Tag Archives: google.org

Giving $2 billion to nonprofits since 2017

Five years ago, Google.org committed to contributing $1 billion to organizations around the world that are working to create opportunities for everyone. Today, thanks in part to the generosity of our employees, we’ve doubled that goal. Since 2017, we’ve provided more than $2 billion in cash grants and employee contributions to nonprofits, and Google employees have collectively volunteered the equivalent of 160 years worth of time with organizations they’re passionate about.

When we started Google.org in 2004, we wanted to use the best of Google to help solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges. Today, our commitment to nonprofits goes beyond cash grants and volunteering to include access to our products and technical expertise.

In addition to grants and employee contributions, we’ve donated over $7 billion in Ad Grants since 2017. These donated ads help organizations connect with potential donors, recruit volunteers and inform people of their services — and do so at the moment when their services are needed most.

We know that magic happens when we pair funding with employee tech expertise through Google.org Fellowships, a pro bono program that matches Google employees with nonprofits and civic entities to work full time for up to six months on technical projects. Last year alone, Fellows worked on projects that included raising awareness about gaps in health equity, making it easier for people in Detroit to find affordable housing, using AI to stop pests devastating crops that feed communities across India, and more.

As we mark these milestones of nonprofit giving, we also want to look to the future and focus on where tech-driven philanthropy can have the most impact.

We believe in the importance of taking big bets on new ideas that can pay off in the long run. Take our grantee GiveDirectly for example. Back in 2012, they shared with us a new idea about giving cash directly to people in need, and we jumped on board to provide some of their first seed funding. Today, there are more than 300 studies on the effectiveness of direct cash transfers, and GiveDirectly has distributed more than $500 million, making them one of the fastest-growing nonprofits of the decade.

We also know that when solving global issues — whether it’s supporting vaccine roll-out or creating economic opportunity — equity and inclusion are critical. We’ll continue to advocate for the role technology can play in driving equitable outcomes in everything from health to racial justice.

Our grantees around the world inspire us every day, and we’re excited to continue this journey towards a better world, together.

Giving $2 billion to nonprofits since 2017

Five years ago, Google.org committed to contributing $1 billion to organizations around the world that are working to create opportunities for everyone. Today, thanks in part to the generosity of our employees, we’ve doubled that goal. Since 2017, we’ve provided more than $2 billion in cash grants and employee contributions to nonprofits, and Google employees have collectively volunteered the equivalent of 160 years worth of time with organizations they’re passionate about.

When we started Google.org in 2004, we wanted to use the best of Google to help solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges. Today, our commitment to nonprofits goes beyond cash grants and volunteering to include access to our products and technical expertise.

In addition to grants and employee contributions, we’ve donated over $7 billion in Ad Grants since 2017. These donated ads help organizations connect with potential donors, recruit volunteers and inform people of their services — and do so at the moment when their services are needed most.

We know that magic happens when we pair funding with employee tech expertise through Google.org Fellowships, a pro bono program that matches Google employees with nonprofits and civic entities to work full time for up to six months on technical projects. Last year alone, Fellows worked on projects that included raising awareness about gaps in health equity, making it easier for people in Detroit to find affordable housing, using AI to stop pests devastating crops that feed communities across India, and more.

As we mark these milestones of nonprofit giving, we also want to look to the future and focus on where tech-driven philanthropy can have the most impact.

We believe in the importance of taking big bets on new ideas that can pay off in the long run. Take our grantee GiveDirectly for example. Back in 2012, they shared with us a new idea about giving cash directly to people in need, and we jumped on board to provide some of their first seed funding. Today, there are more than 300 studies on the effectiveness of direct cash transfers, and GiveDirectly has distributed more than $500 million, making them one of the fastest-growing nonprofits of the decade.

We also know that when solving global issues — whether it’s supporting vaccine roll-out or creating economic opportunity — equity and inclusion are critical. We’ll continue to advocate for the role technology can play in driving equitable outcomes in everything from health to racial justice.

