Google’s Hustle Academy has graduated 5,000 entrepreneurs.

Google held graduation ceremonies in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa to honor the 5,000 entrepreneurs who completed its Hustle Academy training program.

Google also announced a new speaker series at the events in which successful African entrepreneurs share lessons and advice, demonstrating the company’s commitment to assisting entrepreneurs and small businesses in thriving.

The Hustle Academy, which launched in February of this year, provides practical business training that helps business owners learn the soft skills that complement their hard talents through peer-to-peer and mentor-driven learning.

This year’s graduates were chosen from nearly 10,000 applications. The 5,000 graduates are drawn from 23 cohorts that participated in five-day virtual bootcamps to learn how to define their business strategy, increase sales, and pitch for investor funding. Lessons on digital marketing and effective financial planning were also included in the curriculum.

Each company also received one-on-one mentoring sessions to address specific business pain points and receive advice from a network of trained mentors and coaches.

“Our graduates are working hard to grow their businesses, and this kind of practical training has a ripple effect, helping many more people succeed,” says Mojolaoluwa Aderemi-Makinde, SSA’s Head of Brand & Reputation.

The “Hustle Academy Brings You…” video series, which features renowned and respected entrepreneurs from across Africa sharing practical advice and growth tips to inspire emerging entrepreneurs, is intended to supplement and expand the Hustle Academy training.

This speaker series will provide SMBs with insights from business owners from a variety of industries, with a focus on the issues, themes, and subjects they face on a daily basis.

According to Aderemi-Makinde, “Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are the backbone of the global economy, accounting for an estimated 80% of jobs in Africa.” There are an estimated 44 million micro, small, and medium enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa alone, which serve as important drivers of economic growth.

Google is dedicated to assisting African businesses, and initiatives such as the Hustle Academy and the new speaker series assist businesses in taking advantage of all the opportunities that the web provides and equipping them with the tools to develop and grow.