London to join my new team. As a Growth Specialist, I’ll look after markets like Northern Europe, Central and Eastern Europe — and my home, Sub Saharan Africa (I’m from Kogi State, Nigeria and started in Google’s Lagos office).

And what excites you outside of your role?

Outside of my role, I love working with secondary school students and giving career talks and digital skills training. I also do voice-overs for events, including speaker introductions and program announcements.

Any tips for anyone hoping to join Google?

Be your authentic self, put your best foot forward and apply for that role!

How Abigail Annkah is using AI to improve maps in Africa

As a university student, Abigail Annkah fell in love with mathematics, which soon led to her interest in artificial intelligence. After graduating from the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Abigail made it through the competitive process to become an AI resident at Google Research, Accra. After her residency, Google offered her a job and she’s now a research software engineer working on several high-profile projects.

As Google grows its presence in Accra, we spoke to Abigail about the mapping project that motivates her, starting a new job while becoming a mother and the importance of inspiring young girls to enter STEM careers.


How did your science background lead you to Google?

I did my undergraduate degree in Bachelor of Science Statistics at the University of Ghana, finishing with a combined major in Mathematics and Statistics. During the second year of study, I stumbled upon Computational Maths, leading to my first taste of coding. I started taking extra credit courses, which really kickstarted my entry into AI. Then I joined the first cohort of the African Masters of Machine Intelligence program at African Institute for Mathematical Sciences with the support of Google and Facebook. The program intends to bridge the AI education gap in Africa and strengthen the growing data science ecosystem in the region — this was my first exposure to the world of Machine Learning.

A picture of Abigail and lots of people outside the entrance to The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

Abigail and her cohort at The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

I quickly developed an interest in using data-driven approaches to solving pressing societal challenges, leading me to work on biochemical image segmentation for my master’s thesis. I then joined the Google AI center in Ghana as an AI resident and after two years gained a full-time role as a research software engineer. There, I used my expertise in computer vision to help build better image segmentation models that led to significant improvement of Google maps. This project created new possibilities for using improved satellite imagery analysis tools for purposes like disaster response or census planning.


Is there a specific project you’re especially proud to have worked on?

The aforementioned Google maps project — also known as the Open Buildings open-access dataset project — is close to my heart as an African. Open Buildings uses AI to provide a digital footprint of building locations and geometry across most of Africa. Our aim is to map Africa's built environment using satellite imagery, and I dedicated almost all my residency to contributing to that work.

Cities in Africa aren't constructed the same as in other parts of the world. For example, AI models in a U.S. city won't be as useful here but the problem is actually bigger than just one product. Many large-scale digital maps today are usually missing that AI context. It was exciting to see the potential and unanticipated use cases that helped us refine the dataset, and we saw it make an impact on local communities. For example, the data we collected about buildings can also be used to analyze the density of the built landscape for environmental science purposes.

After identifying and adding millions of previously unmapped buildings to our dataset, we decided to open source the dataset, making it available for anyone to download.


How do you hope your work inspires the next generation of young scientists in STEM?

That’s a funny question because sometimes I think I haven't gone that far in my career — but that’s only because I want to achieve so much more. When I’ve spoken to students they always ask about my journey to Google, especially starting a new role as a new mother. I want them to look at me and think if she did it, then I can do it too! It’s really important to me that my work reaches people so that they in turn can reach out to others when they achieve career success.

I’m very pleased there are more programs today encouraging girls and women to get into STEM. I was fortunate enough to participate in one of these programs early on, and it helped me get where I am today. Currently, the Accra team is launching Mind the Gap in Ghana and I get to interact with young students to inspire them to pursue STEM along with other members of the team.


How did you balance motherhood with your new position at Google?

Having a newborn at home while start my residency was stressful, especially following a difficult pregnancy. I was anxious about how much of myself I could give to my work, but I was able to make valuable contributions to the work and still be a trusted member of the team. When I became a full-time researcher, I thought to myself that if I can succeed as a working mother, then I should have confidence that I had earned this position. I also had a great maternity package and a super supportive team. I had a support system where I could ask colleagues, “How did you get through this? What did you do?” I didn't have to figure out everything on my own.


Who are your heroes in real life?

I think the younger me is my greatest hero! I've had so many amazing people pushing me, but whenever I hit a roadblock, she’s the one who inspires me and reminds me that yes I can.

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Meet the Googler championing startups in Africa

The Keyword speaks to Onajite Emerhor, Head of Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, about the burgeoning startup scene in Africa and w...

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This Googler is dedicated to making a difference

Welcome to the latest edition of “My Path to Google,” where we talk to Googlers, interns and alumni about how they got to Google, what their roles are like and even some tips on how to prepare for interviews.

Today’s story is all about Lerato Seopela from our Johannesburg office. Lerato shares her path from management consultancy to marketing at Google, plus her passion for sustainability and beekeeping at home.