Our grantees around the world inspire us every day, and we’re excited to continue this journey towards a better world, together.

€20 million to support the European social economy

Social entrepreneurs tackle big societal challenges that benefit people and the planet alike — with sustainable business models.

In Europe, there are an estimated 2.8 million social enterprises that employ 13.6 million people and contribute to a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable economy. However, the pandemic has exacerbated some of the challenges these social entrepreneurs face, including existing inequalities and access to resources.

Which is why today, we’re committing €20 million in cash funding through the Google.org Social Innovation Fund to support underserved social entrepreneurs across Europe.


Social entrepreneurs need more support

According to a study released today by ChangemakerXchange and The Possibilists and co-funded by Google.org, only 1 in 5 young social entrepreneurs can live off their venture and over 60% have experienced burnout. Entrepreneurs from underserved communities experience these challenges more acutely. In addition, research from Euclid Network shows that social enterprises face significant barriers to growing their business and scaling their impact. In particular, they lack access to capital and support from companies and governments.

Private companies need to play their part in helping the social economy. Today, the European Commission is setting out a strong policy agenda to support social enterprises in its EU Action Plan on the Social Economy, and calling on governments, funders and companies to do more to support the social economy. We’re committed to doing our part — and to building on our work at Google for Startups in Europe over the last ten years, our Google.org Impact Challenges and the more than €10 million in Google.org funding that we’ve awarded to social enterprises to support charitable projects over the last 3 years.

Paris-based social enterprise Chance (previously called YGeneration) knows first-hand how critical such support can be — now more than ever. In 2015 Google.org awarded them $200,000 to further their mission of using technology to help people from underserved communities access career guidance, digital coaching and the job market.

Seven years later — with the help of mentoring from Google volunteers and an additional $2 million in Google.org funding — they’ve helped 10,000 job seekers find roles and improve their careers. They also inspired additional funders to invest over €5 million, and will soon announce that they’ve attracted additional funding to reach even more people in French and English speaking countries.

We know there are more social entrepreneurs who could have a positive impact on their communities, if they could get more support.

  • An image of founder Deborah Choi next to a quote that reads "Deborah Choi, Founderland: “Our goal is to build a new inclusive and intersectional standard for entrepreneurs. The funding from Google.org will help us support women founders who’ve been historically left out and left behind, to become strong business leaders, grow sustainably and raise capital”
  • A picture of Anisa Morridadi, founder of Beatfreeks with a quote saying “Google.org has supported us for many years in our mission to offer insight and youth engagement to companies across the UK to help them embrace diverse ideas and talent, improve business and shape culture.”
  • A picture of Kristian Rönn, co-founder of Normative. A quote says “With the Google.org grant funding, we have accelerated our work to open free access to sector-specific insights data for SMEs available through the UN-backed SME Climate Hub. This has been transformational. Now that we have 12 Google employees assisting us full-time for 6 months as part of a Google.org Fellowship, we are looking forward to even greater impact”
  • A picture of Tia Taylor, founder of Colory. The quote says “ColorY* is a social media space created by and for second generation Italians. Google.org is helping us to amplify the voices of future generations, to create a reality where people can feel heard, seen, and recognised.”
  • A picture Ludovic de Gromard, founder of Chance. A quote says “Google.org’s funding and mentoring support has contributed to Chance being recognised today as leading one of the most advanced career guidance programs. The support has also opened many doors for us as a social enterprise, including new funding opportunities”

Supporting underserved entrepreneurs and social economy ecosystems

Today’s announcement will deepen our support, with €20 million in cash funding, as well as additional in-kind support through AdGrants.

€13 million will go toward strengthening local social economy ecosystems across Europe, and creating better access for underserved entrepreneurs. This funding will support leading social economy organizations to create and scale programs that help build the capacity of underserved entrepreneurs, and provide access to networks, upskilling and tools.

