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Our continued investment in Black founders and funders

For too long, Black startup founders and Black investors have been locked out of the funding necessary to succeed. In 2020, Black founders raised less than 1% of all venture capital dollars invested in the U.S. This disparity has not only hindered innovation, but also limited opportunities for economic opportunity, wealth generation and upward mobility. That’s why we made a series of commitments in 2020 to improve access to capital for Black founders and funders.

We're three years into these commitments, and we continue to invest in the Black startup community. In that time, we’ve expanded our Google for Startups Black Founders Fund globally. We have now provided $30 million in non-dilutive cash funding (meaning without taking equity in the startup) and support to entrepreneurs in the U.S., Brazil, Europe and Africa, where earlier this week we announced the second group of recipients to receive funding. We’ve also allocated $100 million to Black-led venture capital firms, startups and the organizations that support them. Today we're sharing the latest recipients of these respective programs.

The next Google for Startups Black Founders Fund recipients in the U.S.

We’re welcoming 50 more entrepreneurs to the Black Founders Fund. Their businesses are solving important problems. Welfie, for example, provides equitable healthcare to families across the country, and Tanoshi serves tens of thousands of students with educational tools. These companies aren’t just doing good; they're also growing quickly and building sustainable businesses. Here are a few more founders from this year’s group and their plans for the funding.

  • Chudi Iregbulen sitting with hands folded, leaning towards the camera smiling and wearing a black jacket

    “We have been preparing for a long time and we can finally capitalize on this incredible opportunity. The support will be used to launch into new cities, fund marketing campaigns and grow our team." — Chudi Iregbulem, Beatmatch

  • Rishielle Giscombe stares directly into the camera with her chin resting on her hand. She is wearing a cream blazer and watch.

    “With this fund we will be expanding our sales and customer relation team to ensure that we keep our customers at the front of our company and to convert more beauty professionals to be a part of our company nationwide.” — Rishielle Giscombe, Glamo

  • Evan Leaphart smiles into the camera with a palm tree behind him, and a fitted charcoal t shirt on.

    “The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund means a lot to us. The support will be used to ramp up our sales and marketing efforts." — Evan Leaphart, Kiddie Kredit

  • Anthony Edwards Jr stands with his arms crossed in a vivid sweater with orange, green, teal, salmon and cream stripes. He smiles at the camera and leans against a wall behind him.

    “I’m most excited about learning and sharing experiences with my new cohort of amazing professionals. With the money awarded to us, we will be growing our sales and customer service team.” — Anthony Edwards Jr, EatOkra

  • Headshot of Kyla Bolden in a cream button-up sweater, smiling at the camera with her long hair half-up.

    “The support will be used to continue to build out our elearning platform and community so that we can provide an even more impactful learning environment for our students.” — Kyla Bolden, Wiz Kid Learning

  • Kayla Wright-Jackson looks into the camera wearing a powder blue blazer over a black Transition t shirt. She wears golden hoops and has her hair up in a bun.

    “The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund means endless opportunities await us. The support will be used to optimize marketing and sales generation in our underserved market.” — Kayla Wright-Jackson, Transition

  • Candice Speicher smiles at the camera while seated in a gray blouse and mauve pants. She wears glasses and hoop earrings.

    “It’s been incredibly hard to raise capital — but the support will be used to automate our sales funnel to reach more businesses, which helps our goal of becoming the informational resource this industry needs!” — Candice Speicher, Buoy Pricing

  • Jeffrey Osuji smiles at the camera with his arms crossed, wearing a black turtleneck, black blazer, and with a black and gold watch on.

    “The Black Founders Fund will enable us to optimize our event discovery strategy to better serve our customers and make a pivotal hire to drive more impactful partnerships. This support will be invaluable to us reaching our marketing & revenue goals in 2023.” — Jeffrey Osuji, Eventnoire

  • Arion Long smiles warmly at the camera with her hair down and straight. She rests one hand on her chin and one on the side of her face. She wears a satin champagne-colored top.

    “The support from the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund will be used to ensure that Femly's organic period care is readily available & accessible around the globe for free!” — Arion Long, Femly

  • Ashton Keys smiles at the camera wearing a gray polo and gray letterman jacket with a large, white, “A” on it. Behind him, a football field is visible.

    "This is a big time of the year in regards to the upcoming season and we are planning to use this capital to grow our sales processes, grow the team and improve our data strategies.” — Ashton Keys, Athlytic

In addition to $100,000 in cash funding, founders receive $100,000 in Cloud credits, hands-on support from Googlers and access to mental health and business coaching at no cost. Founders have told us this funding has provided the spark they’ve needed to hire, boost revenues and raise the additional capital critical to their growth. In fact, the recipients of our first $10 million in funding in the U.S. have gone on to raise 13 times that amount — over $139 million in follow-on funding after our investment. With the help of our people, products and resources, we know Google is uniquely positioned to catalyze the growth of Black-led startups.

Investing in more Black-led venture capital funds

A historic scarcity of Black investors has contributed to the sparse funding levels among Black founders. Black investors are more likely to have Black founders in their networks and more likely to empathize with business models serving Black communities. By supporting Black funders we’re able to increase both our reach and impact.