What do you do at Google?

I’m an Associate Product Marketing Manager (APMM) for the Ads Marketing team in Sub-Saharan Africa. My work often comes to life through local tool launches and events that share insights and practical tips with clients to help them reach their business goals.

The Google APMM program is a unique career path on the Google Marketing team. As a cohort-based, two-and-a-half-year rotational development program, it provides an active community, leadership roles, and job rotations to help you discover different marketing teams across Google.

I’m also an inclusivity advocate. Since joining Google, I have helped create inclusive marketing campaigns, research, and business training specifically for the LGBTQ+ community in the region.

What have been the driving forces behind your career?

My family has had a huge impact on my career. My parents, aunts and uncles have all achieved success and happiness despite the adversities they faced during the Apartheid regime. The values they’ve instilled in me have influenced how I empower myself and others through education. I feel fulfilled in my career when I know that I’ve contributed to improving the lives of others, whether that’s through supporting people’s business needs or helping them develop new skills.

How would you describe your path to Google?

Before Google, I was a marketing consultant at Discovery Health, an insurance company that encourages people to live healthier. Towards the end of 2019, I decided to look for a new job that would give me the opportunity to build my problem-solving skills, develop strategies and work with different people around the world. At the beginning of 2020, I started a new job as a management consultant at a local management consulting firm. Just before I transitioned to this new role, a recruiter reached out to me on LinkedIn about an open Associate Product Marketing Manager role at Google. After a quick call with her, I immediately began the application and interview process, which all took place virtually. And I was lucky enough to get the role! I joined Google in April 2020, soon after the world was thrust into a global pandemic. Despite not seeing a Google office yet, it’s been an incredible experience working with so many talented people.

What surprised you about the interview process?

I was surprised by the rounds of interviews and the amount of communication from my recruiter throughout the whole process. It was reassuring to have someone to reach out to with questions, and who would proactively keep me updated. Everyone throughout the interview process was so lovely and made an effort to help me feel comfortable. It was a really human experience, and I could get a sense of the company culture from everyone I met.

What gets you most excited in your role?

What excites me most about my role is the breadth of work available, my amazing colleagues, and the tangible and positive impact we are making in the region. I’ve contributed to projects like the Economic Recovery campaign, which helps small businesses, jobseekers, educators and students find their feet and recover during the COVID-19 pandemic. These efforts gave me a sense of purpose during a challenging time, and showed me that I can make a difference in my job. It was inspiring to see how some of the small businesses we worked with not only recovered, but thrived under very difficult circumstances. And working alongside a team dedicated to helping as many people as possible has been one of the proudest moments of my career.

And what excites you outside of your role?

My guilty pleasure is reality TV! I love watching the Real Housewives franchise. I’m also a huge foodie, and I like finding new places to try new food and hang out. To keep level headed, I enjoy Pilates, yoga, and hiking, and recently discovered the benefits of meditation. I’m also an advocate for sustainability and environmental preservation. In fact, I’ve taken up beekeeping to support the declining population of bees around the world.

Any tips for anyone hoping to join Google in Africa?

Have confidence in your ability. Don’t doubt the amazing things that you can do, and the impact you can make across the continent.

Supporting journalism in Africa

Citizen journalism is playing a crucial role in helping South African communities unite. Food for Manzi is one organization which tells the untold stories of rural communities and agriculture in South Africa to challenge stereotypes and spread positivity. With support from the Google News Initiative, they set up the Sinelizwi citizen journalism project which trained 62 citizens from all nine Provinces to tell local stories to empower and unite local communities.

Projects like this are why Google invests in the Google News Initiative (GNI), and this week we held the first GNI for Africa event.

The event is an opportunity for journalists, publishers and content creators in Africa to find out more about Google’s training programmes for journalists and news business professionals. From understanding how small and medium size news organizations can grow their digital business to how to use consumer insights and data to better understand reader preferences and increase profitability and engagement, the event brings together experts from Google and the industry to share tools, training and best practices.

The news landscape in Africa is changing fast. In five years, the number of people accessing digital platforms for news content has almost doubled, opening up access to news and supporting a new generation of independent and digital media. Yet not everyone has the opportunity to access digital media, and many more people and communities are not represented in the news. Organizations working to change this, like Pulse in Nigeria, were also part of the event. They spoke about how they have used new digital formats to engage a mass youth audience and developed formats like Explainers to provide additional — and very much needed — context to the flow of information.

At the event, we also announced a partnership with UNESCO to further invest in training for journalists in Africa. Using its networks of established journalism schools, UNESCO will launch a collaborative programme to update journalism education and training programmes run by over 100 expert institutions in Africa, enabling them to better respond to the major changes in journalism and publishing in recent times. This new training initiative will roll out over the next 18 months.