Our first grant will be €1 million to Fund 05 in Slovenia to help catalyze the country’s nascent social entrepreneurship sector. We’re also supporting the Euclid Network to gather social economy leaders so they can share insights, learnings and solutions across borders.

In addition, we’re giving a €7 million grant to INCO to provide access to capital and support for entrepreneurs from underserved communities in the form of cash grants between €25,000 - €100,000 each to scale up their enterprises. INCO will also help individuals who are just starting out turn their idea into a business, with funding of €4.000 - €10.000 alongside mentoring and incubation services.

To unlock the full potential of the social economy, we need to work together — that includes governments, companies, foundations, investors, nonprofits, cooperatives and social enterprises. That’s why we’re joining the World Economic Forum’s COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs.

As we work towards an inclusive economic recovery, the decisions that companies, funders, foundations and policymakers make now will determine what our economies of tomorrow will look like. We hope that social entrepreneurship — which truly puts purpose, people and planet at the center of business goals — can influence the economy going forward.

Unlocking human rights information with machine learning

Human rights defenders need information from many sources to do their work effectively. But as issues evolve and new precedents are set, finding the right information to defend a particular case can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

For example, a human rights advocate campaigning for LGBTQ rights may want to know which countries have made the most progress and what resolutions they’ve passed. To do so, they have to manually sift through thousands of pages of dense documentation covering global laws and victims’ testimonies to find what they’re looking for.

The curation and cataloging of documents makes this process much easier, but still relies on the manual work of skilled experts. To help, the non-profit organization HURIDOCS looked to machine learning. With support from Google.org Fellows and grant funding, they’ve built new tools that can automatically tag human rights documents so they are searchable — making the curation process 13 times faster.

How machine learning can make information more accessible

Typically, non-governmental organizations collect and curate large bodies of human rights information, with the goal of making these collections useful for advocates. Manually processing these documents can take several days, particularly when they’re published in unfamiliar languages or in PDF format which is difficult to search through. As a result, many NGOs face a large backlog of documents that remain to be processed, and by the time they’re added to collections new documentation often supersedes them.

Based in Geneva, HURIDOCS has been developing tools to manage and analyze collections of human rights evidence, law and research for nearly four decades. In 2016, they had an idea: What if machine learning could skim through documents, make terms extractable, and classify the content to catalog documents more quickly?

HURIDOCS took their idea to the Google AI Impact Challenge and was selected for a $1 million grant from Google.org and six months of technical support from a team of seven full-time pro bono Google.org Fellows. As one of the Fellows, I helped train AI models and make sure that the tool was useful to human rights experts, not just machine learning experts.

Google.org grantee HURIDOCS is using machine learning to make it easier for human rights defenders to find the information they need, with help from a team of Google.org Fellows.
10:25

The curation process of human rights documents gets a boost

Since then, HURIDOCS has launched ML-powered features to improve platforms they’ve built with other NGO partners, and, earlier this year, they began integrating the technology into more of its tools, including their flagship application Uwazi. As a result, updating documents now takes one week instead of two to three months, and curators have been able to catch up on multi-year document backlogs.

In June, HURIDOCS won a CogX Award for its machine learning work, and now the organization is continuing to explore what else its machine learning models can do — from creating automatic tables of contents for documents to identifying references within text. With the power of artificial intelligence, HURIDOCS hopes to solve the trickiest challenges facing human rights defenders.

How photos can curb illegal deforestation in the Amazon

As of 2020, Brazil continues to lead the world in primary forest loss with an increase of 25% year over year. In the Amazon, the clear-cut deforestation rate is at its highest in over 10 years. Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) is a Brazilian nonprofit founded in 1994 to promote solutions to this crisis and other social and environmental issues. With a focus on the defense of the environment, cultural heritage, and human rights, ISA promotes solutions for indigenous peoples and other traditional communities in Brazil.