In 2020, Alphabet committed $100 million to invest in Black-led venture capital firms, startups and organizations supporting Black entrepreneurs. Last year, our Alphabet-wide team led by leaders across CapitalG, GV and Google allocated $60 million in capital to six Black-led venture capital firms, as well as Black-owed startups and nonprofit organizations supporting Black entrepreneurship and business. In addition to capital, these investors received training, technology and advisory sessions from experts across Alphabet and Google. Today, we’re sharing the news that we’ve deployed the remaining capital to a number of nonprofit organizations and the following Black-led venture firms:

  • Black Tech Nation Ventures: a Pittsburgh-based technology venture fund that is majority Black-owned and majority diverse-invested and focused on wealth creation for untapped markets and underinvested entrepreneurs.
  • Collide Capital: a Los Angeles and New York-based 100% Black-owned VC firm aiming to usher in a new era of venture capital where opportunities go to the most deserving, not the most privileged. Building off of the success of their top-quartile Fund Zero of 34 companies, the Collide Capital team has closed a Fund I to invest in founders with the lived experiences, courage, and grit to create solutions for the next generation.
  • Concrete Rose: a Bay Area-based investment fund focused on using financial and social capital to build exceptional early-stage companies and close gaps for underrepresented talent. Concrete Rose also received funding during the previous capital allocation announced last year.
  • Heirloom Capital Partners: an Atlanta-based investment fund founded by founder-operator and board director Tristan Walker. Heirloom aims to partner with the founders of disruptive, meaningful companies committed to developing culturally connected products and services that improve lives and serve the needs of people of color.
  • Serena Ventures: a San Francisco-based investment firm that champions founders whose perspectives and innovations level the playing field for all types of entrepreneurs. Serena Ventures invests in products and ideas that unlock value for investors, doors for founders and opportunities for everyone to live better.
  • Share Ventures: a Los Angeles-based investment fund focused on performance management. Share Ventures is a venture studio building the infrastructure to repeatedly discover, validate, and scale new companies.
  • Zeal Capital Partners: headquartered in Washington, DC, Zeal serves as a category-specific early-stage investment franchise that partners with exceptional, diverse management teams. Leveraging their market-backed investment discipline coined “Inclusive Investing,” they invest in financial technology and future of work startups that use technology to narrow the wealth and skills gaps.
  • Fourteen leaders smile into the camera.

    Alphabet has now invested $100 million in Black-led venture capital firms, startups and organizations supporting Black entrepreneurs. These fourteen investment executives lead the seven venture firms announced as recipients today.

  • Nasir Qadree smiles at the camera. He is wearing a white button down shirt. There are two lamps and a white wall behind him.

    "We are thrilled to partner with Alphabet because it allows us to further execute on our goal to partner alongside diverse management teams rethinking the building blocks of wealth.” - Nasir Qadree, Founder and Managing Partner, Zeal Capital Partners

  • Hamet Watt folds his arms and smiles into the camera. There is a white wall behind him, as well as some hanging lights. He is wearing a black t-shirt.

    "We are so excited to partner with Alphabet. It has a unique understanding of the opportunity between our foundry and our fund and is well-aligned with our mission to found and fund companies that unlock human potential." – Hamet Watt, Share Ventures

  • Serena Williams folds her arms and wears a light blue sweater with bronze buttons. Alison Rapaport Stillman places her arms on her hips and wears a bright red dress with long sleeves and a matching red belt.

    Managing partner Serena Williams and general partner Alison Rapaport Stillman lead Serena Ventures, an investment firm that champions founders whose perspectives and innovations level the playing field for all types of entrepreneurs.

    "Alison and I are thrilled to partner with Alphabet. We plan to continue finding amazing founders and companies that improve the lives of everyday people.” – Serena Williams, managing partner, Serena Ventures

  • Tristan Walker looks seriously into the camera. He is wearing a white shirt and faded blue jeans jacket and is standing in front of a gray background.

    Founder-operator and board director Tristan Walker built Heirloom Capital Partners to partner with the founders of disruptive, meaningful companies developing culturally connected products and services that improve lives and serve the needs of people of color.

  • Five team members stand near a glass door and smile in the camera. They are all wearing black tops and black pants.

    “We’re excited to continue working with Alphabet to give underrepresented founders and professionals access to the social capital and resources all talent needs to reach its true potential.” – Sean Mendy, partner, Concrete Rose Capital

  • Team photo of Brian Hollins and Aaron Samuels, both wearing long-sleeved white button down shirts, brown belts, and navy slacks. They are standing in front of a river.

    Brian Hollins and Aaron Samuels created Collide Capital, a 100% Black-owned VC firm aiming to usher in a new era of venture capital where opportunities go to the most deserving, not the most privileged.

  • Sean Sebastian, Kelauni Jasmyn, and David Motley standing in front of a white background

    "Alphabet is not just an investor; they are a partner. Their know-how, network, and willingness to innovate alongside us is the type of collaboration that is necessary for us to transform and diversify tech solutions and VC funding."- Kelauni Jasymn, Black Tech Nation Ventures

We’ve seen firsthand how this powerful combination of financial support with mentorship, training, mental health coaching and community contributes to helping fuel innovation, wealth generation and equal access to economic opportunity. And we will continue to find opportunities to support these incredible Black founders and funders. Next up, our Google for Startups Accelerator: Black Founders, which provides deep technical support for later stage startups, kicks off with its newest group of participants this fall. And later this year, we’ll bring together our Georgia-based Black Founders Fund recipients, investors, partners and more in Atlanta to celebrate those founders and share more about their businesses. We’re looking forward to seeing where these companies go from here.

Bringing computer science education to 11 million students

Earlier this summer, I had the chance to meet alumni of The Hidden Genius Project, an Oakland-based international nonprofit that provides Black male youth with training and mentoring in technology, entrepreneurship and leadership. Many of these graduates had no formal computer science education in their curriculum before joining the organization. Thanks to the technical and coding skills they learned through The Hidden Genius Project, they are now using technology to build their own businesses. One graduate, James, learned how to wire frame, which he’s using to launch an app-based shoe restoration business. Another graduate, Jeremiah, is using the digital skills he learned to increase his company’s online presence and reach more customers for his cleaning services company.

