The company's first on the continent, the news was confirmed in a blog post by Nitin Gajria managing director of Google Sub-Saharan Africa, and according to research by AlphaBeta Economics for Google Cloud, the South Africa cloud region will contribute more than a cumulative $2.1 billion to the country’s GDP, creating more than 40,000 jobs by 2030.
Once operational, the new South African Cloud region, will join Google Cloud’s global network of 35 cloud regions and 106 zones.
The news supports the company's recently landed Equiano subsea cable and the firm also intends on building dedicated cloud interconnect sites in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Lagos and Nairobi. "In doing so, we are building full scale Cloud capability for Africa," said Gajria.
At the same time, Google continues to support local businesses through its partnerships with the likes of the Black Founders Fund, the Hustle Academy and Google Business Profiles, as well as helping upskill job seeker through developer scholarships and career certifications which the company has investment more than $3 million since 2021.
In addition, Google also confirms its intention to launch the first African product development centre in Nairobi to build better products for the continent and the world.
"We remain committed to working with our partners in building for Africa together, and helping to unlock the benefits of the digital economy for more people by providing useful products, programmes and investments," said Gajria.
"We’re doing this by partnering with African organisations, businesses and entrepreneurs. It’s the talent and drive of the individuals in the countries, communities and businesses of Africa that will power Africa’s economic growth.