Watch this short documentary about their impact, how they use drone footage and Google Earth to prevent deforestation, and learn more about the role of indigenous communities in protecting local forests and biodiversity.

A Matter of Impact: November updates from Google.org

COP26 wrapped up last week, and world leaders and industry experts headed home with commitments made to work together to further reduce emissions. You can learn more about Google’s commitments in this blog post.

Even for climate negotiators, transparent and trustworthy data around emissions can be hard to come by. Historically, there has been a limited push to build the kind of data sets and models needed to create a shared fact base for everyone. So we asked ourselves: How can we help advocates, citizens, governments and businesses take action on climate, faster?

We believe philanthropic dollars can play a critical role in creating important public goods, like transparent data sets and accessible digital tools, that might not otherwise exist. The world urgently needs a solid foundation of data and tools to monitor and verify our progress to make better decisions. That’s why much of our sustainability-related philanthropy is now focused on funding the creation and organization of data and the tools to make this data easily usable.

Three of our grantees launched tools around COP26 that are examples of this in action. Climate TRACE, the world’s first independent, comprehensive, near-real time greenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring platform uses large-scale data and AI models to provide neutral, accurate data for everyone. On the small business side, the work of Normative is hugely promising. They’re building out emissions estimates for SMBs and helping companies automatically compile detailed carbon reports so that they have actionable data to make better decisions around reducing their footprint. And for consumers, there’s Open Food Facts, an open-access food products database where users can see the eco-score of food products with a simple scan of the barcode from a mobile device.

We’re proud to support these organizations and look forward to more opportunities to combine philanthropic funding with technology to help everyone take action on climate change.

In case you missed it 

Here’s recent progress our grantees have made to close these data gaps.

  • BlueConduit is mapping out lead pipes across the U.S, for remediation.
  • Open Food Facts expanded to 50 countries — you’ll hear more on that from their co-founder Pierre Slamich below.
  • Normative debuted their Industry CO2 Insights carbon emissions accounting engine for small businesses at COP26.
  • Restor launched an open data platform built on Google Earth Engine that allows anyone to select an area around the world and analyze its restoration potential.
  • Dark Matter Labs launched their first version of TreesAI (Trees As Infrastructure), an open source platform to make it easy to map, monitor and forecast ecosystem services. The tool helps local authorities attract funds to develop and maintain urban nature-focused tools to fight climate change.
  • Climate TRACE, supported by $8 million in funding from Google.org and a team of Google.org Fellows, talked about their emissions tracking project in this video.
Climate TRACE talks about their emissions tracking project.
10:25

Hear from one of our grantees: Open Food Facts

Pierre Slamich is the co-founder of Open Food Facts, a collaborative effort to create a worldwide database of food products, thanks to mobile apps that also empower citizens to make more informed food choices. Last spring, Open Food Facts received a $1.3 million Google.org grant and support from a team of 11 Google.org Fellows.

A few words with a Google.org Fellow: Astrid Weber

Astrid Weber is a UX Manager on the Google Assistant team and currently working with Normative for a six month Fellowship.

Find food and give back with Google

In Google’s early days, around this time every year, a group of us would run to Costco and buy supplies to take to Bay Area food banks and pantries. It was a grassroots effort that was scrappy and meaningful — and it introduced a lot of Googlers to how rewarding giving back can be. It made me want to learn what more we could do to have an even bigger impact.

Inspired by our small and mighty food donation operation, I became a passionate supporter of Second Harvest Food Bank in Silicon Valley. And with guidance from food assistance experts, we established a dedicated team at Google in 2020 to work on tackling issues of food waste and food insecurity. Too many families are having to make difficult decisions no one should be forced to make: paying rent, bills, healthcare costs — or keeping food on their table. These challenges have only been compounded by the COVID-19 crisis, which has left more than 54 million working Americans struggling to find a meal. That’s nearly 16% of the country.