For these young men and for so many other students, computer science (CS) education is providing a foundation in the skills they’ll need for their future careers. Yet there remain deep opportunity gaps in education that prevent everyone from accessing those skills equally.

At Google, we believe educational opportunities should be available regardless of socioeconomic status, background, race or geography. So today, we’re building on our long-time support for nonprofits with an additional $20 million commitment to expand CS education access to more than 11 million students across the U.S. — including more support for The Hidden Genius Project. This brings our total commitment to CS education to more than $240 million since 2004.

Student Ian stands behind a desk operating a laptop to demonstrate his platform for Sundar, who is standing to the right of the desk. Both are smiling. A screen in the background shows the Google.org and The Hidden Genius Project logos.

Sundar talks with The Hidden Genius Project alum Ian Bundy-Weiss during the program’s visit to Mountain View in June 2022. Ian founded My Drip, a platform for fashion designers.

We’ll focus our efforts on supporting national and local organizations who reach underserved students in major urban centers and rural communities, and who help governments and educators implement CS education plans nationwide.

In addition to The Hidden Genius Project, we’ll provide support for local nonprofits across the country, with a focus on Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. We’re looking forward to helping advance programs like the Computing Integrated Teacher Education project at the City University of New York, to incorporate CS education into the curriculum for new teachers, and supporting CodePath in Chicago and Atlanta, to help students from underrepresented communities work towards tech-based careers.

Sundar and 4-H President and CEO Jennifer Sirangelo stand to the left of a whiteboard watching a student in a blue top reaching up to complete a coding activity. Two other students in white look on from the right of the whiteboard.

Sundar Pichai and 4-H President and CEO Jennifer Sirangelo join students in a coding activity at a 4-H computer science education event in Mayes County, Oklahoma, in 2019.

To widen access to CS education for students in rural and under-resourced communities, we’re extending our commitment to4-H. With our support, since 2019, 4-H has introduced1.4 million students to CS education pathways, 65% of them in rural communities. The new grant we're providing will support 4-Hers throughCooperative Extension's programs and resources, helping 6 million young people and more than 3,500 educators.

Finally, we’ll provide funding to the Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance, a national network coordinated by the Texas Advanced Computing Center at The University of Texas at Austin, which aims to increase participation in CS education through state-level reforms. This funding will enable ECEP to partner with policymakers, educators and others on systemic changes that will help more students from a wider range of backgrounds pursue computing-related degrees. It will also support the addition of five new states to the ECEP Alliance, laying the foundation for a national framework.

Today’s announcement is part of our Grow with Google initiative and includes funding from Google.org. It builds on a lot of other good work underway. Earlier this year, Google partnered with the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture to train 2,000 teachers on digital skills, enabling them to reach 200,000 rural students by the end of the 2023 school year. And this summer, I joined other CEOs to send a message in support of making computer science a basic part of every K-12 classroom.

Of course, access to computing skills and digital knowledge is important for adults, too. More than 9 million people in the U.S. have already learned new skills through Grow with Google — including Google Career Certificates, which prepare people for jobs in growing fields. We’re building new financing models to extend these programs to more people and drive wage gains for workers. And we’ll continue to partner with organizations to provide local training opportunities, especially in marginalized communities.

We believe Google and other companies have a responsibility to help people get the skills they need to get a good job, start a new business, and provide a solid foundation for their families — no matter what their age or where they live. Computer science education is an important piece of this, and we look forward to working with our partners to unleash the talent and drive of millions of people in communities across the U.S.

Supporting Asian-owned businesses in your community

When I was 5, our family moved from New York City to the countryside outside of the city. My brother and I were the only kids of Asian descent in our elementary school. Our father was born in Yamaguchi, Japan to a Japanese mother and American father, and I always felt proud of that — but in this new environment, I instantly felt different.

These early experiences showed me just how important it is to show up for and with communities. Over the past two years, COVID-related small business closures and targeted acts of violence have reinforced the importance and impact of allyship — and have underscored how critical it is to support historically marginalized communities, including our Asian community. That’s why we’re announcing a new way to help Asian-owned businesses thrive.

Celebrating Asian-owned businesses

Starting today, US businesses can now add the Asian-owned attribute to their Business Profile on Search and Maps. In the coming weeks, ad-supported publishers will be able to identify as Asian-owned in Display & Video 360’s Marketplace, too.

A screenshot of East West Shop on Google Maps, showcasing the business identifies as Asian-owned, LGBTQ+ Friendly, and women-owned.

Businesses can opt in to adopt the attribute on their Business Profile and can easily opt out at any time. Once the attribute appears on a Business Profile, users will also be able to see the attribute. This update builds on the Black-owned, Latino-owned, veteran-owned, women-owned andLGBTQ+ owned business attributes, and is another way people can support a diversity of businesses across Google’s products and platforms.

As we were building this feature, we worked with hundreds of Asian-owned businesses to ensure the attribute celebrates our diverse and unique cultures. During that process, I was particularly struck by what Dennys Han, owner of East West Shop, shared with us about the power of community: “If someone is trying to accomplish something, the entire local Korean community will band together to help it come together. The idea of the community and group as a whole uplifting each other is fundamental to what we do.”

Building up Asian-owned businesses’ digital skills

Over the past few years, Grow with Google has partnered with the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC) to help Asian-owned small businesses grow. To date, we’ve helped more than 20,000 Asian-owned businesses expand their digital skills through workshops focusing on topics like e-commerce tools, design thinking for entrepreneurs and making decisions using analytics.

Today, we’re building upon that partnership. Together, USPAACC and Grow with Google will help an additional 10,000 Asian-owned small businesses gain digital skills to help them grow their businesses. And as the internet continues to grow in importance for shopping, nearly one quarter of Asian-owned business owners said their most important channel towards building community and financial support was across social media and online.

