Google Grants Ksh 114M to Women-Owned Businesses in Africa

Google, through their philanthropic arm Google Org, has set aside Ksh 114M grant to fund women-owned businesses in Africa.

Speaking at the International Women`s Day 2022 celebrations, Google Africa Head of Brand and Reputation, Mojolauluwa Aderemi Makinde noted that women-owned businesses don’t get the same recognition and support that their male counterparts get.

“Research shows that 58% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) Entrepreneurs in Africa are women. Despite this, women-run businesses show 34% lower profits than those run by their male counterparts. They are also less likely to receive funding and investment,” said Makinde.

“This is why we are announcing a series of initiatives today, aimed at providing the support women need to grow their businesses.”

Along with the announcement, Google also launched #LookMeUp, a new campaign to showcase women entrepreneurs and tell their stories.

These stories feature women like Kenyan CEO and founder of Data Integrated, Mary Mwange who was recognized for her company`s effort in the innovation of the mobile payments sector in Kenya, Nigerian Vivian Nwakah, who launched Medsaf, a pharmaceutical supply chain solution to help Nigerians access quality health care services and Mosa Mkhize in South Africa who launched Origins Publishers to provide children with books in their native language.

“Google is also providing free tools to support women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and has launched an intensive program to drive the discovery of women-owned business through Google Business Profiles,” Makinde says.

The tech giant launched tools such as Google Primer, an application-based skills-training platform, that lets business owners access custom-designed lessons for free, and Google Business Profile which helps businesses create a free webpage making them easier to find online.

To aid female business owners to develop their skills, Google also dedicated the March cohort of the Hustle Academy to women-owned businesses.

The Hustle Academy is a free boot camp that was launched in February 2022 that assists small businesses to build the expertise they need to expand their businesses.

Article done by Charity Nyadzua for Enterprise