Google co-founder Larry Page once said "people are starving in the world not because we don't have enough food. It's because we're not yet organized to solve that problem." The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) reports that the world produces more than we need to feed every person on this planet. This isn’t a problem of supply, it’s a problem of distribution. And while solving this issue will require work from government, businesses, nonprofits and individuals working together, one way Google can help is to give people easy access to the information they need, when they need it.

Helping people find food pantries

When you look at Google Search trends, you can see that searches for "food bank" and “food pantry” spike during the month of November.

Food banks have always been critical to making sure people have regular access to nutritious food, but the ongoing pandemic has drastically increased their role as a crucial lifeline in so many communities. With the need for their services doubling or even tripling in some areas, we want to make sure that the people who need them most can find them.

That’s why we’ve launched a new initiative to expand the information about food banks and pantries in Google Search and Maps. We’ve augmented existing coverage with data from two initial nonprofit partners: WhyHunger and Hunger Free America, and we’ve added information to make sure people searching for food support can find what they need. These changes are being made directly in Google Maps so food banks, food pantries and soup kitchens can focus on what matters most — getting people food.

Still, some of these locations don’t yet have websites or phone numbers available on Google. So over the last two months, we've worked to update this information in Search and Maps, making 85,000 plus calls to verify local food banks and pantries. These efforts will continue through the holidays.

Mobile image showing Google Search results for the query “food pantry near me.”

We’ve also developed new Google Business Profile features specifically for food banks, pantries and soup kitchens. They can now provide details on their profile, like whether an appointment is needed, if there are eligibility requirements to receive food and what languages are spoken. They can also add information about their services, like whether prepared meals are available or if grocery delivery is an option. Additionally, pantries can specify whether they’re accepting new volunteers or soliciting food or monetary donations.

Helping people access benefits

Beyond working with food pantries, we’re also helping people use Search to find out how to get and use food assistance benefits.

Federal programs like the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP) feed more than 40 million Americans each year. We heard from users that information about these programs is often hard to find, especially for people who are using them for the first time. Today, if you search on Google for “SNAP benefits,” or the name of your local SNAP program, you’ll find direct links to each state’s eligibility guidelines and application process, including contact information for local food assistance agencies.

Mobile image showing Google Search results for the query “SNAP benefits,” with details about program eligibility and links to apply for local programs.

Once approved, many people use Electronic Benefits Transfer cards (also known as EBT) to pay for their groceries. Now, if you search for “grocery stores that accept EBT” you can easily find USDA-approved stores that accept this form of payment — saving time and potential confusion.

Supporting hunger relief organizations – and the communities they serve

I’m also proud to announce that we’re contributing financial support as well. Since the COVID-19 crisis began, Googlers have stepped up – giving more than $22 million in personal donations and company-match to hunger relief organizations in the U.S. Today, Google is contributing an additional $2 million in support ($1 million in cash funding and $1 million in donated ads from Google.org) to 20 food banks, pantries and innovative hunger relief organizations across the country.

There is no easy solution to these large-scale challenges that face our communities, but I’m hopeful that increasing access to information about local food support programs and services can help. Our teams are hard at work and committed to building new tools and features that support economic recovery in the U.S. – and around the world – as we weather the COVID-19 crisis. And I personally am really looking forward to getting back to sorting and distributing food with my family at our local food bank.

You can make an impact by volunteering your time, making a donation, using your voice, or a combination of each — there are a number of ways we can all give back. If you need a place to start, you can donate to the largest national network of food banks, Feeding America. Or you can get involved locally: just search for your nearest food pantry on Google and contact them to see what they need. And if you know someone who might need food assistance, you can simply help by sharing resources. Spreading the word not only about what you’re doing to help, but why can make a huge difference.

Helping nonprofits fundraise this season of giving

In 2020, people in the U.S. donated an estimated $2.5 billion on Giving Tuesday alone. To help connect nonprofits with people who are searching for ways to give their time and resources, Google.org will donate $25 million in ads to nonprofits around the world.