It’s our hope the Asian-owned attribute brings people together and provides our communities with much-needed recognition: to help them be seen and thrive. We are excited to spotlight Asian-owned businesses and highlight part of what makes our community unique and important.

A collage of 6 Asian-owned businesses, 3 on the top and 3 on the bottom with the Asian-owned attribute icon in the middle, a circular design with a red and yellow intertwining flower at its’ core. The top row of 3 (from left to right) include: pottery cups and plates on a table with Tortoise General Store owner holding 2 small dishes in the background, Good Hause Marketing Agency Business owner working, holding a marketing design poster board, and 3 t-shirts (black, pink, and white) hanging in East / West Shop. The bottom row of 3 (from left to right) include: the owner of Bollypop in red traditional dress from India twirling, the storefront of Jitlada restaurant, and the owner of Peru Films facing towards the right, looking down, and crossing his arms.

Top left to right:

Tortoise General Store, Owned by Taku and Keiko Shinomoto

Good Hause, Owned by Brittany Tran

East / West Shop, Owned by Dennys Han

Bottom left to right:

Bollypop, Owned by Aakansha Maheshwari

Jitlada, Owned by Sugar Sungkamee

Peru Films, Owned by Tanmay Chowdhary

Source: Google LatLong


Introducing the first 50 recipients of the Latino Founders Fund

Ver abajo versión en español

Since joining Google almost twelve years ago, it’s been a personal mission of mine to seek new ways for Google to provide access and opportunity to the Latino community. Most recently I've been focused on how we can provide this to the Latino startup community, where gaining access to funding — the necessary fuel to grow their companies – is a constant struggle. Latino-led businesses are the fastest-growing segment of U.S. small businesses, but as an aggregate they only receive 2% of total U.S. venture capital funding, despite comprising 20% of the U.S. population.

This disparity is why we committed $7 million last year to help Latino founders grow their businesses and support the organizations already nurturing communities of Latino-led startups. We allocated $5 million of that funding to our inaugural Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund, and today at the UnidosUS Annual Conference in San Antonio, we revealed the 50 Latino founders who will each receive $100,000 in cash awards. They’ll also receive hands-on support and mentorship from Googlers across the company, $100,000 in Google Cloud credits, and access to therapy sessions to use as needed for any support they may need emotionally and professionally.

These Latino Founders Fund recipients have created amazing businesses that are already making a significant impact. They are helping solve some of the country’s biggest problems, from providing accessible, personalized reproductive health support to helping college graduates get out of debt and creating a more equitable legal system for Americans. Meet some of the recipients below, and read the full list of this year’s awardees here.

  • Two women, one wearing a black shirt and one wearing a green shirt, sit side by side facing the camera in front of large green plants.

    Tanya Menendez and Pamela Martinez, cofounders of Snowball Wealth

  • A woman wearing a blue shirt stands next to a man sitting in a chair behind a laptop.

    Francisco Cornejo and Daniela Vega, cofounders of Storybook

  • A woman with long brown hair and wearing a black turtleneck smiles at the camera in front of a large green plant.

    Noelle Acosta, founder of Noula Health

  • A man wearing a gray suit stands with his arms crossed in front of a brick wall.

    Eric Alvarez, founder of Grapefruit Health

  • A woman with black hair smiles at the camera, wearing a black shirt.

    Ariana Abramson, founder of DivySci Software

  • A man wearing a gray shirt with "USMC" in blue letters looks at the camera, in front of a Spanish-style building.

    Clay Treska, cofounder of Family Proud

  • A woman with black hair sits angled towards the camera, wearing a pink blazer and top and blue jeans.

    Camille Padilla, founder of VODIUM

  • A man wearing a blue shirt and baseball cap leans against a stone column in a park.

    Eli Rivera, cofounder of The Way Out

  • A woman with brown hair over her shoulders smiles at camera, wearing a black shirt that says "People Clerk" in white letters.

    Camilla Lopez, founder of People Clerk

  • A man with dark hair, beard and mustache leans against a wall outside, wearing a light-colored button down shirt.

    Alejandro Harb, founder of Lena Health

We know having a robust network of support is critical to Latino founders’ success. That’s why we committed $1 million to supporting organizations that are dedicated to growing the Latino startup community. In the past few months, we connected founders across North and Latin America through our partnership with eMerge Americas. We teamed up with Visible Hands to launch VHLX, a new program to support Latino entrepreneurs at the earliest stages of their process; those founders received $10,000 in cash stipends from Google to help kickstart their ideas. And we recently wrapped our first Latinx Leaders Summit with Inicio Ventures, and will host a series of pitch competitions for aspiring entrepreneurs later this year.

We’ve seen firsthand what happens when we support underrepresented founders with funding and community. For example, over the past two years, Google for Startups has provided $10 million in cash awards to 126 Black founders in the U.S. through our global Black Founders Fund. I’ve had the privilege of working directly with these incredible founders, who have collectively gone on to raise over $75 million in follow-on funding. In addition to follow-on funding, many report that the fund allowed them to attract customers and hire new teammates.

I hope this funding and support will not only catalyze the growth of these 50 Latino-led startups, but also inspire other Latinos entrepreneurs to dream, create and innovate to showcase the talent of our community and change the course for their families and communities in the process.

Presentamos a los primeros 50 beneficiarios del Fondo de Fundadores Latinos

Desde que me uní a Google hace casi doce años, mi misión personal ha sido buscar nuevas formas para que Google brinde acceso y oportunidades a la comunidad latina. Más recientemente, me he centrado en cómo podemos proporcionar esto a la comunidad latina de empresas emergentes, donde obtener acceso a la financiación, el combustible necesario para hacer crecer sus empresas, es una lucha constante. Las empresas lideradas por latinos son el segmento de más rápido crecimiento de las pequeñas empresas de Estados Unidos, pero en conjunto solo reciben el 2 % del financiamiento total de capital de riesgo en Estados Unidos, a pesar de que representan el 20 % de la población del país.

