As part of its initiative to support the technology and startup ecosystem in Africa, Google has unveiled a new partnership with Andela and Pluralsight to “support 10,000 aspiring and professional developers in Africa”.
The beneficiaries, according to an official statement, will have a 4-month access to Android and Mobile web courses.
William Florance, the head Economic Impact Programs at Google says the opportunity is open to successful graduates of the Google Africa Scholarship Challenge, Developer student clubs, GDGs and other aspiring and professional developers across Africa.
Google has over the years, through various projects, invested millions of dollars towards supporting the innovation ecosystem in Africa so as to “offer great opportunities for creating jobs, growing businesses and boosting economies.”
To see its vision through, Google wants developers in Africa to be equipped with the right skills, tools, and products to navigate the digital world.
This year alone Google, through Google.org, it rolled out a grant of US$2o million to support nonprofits that are working to improve lives across Africa and it will be implemented over the next five years.
It also unveiled Google.org Impact Challenge to award $5 million in grants to innovators.
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Other programs like Launchpad Accelerator Africa have even benefited Ugandan startups like Teheca, which developed a mobile application that enables one to find the closest and most qualified caretaker that best suits their care needs from a pool of qualified caretakers.
EZYAGRIC Extension a mobile application that was rolled out in 2014 to help farmers interact with agronomists sell produces, study the weather — all in real time, was also selected to participate in the programme in August of 2018.
Google has also tried to make internet use easier in Africa by rolling out products like YouTube Go which requires less data than the main YouTube app, to stream and download videos.
Google partnership with Andela and Pluralsight
In this new partnership, Pluralsight, a technology learning platform will provide training content, while the Andela ALC program will provide mentorship to learners enrolled in this program, according to Florance.
“The aim of this program is to provide a continuous engagement platform to aspiring and existing developers in Africa on a track to become professional developers with skills that can get them through the Google certification to demonstrate job readiness,” she wrote in a statement.
The recruitment of developers is still ongoing and you can find out more about the project here.
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American tech hub Andela launches in Uganda