These grants are incremental to the baseline $10,000 per month Ad Grant offering and will go to nonprofits focused on humanitarian response, food insecurity and economic recovery. For example, organizations like Direct Relief may use the incremental Ad Grants to attract more donors who are searching on Google for ways to help vulnerable populations, while SCORE may use the grants to connect people looking for ways to volunteer on Google with an opportunity to sign up to be a small business mentor.

Google.org awards over $1 billion in Ad Grants annually to qualifying nonprofits. Last Giving Season, many organizations that received incremental Ad Grants, like Houston Food Bank, more than doubled the donations they raised as compared to similar organizations receiving the baseline Ad Grant. After receiving incremental Ad Grants in 2020, Houston Food Bank saw a fourfold increase in total donations from their campaigns — raising $130,000 in donations in a single month.

“We've had to work with quickness and efficiency to reach out to those who need us most,” said Jessica Dominguez, Annual Giving Manager at Houston Food Bank.“The easiest way for people to donate and find their closest food location is to turn to the web. The Ad Grant gave us the opportunity to reach these people and provide them with the right information.”

In addition to these incremental grants, all eligible organizations may sign up to receive $10,000 per month in Ad Grants and apply for pro bono account support through Google’s Nonprofit Marketing Immersion.

Happy giving!

Helping European small businesses grow and succeed

Today marks the beginning of the European SME week, a time to recognize the contribution that millions of small and medium-sized businesses make to Europe’s economy, as well as an opportunity to explore how they can be supported to continue to grow and thrive.

This time of year is especially critical for small businesses. Shoppers really care about supporting their local communities, with 56% of holiday shoppers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa saying they will intentionally shop more at local small businesses this festive season.

Small businesses are the key to recovery from the pandemic, and our digital tools have helped them sustain their business through lockdowns and enable new jobs, growth and exports. That’s why we rapidly adapted products to improve support and provided training to help them make the most of digital technology. Supporting small businesses is a group effort, though — and the right skills and tools need to be underpinned by the right policies.


Providing helpful tools to connect with customers

The past year and a half has underlined the importance of technology in all parts of life — and small businesses are no exception. Research has found that small businesses in Europe with a sophisticated use of digital tools were able to build a ‘digital safety net’ during the pandemic, resulting in 80% better sales and 60% better revenue.

One example of this is the German company, das schöne leben. Opened in 2016, the store specializes in exceptional food and designer products for everyday living. When the pandemic hit, the founders of the store started advertising online alongside their in-store sales, and set up a Business Profile on Google Search and Maps to help existing and potential customers find them. Das schöne leben now has customers of all ages throughout Germany and has tripled their direct online orders with their first in-house search campaign.

A smiling picture of Manon Weßels, the owner of das schöne leben

Manon Weßels, owner of das schöne leben

Particularly for smaller businesses, Google Ads is the key for visibility and findability online. We would never have reached so many suitable new customers without the advertisements. Manon Weßels
Owner, das schöne leben

The example of das schöne leben and countless others show that online ads help businesses of all sizes find audiences they otherwise may lack access to, help them enter new markets and help build brand awareness.

At Google, we continue to innovate and invest in making all our products and tools more helpful — launching more than 200 features since March 2020 to help businesses connect with their customers in this shifting landscape.

We're also making it even easier for small businesses to manage their presence and connect with customers online. Businesses in Europe can now easily claim and verify their Business Profile directly on Google Search or the Google Maps app, and respond to messages directly from Search. Having more complete information online can have a huge impact for businesses: in Germany, for example, complete Business Profiles receive an average of over five times more calls compared to an incomplete profile. Moving forward, we recommend small businesses manage their profiles directly on Search or Maps. To keep things simple, “Google My Business” is being renamed “Google Business Profile.”