Esta disparidad es la razón por la cual comprometimos $7 millones el año pasado para ayudar a los fundadores latinos a hacer crecer sus negocios y apoyar a las organizaciones que ya nutren comunidades de empresas emergentes dirigidas por latinos. Asignamos $5 millones de esa financiación a nuestro Fondo inaugural de Fundadores Latinos de Google for Startups y hoy en la Conferencia Anual de UnidosUS en San Antonio, anunciamos los 50 fundadores latinos que recibirán cada uno $100,000 en efectivo. También recibirán apoyo práctico y tutoría de Googlers (empleados de Google) en toda la empresa, $100,000 en créditos de Google Cloud y acceso a sesiones de terapia para usar según sea necesario para cualquier apoyo que puedan necesitar emocional y profesionalmente.

Estos beneficiarios del Fondo de Fundadores Latinos han creado negocios increíbles que ya están teniendo un impacto significativo. Están ayudando a resolver algunos de los problemas más grandes del país, desde brindar salud reproductiva accesible y personalizada, ayudar a los graduados universitarios a salir de deudas y crear un sistema legal más equitativo para los estadounidenses. Lee la lista completa de los galardonados de este año aquí.

Sabemos que tener una sólida red de apoyo es fundamental para el éxito de los fundadores latinos. Es por eso que comprometimos $1 millón para apoyar a organizaciones que se dedican a hacer crecer la comunidad latina de empresas emergentes. En los últimos meses, conectamos a fundadores de América del Norte y América Latina a través de nuestra asociación con eMerge Americas. Nos asociamos con Visible Hands para lanzar VHLX, un nuevo programa para apoyar a los empresarios latinos en las primeras etapas de su proceso; esos fundadores recibieron $10,000 en estipendios en efectivo de Google para ayudarlos a poner en marcha sus ideas. Y recientemente finalizamos nuestra primera Cumbre de Líderes Latinx con Inicio Ventures, y organizaremos una serie de concursos de lanzamiento para aspirantes a empresarios a finales de este año.

Hemos visto de primera mano lo que sucede cuando apoyamos a los fundadores subrepresentados con fondos y comunidad. Por ejemplo, en los últimos dos años, Google for Startups ha otorgado $10 millones en premios en efectivo a 126 fundadores afroamericanos en los Estados Unidos a través de nuestro Black Founders Fund. He tenido el privilegio de trabajar directamente con estos increíbles fundadores, quienes colectivamente recaudaron más de $75 millones en fondos de seguimiento. Además de la financiación de seguimiento, muchos informan que el fondo les permitió atraer clientes y contratar nuevos compañeros de equipo.

Espero que este financiamiento y apoyo no solo catalice el crecimiento de estas 50 nuevas empresas lideradas por latinos, sino que también inspire a otros empresarios latinos a soñar, crear e innovar para mostrar el talento de nuestra comunidad y cambiar el rumbo de sus familias y comunidades en el proceso.

Our commitment to Asia Pacific’s small businesses

Technology can help businesses grow — but only if the people who lead and work for those businesses have the right skills. Today, on Micro-, Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) Day, we’re reaffirming our commitment to Asia Pacific’s small businesses — and putting education and training at the center of our efforts to help them succeed and grow.

Since 2015, we’ve trained 8.5 million MSMEs across the region through our Grow with Google programs and partnerships. We stepped up these efforts when the global pandemic hit, and we’ve seen the impact of working more closely with governments and other businesses to close skills gaps and create opportunities. Our Saphan Digital program in Thailand has trained over 100,000 small businesses, while the Accelerate Vietnam Digital 4.0 initiative has trained 650,000 people. But we recognize there’s much more work ahead to ensure that MSMEs are prepared for longer-term economic and technological change.

Video presenting the story of Indonesian entrepreneur Ibu Ida and how taking her food business online helped her grow sales.
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Over the next year and beyond, we’ll be deepening our existing programs to support small businesses and launching new ones — like Expand with Google in Japan, focusing on helping MSMEs build their capabilities in digital advertising and e-commerce. We’ll also be helping MSMEs find the skilled people they need by expanding access to Google Career Certificates, which develop in-demand skills like IT support, data analytics and user experience design. In partnership with learning institutions and nonprofits, we’re providing free scholarships for certificates in India, Indonesia and Singapore, and we’ll be offering the same opportunity in more countries soon — we’ve committed to providing over 250,000 scholarships across Asia Pacific in 2022.

Video presenting Yesha’s story from deciding to change her career and taking a Google Career Certificate course to finding a job soon after graduation.
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To ensure that opportunities to learn new skills are equitable, we’ll continue to support nonprofits across the region. Since 2019, through our Google.org philanthropic arm, we’ve contributed over $11 million in grants that support underserved MSMEs. We have provided grant funding to Youth Business International to reach more than 180,000 entrepreneurs through its Rapid Response and Recovery Program and to The Asia Foundation working with its partners to train more than 225,000 people through the Go Digital ASEAN initiative, endorsed by the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on MSMEs.

Helping MSMEs in underserved parts of the region will continue to be a major priority — including $4 million in Google.org support for The Asia Foundation, which will expand Go Digital ASEAN with new training programs including green skills, cybersecurity and financial planning.

