TheNewsGuru

Tag: Google

  • Google earmarks $6m for female startups, entrepreneurs in Africa

    Google earmarks $6m for female startups, entrepreneurs in Africa

    Google on Monday said it has renewed its commitment to support startups in Africa with a combined six million dollars funding to startups founders and female entrepreneurs in Africa.

    Nitin Gajria, Managing Director of Google Sub-Saharan Africa, said on Monday in statement that It was part of the ongoing plans to double down on supporting Black startup founders.

    Gajra said that the programme, in collaboration with the Tony Elumelu foundation, would provide seed capital to 500 women entrepreneurs in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and selected Francophone countries.

    He said it would prepare them to navigate their businesses through the start-up and early growth phase.

    According to Gajra, as part of Google’s global commitment to support underserved communities, three million dollars was earmarked for Startups Black Founders Fund Africa.

    ‘’This fund, which is part of the company’s radical equity commitments announced in June 2020, will provide cash awards and hands-on support to 50 Black-led startups in Africa.

    ‘’Unlike most startup investments, it does not require founders to give up any equity in exchange for funding.

    ‘’Google will be working with the Co-Creation Hub, a Google for Startups partner and leading tech community hub with presence in Nigeria, Kenya and Rwanda, to distribute the funding to the selected companies across Africa.

    “We are to help black founders grow their businesses, not just through access to capital but also through access to the best of Google’s resources.

    “We are dedicated to building a world where all women can thrive.

    “A data collected by the World Bank in 10 African countries revealed that male-owned enterprises have six times more capital than female owned enterprises.

    ‘’This huge capital gap is not stopping the rise of female entrepreneurs, but it slows them down and makes their journeys that much more challenging.

    ‘’We hope that the support to the Tony Elumelu Foundation will help accelerate the growth of women techmakers and entrepreneurs in Africa,” Gajria said.

    Bosun Tijani, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Co-Creation Hub, said it was encouraging to see Google’s continued dedication to strengthening and elevating the startup ecosystem in Africa.

    Tijani said that Google was one of the early believers in tech entrepreneurs on the continent and its support over the last 10 years reflects a thoughtful commitment.

    He said that the programme was extremely timely and would not only empower founders across the continent but also deepen the pipeline and unlock follow-on funding from both local and foreign investors.

    According to him, Google understands that the growth and success of one player in the startup space lays the path for others.

    Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, CEO at Tony Elumelu Foundation, said that as Africa’s leading philanthropy empowering young African entrepreneurs, the grant support would provide financial and technical support for additional women-owned businesses and marginalised groups in the informal sector.

    She said that there was no better time to invest in women’s economic participation on the continent than now.

    According to her, through this support, women will drive growth for local economies and enable better living conditions for their communities.

  • Google deletes Nigerian social media app from Play Store

    Google deletes Nigerian social media app from Play Store

    Internet giants, Google has deleted from its Play Store Nigerian social media app known as Crowwe.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the Crowwe social media app, which imitates Twitter, is owned by Nigeria’s Adamu Garba.

    The app had received horrible reviews from Nigerians after Garba supported the suspension of Twitter use in Nigeria.

    Garba had, following the suspension, encouraged Nigerians to support his indigenous social media app by downloading it from the Play Store.

    Not only did the app receive horrible reviews, Nigerians also reported that Crowwe’s terms and conditions were plagiarised word for word from another app, Spotify.

    The discovery was also verified by Dubawa, a fact-checking platform, to be true.

    “Check the Crowwe app’s terms and conditions. It’s the SAME thing as Spotify. They didn’t even bother editing. Like if you click on the hyperlink it redirects you to Spotify theft. What sort of pangolo app is that?” a Twitter user wrote, tagging Spotify.

    Right now, Garba’s Crowwe app, which has been described as an instant messaging and financial transaction app that comes with a digital wallet that helps to transfer and receive money while chatting, is no longer available on the Google Play Store.

    Google removes from the Play Store applications that are perceived to have violated its policy.

    “Once your app is removed, the published version of your app won’t be available on Google Play until a compliant update is submitted.

    “Until a policy violation has been fixed, don’t republish a removed app,” Google Play Store policy reads.

  • Google to change some ad practices after French watchdog imposes fine

    Google to change some ad practices after French watchdog imposes fine

    Alphabet’s Google has agreed to make changes to some of its widely-used online advertising services under a settlement with France’s antitrust watchdog that was released on Monday.

    The authority also fined the Mountain View, California-based company 267.48 million dollars after a probe found it has abused its market power in the intricate ad business online, where some its tools have become almost essential for large publishers.

    “The decision to sanction Google is of particular significance because it’s the first decision in the world focusing on the complex algorithmic auction processes on which the online ad business relies,” France’s antitrust Chief, Isabelle de Silva said.

    De Silva said the fine was reduced because of the settlement, but she did not give specifics.

