Google Expanding Africa Presence

I think Google.org should focus on Africa before Google does.

i am from Senegal, and this is good news for us. African government spend heavily on technology. although there are no startups in senegal (to my knowledge), there is a serious increase in internet penetration and i can see a lot of innovation coming out of the region within the next 5-10 years. go google.

This is a example of out-of-box thinking from Google…..and I guess the first positive effect of Yahoo-MS deal

MS-Yahoo deal may brings some more new news for our world in coming days.

Interesting strategy indeed, nevertheless do you really think Kenya is part of the “more stable African nations”?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02.....ref=slogin

FdX
In Africa terms yes. It’s not a complete basket case yet (Zimbabwe as one of many examples), recent news aside.

I don’t think this has anything to do with Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo, as you suggested in the first line of this article:

“Google is expanding its presence in Africa, in what locals are suggesting is part of a move by Google to “realign” its growth strategy part in response to Microsoft’s takeover offer for Yahoo.”

Look around, lots of companies are “realigning” for the African market. It is the only remaining unindustrialized continent, and it’s jumping straight into the information era, the largest population to do so without industrialization. Any company that has vision will “realign” itself. As a journalist, you should be more careful to point out the real driving forces behind these shifts.

That line must bring a lot of traffic, eh?

It is good initiative from Google to expand its horizons to the dark continent. Also I think it is part of providing its mass customized free innovative solutions around the globe.

mr nice,
neither do I.

SEO Training
I’m not sure if we’re allowed to call it darkest Africa or similar any more.

i dont even tought africans have computers or internet.

“i dont even tought africans have computers or internet.”

Although that’s a weird generalization to make, it relates to an important point in that the the innovation Google would bring is far in advance of the real needs of many Africans. I know there’s not a lot of business in it, but still, if the governments try to jump forward by spending money on internet technology before they focus on solving tribal/genocide/starvation/disease problems, the continent is not *really* going to benefit, only a tiny minority of people will.

Google was right to headquarter in Kenya after how Tiscali was treated in South Africa. Tiscali tried to help but was stifled by the greedy government who wanted to protect the Telkom monopoly. Tiscali left selling their clients to MWEB. Not even Ubuntu drunk Mark Shuttleworth wants to base his Canonical there.

Google started making these moves long before there was any talk of a MS/Yahoo deal. They’ve been slowly ramping up in East/West Africa for the last year and South Africa for 2 years.

If you’re thinking that Google is moving faster into Africa just for what your concept of the internet is, you’re wrong there too. It’s about mobile phones and the long tail of the African market. There are more than 200 million mobile phones in Africa that few companies are paying any attention to. It’s Africa’s PC.

Yes, there is a market within urban areas for traditional web-based Google products, but this isn’t the main market in Africa.

Your comment that, “Africa remains the final frontier for internet growth” is true though. People are going to make millions of dollars there very soon, and the rest of the world will be surprised because they didn’t see it coming.

@ 11 “before they focus on solving tribal/genocide/starvation/disease problems, the continent is not *really* going to benefit, only a tiny minority of people will”

this is like saying the US shouldn’y spend on technology while there is recession, unemployment rising ( no matter what they tell you), healthcare problems soaring, and 2 billion dollars being spent every day to fight in Iraq.

You can see that it doesn’t work that way.

It is sad to see that the only picture you can come up with is from Google map.

“this is like saying the US shouldn’y spend on technology while there is recession, unemployment rising ( no matter what they tell you), healthcare problems soaring, and 2 billion dollars being spent every day to fight in Iraq.”

that’s sounds like a good plan to me. technological innovation is great, but there’s a chance, just a chance, that social and societal innovation is better.

@ other. you also have to think that when people are busy working, innovating, generating revenue, improving their healthcare, they tend to worry less about fighting. at the end of the day Israel is far from beign a stable nation, but they lead the world in advanced technology. should we suggest they stop working on convergence, mobility…and focus on stabilizing their political isues?

It is nice to hear Google are coming. We hope they will bot bend to censorship as they did in China.

In Uganda, they will find a man who has overstayed his welcome as country’s president. In Kenya, Mwai Kibaki is clinging to power even after a clear sign fom the people they are fed up with hm.

Welcome to Africa!

Mutimba

i think is sucks for people who want to start african startups like me. No one pays attention in the first place, and now when such a competitor comes it just knock us small guys out.

anyway it means more development all around. N that dude who says he didn’t know we had computers. ignorant man, it turns out we do.

Not only do we have computers we also have Mike and Keith’s favo(u)rite: Scotch, Hookers and Blow

where are the google kenya offices????their contact details

Google’s move has nothing to do with MSFT or Yahoo. Google has been posting jobs for a new Nairobi office for several months.