Video about three young entrepreneurs who received help from YBI's Rapid Response and Recovery Programme and sustained their business through the pandemic
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Finally, we’ll keep playing our part to foster the next generation of businesses in Asia, through our Google for Startups programs, initiatives like the Women Founders Academy, and partnerships with governments like the ChangGoo program in Korea — which has helped 200 startups and created over 1,100 new jobs. Our developer programs — such as the Appscale Academy in India, a partnership with the MeitY Startup Hub — will continue to help app-makers (like health-technology startup Stamurai) grow globally.

Video presenting the story of Seojung Chang who, after attending a Google for Startups program, raised capital and achieved growth for her startup Jaranda in Korea.
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Whether Asia Pacific’s entrepreneurs are long-established, or just starting out, we’re ready to help them adapt to change and thrive in the digital economy. And we look forward to celebrating their success.

Our commitment to Asia Pacific’s small businesses

Technology can help businesses grow — but only if the people who lead and work for those businesses have the right skills. Today, on Micro-, Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) Day, we’re reaffirming our commitment to Asia Pacific’s small businesses — and putting education and training at the center of our efforts to help them succeed and grow.

Since 2015, we’ve trained 8.5 million MSMEs across the region through our Grow with Google programs and partnerships. We stepped up these efforts when the global pandemic hit, and we’ve seen the impact of working more closely with governments and other businesses to close skills gaps and create opportunities. Our Saphan Digital program in Thailand has trained over 100,000 small businesses, while the Accelerate Vietnam Digital 4.0 initiative has trained 650,000 people. But we recognize there’s much more work ahead to ensure that MSMEs are prepared for longer-term economic and technological change.

Video presenting the story of Indonesian entrepreneur Ibu Ida and how taking her food business online helped her grow sales.
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Over the next year and beyond, we’ll be deepening our existing programs to support small businesses and launching new ones — like Expand with Google in Japan, focusing on helping MSMEs build their capabilities in digital advertising and e-commerce. We’ll also be helping MSMEs find the skilled people they need by expanding access to Google Career Certificates, which develop in-demand skills like IT support, data analytics and user experience design. In partnership with learning institutions and nonprofits, we’re providing free scholarships for certificates in India, Indonesia and Singapore, and we’ll be offering the same opportunity in more countries soon — we’ve committed to providing over 250,000 scholarships across Asia Pacific in 2022.

Video presenting Yesha’s story from deciding to change her career and taking a Google Career Certificate course to finding a job soon after graduation.
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To ensure that opportunities to learn new skills are equitable, we’ll continue to support nonprofits across the region. Since 2019, through our Google.org philanthropic arm, we’ve contributed over $11 million in grants that support underserved MSMEs. We have provided grant funding to Youth Business International to reach more than 180,000 entrepreneurs through its Rapid Response and Recovery Program and to The Asia Foundation working with its partners to train more than 225,000 people through the Go Digital ASEAN initiative, endorsed by the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on MSMEs.

Helping MSMEs in underserved parts of the region will continue to be a major priority — including $4 million in Google.org support for The Asia Foundation, which will expand Go Digital ASEAN with new training programs including green skills, cybersecurity and financial planning.

Video about three young entrepreneurs who received help from YBI's Rapid Response and Recovery Programme and sustained their business through the pandemic
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Finally, we’ll keep playing our part to foster the next generation of businesses in Asia, through our Google for Startups programs, initiatives like the Women Founders Academy, and partnerships with governments like the ChangGoo program in Korea — which has helped 200 startups and created over 1,100 new jobs. Our developer programs — such as the Appscale Academy in India, a partnership with the MeitY Startup Hub — will continue to help app-makers (like health-technology startup Stamurai) grow globally.

Video presenting the story of Seojung Chang who, after attending a Google for Startups program, raised capital and achieved growth for her startup Jaranda in Korea.
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Whether Asia Pacific’s entrepreneurs are long-established, or just starting out, we’re ready to help them adapt to change and thrive in the digital economy. And we look forward to celebrating their success.

How tech can support transformational growth in Africa

This week, I was privileged to be in Kigali, Rwanda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (‘CHOGM’) - a forum that brings together government, business leaders and NGOs from around the world to discuss how to improve the lives of the over 2.5 billion people living in the 54 independent countries that make up the Commonwealth.

Africa is facing multiple challenges. While Covid was first and foremost a health crisis, the economic impact continues to be severe for parts of the continent. The war in Ukraine has added further pressure on supply chains and food security. And Africa’s rapid population growth - 60% of the population will be under 24 by 2025 - creates a further pressing need to generate economic opportunity and ensure people and families can earn a living.

Despite the challenges ahead, the mood at CHOGM was optimistic, focusing on the collaboration and solutions that can help Africa’s economic recovery. For me, harnessing technology is key to that.

I grew up in Zimbabwe, then a Commonwealth country, and discovered the possibilities of the world of programming as a highschooler. Since then I’ve always been fascinated by the role technology can play in creating opportunities and helping to solve large-scale societal problems. My position at Google allows me to focus on how technology can benefit society, and I feel fortunate that it’s taken me back to Africa after just five months in the role.

Google first bet on Africa with the investment in Seacom cable in about 2005: I remember hearing about it from my friends at Google at the time. Two years later, Google opened offices on the continent, and has been a partner in Africa’s economic growth and digital transformation ever since - working with local governments, policymakers, educators and entrepreneurs. Our mission in Africa is to unlock the benefits of the digital economy to everyone - providing helpful products, programmes and investments.

Africa’s internet economy has the potential to grow to $180 billion by 2025 - 5.2% of the continent’s GDP - bringing prosperity, opportunity and growth. African governments and businesses must turn that opportunity into a reality: integrating technology into the economy, ensuring no one is left behind, and emerging stronger from the current challenges.

