via ITWeb Africa
Google has launched its first Google Developers Space - Google Launchpad Accelerator - in Lagos, Nigeria targeting African developers, entrepreneurs, and start-ups.
According to this ITWeb Africa article, Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa will support developer meetups, training, women in tech events, start-up programs, partner events that support the wider entrepreneur and developer ecosystem, as well as Google initiatives for empowering people through digital skills training. This is part of Google’s commitment to training up to 100,000 developers across Africa.
"This space is the next step to our support for developers across the continent. From our commitment to train 100,000 developers across Africa and the launch of developer merchant support in the Google Play store, making it possible for developers to earn money through apps they build. We are excited to continue our journey with the African startup and developer communities," - Juliet Ehimuan, Country Director, Google Nigeria.
The Launchpad Accelerator Africa has previously worked with 47 start-ups since early 2018 from 17 African countries which has led to these companies raising millions of dollars in investments and created over 900 jobs across the continent.
Initiatives like this are critical for creating the talent base required for emerging economies to shift to digital, and we look forward to seeing how this program develops. We think it's also important to remember that increasingly, people in all professions - farmers and carpenters, caregivers and taxi drivers - are required to have digital skills too, as every labor market and economic sector is transformed by digitization. Broadening this conversation to consider skills for a digital age rather than simply digital skills, reveals the breadth of skilling, at all levels of education and expertise, that is needed to enable everyone to benefit from the digital economy.
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