Ensuring that SMBs have the skills to get ahead

We know that providing the right tools is only helpful if businesses are able to use them. To make the most of the digital opportunities available to them, business owners need the right skills. Research has found that 22% of small business owners feel they lack the skills and knowledge to increase their use of digital tools.

Today, we are delighted to kick off our first-ever ‘Google.org Skills Week’ to help support select nonprofits mentoring thousands of underserved small business owners in Europe through scaled tech solutions. As a recent study highlights, medium, small and micro-enterprises — especially those led by women, young people, ethnic minorities, and migrants — were significantly impacted by COVID-19 with 70-80% facing major financial difficulties.

During this week, Google volunteers and product experts will share their skills and best practices through workshops, design sprints and 1:1 mentorship, to help educate select nonprofits that provide mentorship to underserved SMB owners. This week of training touches on many different skills including product management, design, marketing and AdGrants, Artificial Intelligence, YouTube, impact measurement, and aims to better equip the nonprofits to help small businesses improve their online presence.

A video about helping small businesses
10:25

We have seen how powerful these skills can be in helping to grow and scale businesses across Europe.

For Andrea Li Puma, the owner of the food truck Pastammore based in Bucharest, access to digital skills was essential to reach new customers and grow his business. The pandemic meant that Andrea had to take his food business online and pivot to deliver Pastammore’s homemade pasta directly to consumers at home. With support from Google.org-funded nonprofit Digital Nation, Andrea was able to develop an online marketing strategy, optimize his website, and launch new advertising campaigns that helped Pastammore survive through the tough period and even grow with sales increase by 15%.

A picture of Andrea Li Puma, the owner of the food truck Pastammore based in Bucharest, in a white coat in front of his truck

Andrea Li Puma, owner of food truck Pastammore in Bucharest

Since 2015, over 18 million people across Europe, the Middle East and Africa have participated in our Grow with Google training, resulting in more than four million people getting a new job, growing their career or growing their business*.

To make sure our programs best help tackle the barriers to digital success, we developed partnerships with training experts, public agencies and policy makers. For example, in France we collaborate with FFAC — French Association of Local Stores — in supporting 30,000 local shop owners everywhere in France in their digital transition.


A more inclusive economic recovery

The pandemic has been disruptive and small businesses have been at the sharp end of this change. While challenging, this past year and a half has also underlined how resilient small businesses can thrive through partnership, openness and innovation. Europe has a great opportunity to build a digital, inclusive, and sustainable recovery that works for everyone. We are excited to play our part in this.

*Analysis by Google based on internal data and a survey by Ipsos from Sep 2016 to Sep 2021 amongst EMEA residents trained via Digital Workshop.

Helping European small businesses grow and succeed

Today marks the beginning of the European SME week, a time to recognize the contribution that millions of small and medium-sized businesses make to Europe’s economy, as well as an opportunity to explore how they can be supported to continue to grow and thrive.

This time of year is especially critical for small businesses. Shoppers really care about supporting their local communities, with 56% of holiday shoppers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa saying they will intentionally shop more at local small businesses this festive season.

Small businesses are the key to recovery from the pandemic, and our digital tools have helped them sustain their business through lockdowns and enable new jobs, growth and exports. That’s why we rapidly adapted products to improve support and provided training to help them make the most of digital technology. Supporting small businesses is a group effort, though — and the right skills and tools need to be underpinned by the right policies.


Providing helpful tools to connect with customers

The past year and a half has underlined the importance of technology in all parts of life — and small businesses are no exception. Research has found that small businesses in Europe with a sophisticated use of digital tools were able to build a ‘digital safety net’ during the pandemic, resulting in 80% better sales and 60% better revenue.

One example of this is the German company, das schöne leben. Opened in 2016, the store specializes in exceptional food and designer products for everyday living. When the pandemic hit, the founders of the store started advertising online alongside their in-store sales, and set up a Business Profile on Google Search and Maps to help existing and potential customers find them. Das schöne leben now has customers of all ages throughout Germany and has tripled their direct online orders with their first in-house search campaign.