Ensuring affordable internet access

Most crucial to this is affordable internet access - a precondition for digital transformation, but still a barrier today. Across Africa, only 18% of households have an internet connection, and data costs remain a major obstacle. By actively promoting infrastructure investments, including in rural areas, Governments can support people to get online and harness the economic growth and benefits that will come with that.

Google is already working in partnership with African governments to do this. We’ve enabled over 100 million Africans to access the internet for the first time through our affordable Android devices, and plan to invest $1 billion over the next 5 years in projects that will help enable Africa’s digital transformation, including our state-of-the-art Equiano subsea cable.

The cable, which lands in Namibia in the next few weeks, will provide twenty times more network capacity by connecting Africa with Europe. It will run through South Africa, Namibia, Togo, Nigeria and St Helena, enabling internet speeds up to five times faster and lowering connectivity costs by up to 21%, in turn supporting growth and jobs.

Investing in people

Those accessing the internet need to be able to use it and transform their lives leveraging it. Working with tech companies and NGOs to foster digital skills developments, governments can ensure people can participate fully online.

Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, made a commitment in 2017 to train 10 million Africans in digital skills. To date, Google has trained more than 6 million people across Africa through Grow with Google in partnership with local governments, and given $20 million to non-profits helping Africans develop their digital skills. Moreover, Google has committed to certifying 100,000 developers - and so far has certified more than 80,000. Last year, a Google study showed the developer ecosystem in Africa is growing. There are nearly 716,000 professional developers across Africa - of which 21% are women; numbers we hope to contribute to.

Investing in startups

Alongside digital skills, governments need to encourage entrepreneurs and startups - a crucial part of Africa’s economic growth and jobs creation. There has never been a shortage of entrepreneurs in Africa - what is needed are the tools, including technology, and financing to enable them.

Last year, we announced an Africa Investment Fund to support startup growth across Africa. Through the Fund, we invest $50 million in startups like SafeBoda and Carry1st, and provide Google’s people, products and networks to help them build meaningful products for their communities. This is on top of our existing work on the Startups Accelerator Africa, which has provided more than 80 African startups with equity-free finance, working space and expert advisors over the last three years. We also launched a Black Founders Fund in 2021, supporting Black African Founders like Shecluded, a digital financial growth resource and service startup for women.

Using technological innovation to solve systemic challenges

Advances in technology are increasingly enabling solutions to development challenges, and with 300 million more people coming online in Africa over the next five years, the possibilities are endless. Digital finance, for example, can be used to address the barriers preventing nearly a billion African women from banking - while advances in AI have made it possible for Google to Translate more languages, including Luganda - spoken by 20 million people here in Rwanda and in neighboring Uganda.

Technology offers Africa a tremendous opportunity for growth, prosperity and opportunity. I’m hopeful that working in partnership, we can continue to make an impact and build on Africa’s digital revolution.

Connecting UK businesses with tech talent

Since inception, Google has innovated with technology to narrow the opportunity gap that exists in education, access to information, job mobility and more – for people around the world. We believe sustainable economic growth is only possible when there is inclusive growth, so we work to equip people with the skills needed to participate in the digital economy.

Grow with Google, our digital skills training program, has trained 94 million people around the world, and more than 800,000 people in the U.K. From Grow with Google, we launched Google Career Certificates, which provides job seekers with accessible paths to careers in high-growth sectors, including data analytics, IT support, project management, user experience design and digital marketing. Seventy-eight percent of U.K. Certificate graduates report seeing a positive impact on their career within six months, including a raise or a new job.

Today, we are announcing the creation of a UK Employer Consortium – a group of employers, including the BBC, BT Group, Deloitte and John Lewis Partnership, that will consider those who have earned the Certificates for jobs. We know one entity acting alone will never be as effective as many coming together, and we have long been committed to partnering with others. For example, we’ve worked with organizations like the Department for Work and Pensions and The Prince’s Trust to offer 10,000 scholarships to job seekers to help them complete a Certificate, and beginning today we will be making another 10,000 scholarships available.

We believe the Consortium will play an important part, alongside the U.K.’s focus on higher education, in building a digitally skilled workforce and filling the growing number of open technology roles in the country. Almost half of U.K. employers have reported they are struggling to recruit for digital roles, and the Certificate fields have been chosen specifically in response to the high numbers of open positions in those areas.

Ousman, a Certificate graduate, speaks to members of the Employer Consortium at an event at Google.

Ousman, a Certificate graduate, speaks to members of the Employer Consortium

Google is committed to helping employers from across the U.K. meet amazing people like Jelena Stephenson, who I was fortunate to speak with last year when I met some of the first people in the U.K. to take part in our Certificates program. Jelena worked for 15 years as a teacher in Serbia. After her husband was diagnosed with leukemia, they decided to move to London, where she quickly found that despite her strong background in education, she was unable to get a job as a teacher. After receiving a scholarship for the Googler Career Certificate in Project Management, Jelena regained the confidence she had lost while out of work, and found a role as a digital project coordinator.

I have been proud to see first-hand the progression of our program in the U.K. and the impact it has had on people like Jelena. We look forward to further evolving our program as we continue to build the UK Consortium and connect growing businesses with talented jobseekers.

Helping job seekers prepare for interviews

Right now, according to Burning Glass’ Labor Insight, there are over 1.5 million open jobs in the U.S. in fast-growing fields like data analytics, digital marketing & e-commerce, IT support, project management and UX design. We launched Google Career Certificates to help people learn the skills they need to qualify for roles in those fields, helping drive economic opportunity and mobility. Today, more than 70,000 people have earned a certificate and 75% of graduates report positive career impacts within six months of graduating, based on graduate survey responses in the U.S. in 2021.