Google is increasing its investment in and support of journalism in Africa, including hiring a News Lab Teaching Fellow who provides locally relevant training for journalists in Southern Africa and programmes such as the Digital Growth Programme andInnovation Challenges which support publishers in their digital transformation. To be part of this training send an email to [email protected].

Watch the sessions from the event on YouTube.

Celebrating frontline photojournalist Mohamed Amin

This week, Kenya is celebrating Mashujaa Day, or National Heroes Day, when we honor people who have made great contributions to our nation and the world. A true son of Africa and one of our heroes is frontline photojournalist Mohamed ‘Mo’ Amin, who moved the world with his extraordinary work and dedication spanning four decades.

Today, I am honored to unveil the project Mo Amin: The Eye of Africa on Google Arts & Culture, which features over 6000 photographs, some of which have not been seen by the world before. It also features more than 50 stories, showcasing the key moments, places and people he documented. It has been created in collaboration with Mo’s son, Salim Amin, and the team at the Mohamed Amin Foundation.

Even though Mo was proud to call Kenya his home, his work, his impact and his reputation transcended national and cultural boundaries. He mobilized the conscience of mankind through his coverage of the squalor and death at a camp in Northern Ethiopia during the famine of 1984. Galvanized by the brutal reality so powerfully witnessed through Mo’s camera lens, governments, celebrities, humanitarians and everyday people all came together to raise money for the famine in one of the most spontaneous and widespread acts of giving the world has ever seen.

What many people might be less familiar with is that, more than anything else, Mo spent a lot of time documenting the beauty, wildlife, culture, people and leaders of his motherland. For more than a generation, Mo used his cameras to bring Africa’s most powerful stories into view.

Much like Africa, Mo was caught up in a tide of change from an early age. From humble roots in Eastleigh in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, he was swept up both by the beauty of Africa’s people and natural heritage and by the turmoil of a continent locked in a wave of independence revolutions and power struggles. And like Africa, his professional journey is a catalogue of beauty and majesty, crisis and chaos, and a deep, resonant passion for documenting and protecting the best of the continent while moving fearlessly forward into an uncertain future.

  • A picture of Marlboro 1981 Safari Rally accreditation card, taken in 1981.

    A picture of Marlboro 1981 Safari Rally accreditation card, taken in 1981.

  • A picture of a rally car and Mohamed Amin filming the East African Safari Rally, taken in 1979.

    A picture of Mohamed Amin filming the East African Safari Rally, taken in 1979.

  • A picture of Tawaf at night by Mohamed Amin, taken in 1978.

    A picture of Tawaf at night by Mohamed Amin, taken in 1978.

  • A picture of Mohamed Amin and Michael Buerk in a crowd of people, taken in 1984.

    Mohamed Amin and Michael Buerk, taken in 1984.

In my early years, I grew up as part of Kenya’s first presidential family, under the towering shadows of my parents and the political landscape that was new post-independence Kenya. I remember the vintage figure of Mo in his multi-pocketed vest and with cameras slung on his neck as he just barely breached the frontline among a retinue of journalists while covering national events hosted by my late father, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, who was Kenya’s first president. Later, like most of the world, I followed and became enthralled with Mo’s work as he pushed the frontiers of frontline and documentary journalism to bring us stories that touched, moved and inspired many. After Mo lost one of his arms while in the line of duty in Ethiopia in 1991, I was inspired by his fortitude and surprised by how quickly he went back to his duties. When the news broke of his tragic death in the crash of a hijacked Ethiopian Airlines plane five years later, our collective sense of loss as the family of humanity was deep and painful.

Later, I came to know Salim Amin, Mo’s son; we both share the experience of taking on the challenge of continuing in the footsteps of a towering father figure. Because of what we have in common, and also because Mo’s work included his coverage of some of my father’s occasions, I did feel a sense of kinship with Salim when he shared with me his book about some of his father’s finest work, “Kenya: Through My Father’s Eyes.” This book is both a valued part of my personal collection and among my gift items of choice to state and diplomatic visitors.

I like to remember Mo not just as a photojournalist, but also by the strength of his character and his passion for his work. There is something to be admired and emulated in the integrity of someone who strives to do their best not for reward but for the love of expressing all that he has to contribute to the human experience. I think that is Mo’s true legacy.

I congratulate Salim and his team at the Mohamed Amin Foundation for both the excellence of their own journalism and their generosity; the latest installment of Mo’s legacy is now being shared with the world through the Google Arts & Culture platform. Mo Amin: The Eye of Africa features both artistic and journalistic coverage of culture, conflict, political upheaval, wildlife, entertainment, historical observation, and an unparalleled visual chronicle of the daily life of people and places from around the world. For the first time, it includes a machine learning- powered experiment from the Google Arts & Culture Lab which provides an interactive visual chronicle of Mo’s work. This work and Mo’s legacy is at the very heart of Kenya’s heritage and indeed the heritage of humanity.