A smiling picture of Manon Weßels, the owner of das schöne leben

Manon Weßels, owner of das schöne leben

Particularly for smaller businesses, Google Ads is the key for visibility and findability online. We would never have reached so many suitable new customers without the advertisements. Manon Weßels
Owner, das schöne leben

The example of das schöne leben and countless others show that online ads help businesses of all sizes find audiences they otherwise may lack access to, help them enter new markets and help build brand awareness.

At Google, we continue to innovate and invest in making all our products and tools more helpful — launching more than 200 features since March 2020 to help businesses connect with their customers in this shifting landscape.

We're also making it even easier for small businesses to manage their presence and connect with customers online. Businesses in Europe can now easily claim and verify their Business Profile directly on Google Search or the Google Maps app, and respond to messages directly from Search. Having more complete information online can have a huge impact for businesses: in Germany, for example, complete Business Profiles receive an average of over five times more calls compared to an incomplete profile. Moving forward, we recommend small businesses manage their profiles directly on Search or Maps. To keep things simple, “Google My Business” is being renamed “Google Business Profile.”


Ensuring that SMBs have the skills to get ahead

We know that providing the right tools is only helpful if businesses are able to use them. To make the most of the digital opportunities available to them, business owners need the right skills. Research has found that 22% of small business owners feel they lack the skills and knowledge to increase their use of digital tools.

Today, we are delighted to kick off our first-ever ‘Google.org Skills Week’ to help support select nonprofits mentoring thousands of underserved small business owners in Europe through scaled tech solutions. As a recent study highlights, medium, small and micro-enterprises — especially those led by women, young people, ethnic minorities, and migrants — were significantly impacted by COVID-19 with 70-80% facing major financial difficulties.

During this week, Google volunteers and product experts will share their skills and best practices through workshops, design sprints and 1:1 mentorship, to help educate select nonprofits that provide mentorship to underserved SMB owners. This week of training touches on many different skills including product management, design, marketing and AdGrants, Artificial Intelligence, YouTube, impact measurement, and aims to better equip the nonprofits to help small businesses improve their online presence.

A video about helping small businesses
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We have seen how powerful these skills can be in helping to grow and scale businesses across Europe.

For Andrea Li Puma, the owner of the food truck Pastammore based in Bucharest, access to digital skills was essential to reach new customers and grow his business. The pandemic meant that Andrea had to take his food business online and pivot to deliver Pastammore’s homemade pasta directly to consumers at home. With support from Google.org-funded nonprofit Digital Nation, Andrea was able to develop an online marketing strategy, optimize his website, and launch new advertising campaigns that helped Pastammore survive through the tough period and even grow with sales increase by 15%.

A picture of Andrea Li Puma, the owner of the food truck Pastammore based in Bucharest, in a white coat in front of his truck

Andrea Li Puma, owner of food truck Pastammore in Bucharest

Since 2015, over 18 million people across Europe, the Middle East and Africa have participated in our Grow with Google training, resulting in more than four million people getting a new job, growing their career or growing their business*.

To make sure our programs best help tackle the barriers to digital success, we developed partnerships with training experts, public agencies and policy makers. For example, in France we collaborate with FFAC — French Association of Local Stores — in supporting 30,000 local shop owners everywhere in France in their digital transition.


A more inclusive economic recovery

The pandemic has been disruptive and small businesses have been at the sharp end of this change. While challenging, this past year and a half has also underlined how resilient small businesses can thrive through partnership, openness and innovation. Europe has a great opportunity to build a digital, inclusive, and sustainable recovery that works for everyone. We are excited to play our part in this.

*Analysis by Google based on internal data and a survey by Ipsos from Sep 2016 to Sep 2021 amongst EMEA residents trained via Digital Workshop.