The eighth cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program will include ten tech startups based in Africa. 106 firms from 17 African nations have received help from the Google for firms Accelerator Africa program since it launched in 2018. Out of around 1,000 applications, 10 entrepreneurs were picked for this year’s cohort, and…
Google has updated Gemini, its chatbot driven by artificial intelligence (AI), with a new feature. With the new capability, users may modify specific text segments and have fine-grained control over the generated response to a question. Users have the option to remove the selected piece completely, change its length, or renew it. The feature has…
Google has revealed that new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered upgrades to Google Maps will be available soon with the goal of assisting users in finding new locations. According to each user’s unique needs, a customized recommendation system powered by generative AI will provide results. To generate travel recommendations, it analyzes over 250 million locations on Google…
One year after choosing Johannesburg as its first African location, Google announced today that its cloud region in South Africa is now active. Cloud regions give users access to a variety of services, such as compute engines, cloud storage, and essential management systems, and enable them to deploy cloud resources from particular geographic locations or…
Months after adding support for the secure login method across all of its services, Google has revealed that it has started urging users to set up passkeys on their devices. Passkeys, a “passwordless” but secure alternative that enables you to connect to apps and services using biometric identification on your smartphone and other devices, are…
Google has announced the opening of an AI research facility as part of its initiatives to address the food problem in Africa. The statement was made earlier this week as Google joined the list of companies promising support for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Digital project of the United Nations (UN). As part of its…
According to Google, Alex Okosi, who is now the regional YouTube head, will take over as MD of Google in Africa. The US internet giant said in a statement on Tuesday that Okosi will be in charge of Google’s operations in Africa, helping businesses and economies on the continent flourish as well as extending access…
Google has announced a plan to teach 20,000 Nigerian women and youth digital skills, which is a big step toward increasing digital skills, employment, and company growth. The program, supported by a grant from Google’s charitable division and carried out in partnership with Data Science Nigeria and the Creative Industry program for Africa, aims to…
Google, an Alphabet firm, announced the debut of two new capabilities for advertisers on Wednesday. These features will use artificial intelligence to locate the most effective ad placements for brands across all of Google’s services. Since Google and other businesses created innovative chatbots that can engage people in open-ended discussions, AI has taken over the…
Google for Entrepreneurs Accelerator is a 10-week, equity-free hybrid program for Seed to Series A entrepreneurs addressing Climate Change with technology. The Middle East and Africa program, in collaboration with Google Cloud, assists high-potential startups based in the Middle East and Africa in growing with the best of Google through a mix of in-person and…
Google added Passkey support as a new sign-in option for personal Google Accounts earlier in May. With a public beta, the tech giant is now extending support to Workspace accounts. Passkeys enable users to sign in to apps and websites using PIN, fingerprint scanner, and face unlock in place of password-only logins. The passwordless sign-in…
To honor Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), Google released a number of accessibility products and feature enhancements on Thursday. The purpose of the day is to spread awareness of digital accessibility, which states that people with “a disability must be able to experience web-based services, content, and other digital products with the same successful outcome…
Online search, which has been dominated by Google for 25 years, has become as routine as making a phone call, but artificial intelligence may finally be giving it a significant reset. As ChatGPT, Bard, or Bing see hundreds of millions of web surfers seek answers to life’s concerns in a new way, the traditional search-and-click…
In order to stop the spread of false information, especially now that photorealistic fakes are so easy to make thanks to artificial intelligence capabilities, Google is introducing two new features to its picture search. The first new feature from the Alphabet business is called “About this image,” and it provides more information by indicating when…
Google has finally started rolling out support for the passkeys authentication method, which it claims is more secure than ordinary passwords and even two-step verification (2SV), after over ten years of preparation and a year of declaring support for the same. A year ago, Apple, Google, and Microsoft jointly stated that they will start adopting…
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, reported a net profit of $15 billion in the first quarter of 2023, exceeding market estimates, indicating that the search engine powerhouse is finding its footing. The IT titan has been put under pressure as a result of a general downturn in advertising spending, over-hiring during a Covid-era boom,…
Google, a division of the digital behemoth Alphabet, has unveiled its newest AI technologies. These tools will serve as add-ons to currently available services, such as Workspace apps, and aid with tasks like summarizing Gmail message threads, creating slide presentations, and taking meeting notes. In its most recent version, Google Pictures, Google Messages, and Gmail…
In honor of International Women’s Day, Google today unveiled three fresh projects focused on empowering and supplying African women business owners with the tools they require for success. Among the initiatives are the Hustle Academy for Women-Led Businesses, the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa: Women Founders Cohort, and a social media campaign honoring influential women…
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…
Google has announced that its Workspace apps will soon receive updates that include new functionality. According to the search engine giant, updates to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides have been made, along with minor changes to Gmail. Gmail should make it simpler for users to search, while Google Meet will allow users to share files…
The African Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Ghana has signed a Masters Sponsored Research Agreement (MSRA) with Google Research, with the goal of pushing scientific research forward in fields such as artificial intelligence. As part of their continued commitment to collaborate and improve computing and technology in Africa, the agreement aims to strengthen the collaboration…
For aspiring and professional developers in Africa, Google has announced 30,000 Android and Google Cloud training scholarships. The goal of the program is to boost the number of developers on the continent. “Software development opportunities in Africa are at an all-time high. For over ten years, Google has supported African developers through community and training…
In order to focus on low-end devices, Google began building lightweight Android apps that could run on handsets with minimal RAM and storage, which are commonly found in emerging economies. Google Go, Maps Go, Gallery Go, Google Assistant Go, YouTube Go, Gmail Go, Gboard Go, and Files Go are among the Android Go Apps. These…
The nine startups chosen for the Fintech Incubation Programme have been announced by Nigeria’s technology innovation center Co-creation Hub (CcHUB), in collaboration with Google, the Ministry of ICT and Innovation Rwanda, and the Mojaloop Foundation. The Fintech Innovation Project, which includes the Fintech Incubation Program and other development initiatives, is part of Rwanda’s ongoing efforts…
Google has announced the opening of its first product development center in Africa, which will be located in Nairobi. The new product development center will assist in the development of transformative products and services for people in Africa and around the world, and it will hire visionary engineers, product managers, UX designers, and researchers to…
Google for Startups Accelerator Africa Class 7 participants have been announced, with the selected startups set to receive mentorship and expert advice over the course of the three-month program. The Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, announced in 2017, is a three-month program that connects early-stage African tech startups with the best of Google’s products, people,…
Google.org, the company’s philanthropic arm, announced today that it will donate $1 million (R15.3 million) to programs that help women entrepreneurs grow their businesses, as part of a series of new initiatives aimed at supporting women-owned businesses. According to Mojolaoluwa Aderemi Makinde, Head Brand and Reputation, Africa – Google, “research shows that 58 percent of…
Google will now charge 7.5 percent VAT on all taxable goods and services to Nigerian customers beginning April 1 next month. The company announced this in an email to its business account holders on Tuesday morning. The 7.5 percent VAT is in line with the government’s new law, according to the American tech behemoth. As…
Google has announced the expansion of its two-step verification (2SV) process for log-ins to improve account security after its newly introduced two-step verification initiative saw a 50% drop in account breaches for 150 million Gmail and 2 million YouTube creators accounts under the 2SV initiative. The 2SV introduces the use of mobile phones to confirm…
We’re all aware that spending too much time on our smartphones is bad for our health, both physical and mental, which is why, in recent years, firms have begun to develop tools to help users obtain more insight into how much time they spend on their phones, apps they use, and so on. The idea…