But just as important as learning the skills to perform a new job, is learning the skills to land that job. This means knowing how to network, apply, build a resume and nail one of the most intimidating parts of a job search: the interview.

Interviewing in a new field can be hard, especially if you don’t have access to friends, family or mentors in the field who can help you practice and prepare. That’s why we’ve been collaborating with job seekers to start building a new tool called Interview Warmup that lets you practice answering questions selected by industry experts, and uses machine learning to transcribe your answers and help you discover ways to improve. Preparing for interviews will always take a lot of work, but we hope this tool can make it a little easier for anyone to become more confident and grow comfortable with interviewing.

On a white background, a waving hand emoji bounces next to text that reads “Hi! Let’s practice a job interview.” The view zooms out to show the interface of the Interview Warmup tool. A white pointer scrolls through six career fields, selects “IT Support” and is prompted to answer an interview question. The tool transcribes the user’s response and analyzes it. The pointer clicks “most-used words,” highlighting words used multiple times. The pointer clicks one of those words to get suggestions about other words to use instead. The backdrop is plain white once more and text reading “Interview Warmup'' bounces on screen.

With Interview Warmup, your answers are transcribed in real time so you can review what you said. You’ll also see insights: patterns detected by machine learning that can help you discover things about your answers, like the job-related terms you use and the words you say most often. It can even highlight the different talking points you cover in each answer, so you can see how much time you spend talking about areas like your experience, skills and goals. Your responses aren’t graded or judged and you can answer questions as many times as you want. It’s your own private space to practice, prepare and get comfortable.

Interview Warmup was designed for Google Career Certificates learners, so it has question sets specific to each of the certificates. But it’s available for everyone to use and has general questions applicable to many fields. Every question has been created by industry experts. We’re sharing the tool in its early stages so we can get feedback from the community, find ways to improve it and expand it to be more helpful to more job seekers, especially as one in four U.S. workers seek opportunities with new employers.

We’re excited about tools like Interview Warmup because they show how new technologies have the potential to help more people practice the skills they need to grow their careers and, as a result, support the development of the U.S. workforce. Alongside training programs like Google Career Certificates, these tools, resources and trainings can help increase economic mobility and make it possible for more people to make the move into fast-growing fields.

Try Interview Warmup now at grow.google/interview-warmup.

Helping people impacted by the justice system

On a visit to Indiana Women’s Prison in 2018, I joined a ceremony for graduates of The Last Mile, an organization preparing people for successful reentry through business and technology training. It was my first time attending a graduation inside, and I listened and was inspired as each graduate shared their determination to succeed in spite of the many challenges they might face after release.

Each year, 640,000 people are released from prison only to be met with an unemployment rate that is five times the national average. This rate is even higher for Black, Latino, and low income individuals, who are disproportionately impacted by mass incarceration. Devastatingly, more than half of those released from US prisons don’t land a job in the first year of returning home, in part because they don't have the necessary digital skills to compete in an ever-changing job market.

Since 2015, Google has supported many aspects of criminal justice reform with over $48 million in grant funding and 50,000 pro-bono hours. But there’s more work to be done. Today, we’re committing more than $8 million in new funding that will support job seekers impacted by the justice system with digital skills training and automatic record clearance.

The Grow with Google Fund for Justice-Impacted Communities will make more than $4 million available for nonprofits to lead Grow with Google workshops and trainings. Using a curriculum co-curated with five justice-reform-focused partners, our goal is to help 100,000 people impacted by the justice system build career skills–ranging from fundamental skills like finding and applying for jobs online, making a resume using web-based tools, or building a professional brand, to more advanced topics like using spreadsheets to budget for a business.

To accelerate jobs access for formerly incarcerated people, Google.org is providing a $3 million grant and a full-time team of Google.org Fellows who will work pro-bono to support Code for America. Code for America works with community organizations and government to build digital tools and services, change policies, and improve programs. Fellows will work alongside Code for America to help transform the process of automatically clearing criminal records; creating a replicable model to better identify and expunge past records through CFA's Clear My Record initiative. Google.org is also granting $1.25 million to the National Urban League and Justice through Code, two organizations focused on providing skills training to formerly incarcerated job seekers beginning their careers in tech.

Three years after The Last Mile graduation I attended, it was an honor to sit down with Molly, a graduate who learned digital skills using Grow with Google’s curriculum. She is now employed as a Returned Citizen Advocate at The Last Mile.

Here’s what Molly had to say about her involvement with the program:

When you started learning digital skills at The Last Mile, where were you at in life?

I had just been released from Indiana Women’s Prison and was on a mission to find a new career. I was applying for multiple jobs while also looking for educational opportunities that would help build my skills and knowledge.

How comfortable were you with tech before and after you went inside?

I was incarcerated for three years. When I went in, I felt like I was very tech fluent, but when I was released, it seemed as though the entire tech world had changed. There were new norms and even how email was done felt unfamiliar. Different platforms and software were being used and I felt overwhelmed.

What was a highlight of the program?

The most important class that I took was a learning path called “Basic Digital Skills.” It helped me learn how to use documents and email efficiently. This was reinforced by The Last Mile because we regularly use both of these when communicating and collaborating.

What’s next for you?

Since participating, I secured a job as a Returned Citizen Advocate at The Last Mile. I went from using what I learned (like how to) write a resume, cover letter, apply for a job and interview, to securing a role that allows me to help other members of the community.

I’ve had the opportunity to pay it forward. Alumni are encouraged to participate in the program once they are released from prison. Because I have first-hand experience with the program, I can assist them with any questions and talk about the value and importance of each lesson or learning path from personal experience.

In the future, I plan to continue to support people that are returning to society, and to help people learn digital skills and expand their knowledge. My passion is to help those coming after me to be able to create and build the best future for themselves that is possible.