  • SpaceX signs deal with Google for global high-speed Internet connectivity

    SpaceX signs deal with Google for global high-speed Internet connectivity

    Elon Musk’s SpaceX on Thursday signed a deal with Internet giant, Google to provide high-speed broadband internet connectivity around the world.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the deal is to deliver data, cloud services, and applications, leveraging Starlink’s ability to provide high-speed broadband internet.

    Under the deal, SpaceX will locate Starlink ground stations within Google data center properties, providing businesses with seamless, secure access to the cloud and Internet with Google Cloud infrastructure

    This will enable secure, low-latency, and reliable delivery of data from more than 1,500 Starlink satellites launched to orbit to-date to locations at the network edge via Google Cloud.

    Google Cloud’s high-capacity private network will support the delivery of Starlink’s global satellite internet service, bringing businesses and consumers seamless connectivity to the cloud and Internet, and enabling the delivery of critical enterprise applications to virtually any location.

    Organizations with broad footprints, like public sector agencies, businesses with presences at the network edge, or those operating in rural or remote areas, often require access to applications running in the cloud, or to cloud services like analytics, artificial intelligence, or machine learning.

    Connectivity from Starlink’s constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites provides a path for these organizations to deliver data and applications to teams distributed across countries and continents, quickly and securely.

    “Applications and services running in the cloud can be transformative for organizations, whether they’re operating in a highly networked or remote environment,” said Urs Hölzle, Senior Vice President, Infrastructure at Google Cloud.

    “We are delighted to partner with SpaceX to ensure that organizations with distributed footprints have seamless, secure, and fast access to the critical applications and services they need to keep their teams up and running.”

    “Combining Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency broadband with Google’s infrastructure and capabilities provides global organizations with the secure and fast connection that modern organizations expect,” said SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell.

    “We are proud to work with Google to deliver this access to businesses, public sector organizations, and many other groups operating around the world.”

    This new capability, delivered by Google Cloud and Starlink to enterprise customers, is expected to be available in the second half of 2021.

    Recall that the American aerospace manufacturer and space transportations services company had identified Nigeria as a critical market for its business.

    A delegation from the company was in the country recently, and held a meeting with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

    SpaceX is in the process of launching a low-earth orbiting (LOE) constellation of satellites to provide low latency, high bandwidths Internet to all corners of the globe and has identified Nigeria as a critical market.

    SpaceX has been in discussion with NCC virtually over the past several months to begin the process of pursuing all necessary licenses to bring Starlink, its satellite-based broadband services to Nigeria.

    Having made substantial progress in the discussion, the Commission granted SpaceX’s request for a face-to-face discussion to gain better insights on the prospects of their proposal.

    Led by SpaceX’s Starlink Market Access Director for Africa, Ryan Goodnight and supported by the company’s consultant, Levin Born, the company provided an overview of its plans, expectations, licensing requests and deployment phases during the meeting.

    After the presentation by the SpaceX team, the NCC emphasised that in light of disruption in the technology world, it is keen on balancing healthy competition with entry of disruptive technologies to ensure sustainable telecoms industry growth and development in Nigeria.

    The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, stated this, represented by NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Ubale Maska.

    He said NCC will work on necessary modalities to ensure that it balances the need for healthy competition vis-a-vis the entry of new technologies, in order to protect all industry stakeholders.

    “As the regulator of a highly dynamic sector in Nigeria, the Commission is conscious of the need to ensure that our regulatory actions are anchored on national interest.

    “We have listened to your presentation and we will review it vis-à-vis our regulatory direction of ensuring effective and a sustainable telecoms ecosystem where a licensee’s operational model does not dampen healthy competition among other licensees,” Maska told the SpaceX delegation.

    Maska further stated that the Commission is interested in making necessary regulatory efforts to drive the coverage of rural, unserved and underserved areas of the country through the accomplishments of the lofty targets contained in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP), 2020-2025.

    He noted that the plan’s target of 70 per cent broadband penetration target, covering 90 per cent of the population by 2025 is also in line with government expectations in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), 2010-2030.

  • Google reinforces commitment to Africa’s startups ecosystem

    Google reinforces commitment to Africa’s startups ecosystem

    Google on Thursday restated its commitment to the startup ecosystem in Africa, by offering a total of 40,000 scholarships to developers, spread across Mobile and Cloud development tracks.

    The announcement was made during a virtual event hosted by Google for key industry players, policy leads, startup executives and investors driving the growth of Africa’s tech ecosystem.

    Onajite Emerhor, Head of Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, said that the top 1,000 students at the end of the training would earn full scholarship to certify on Android or Cloud development.

    Emerhor, announcing the opening of applications for the 6th Class of the Google for Startups Accelerator programme, and the launch of new developer scholarships, said it was in partnership with Pluralsight and Andela.

    She said that the the aim of the scholarship was to support the growth of the startups through their crucial growth phases.

    According to her, for Google’s new developer scholarships, Android, Web and Google Cloud scholarships are being offered to beginners and intermediate developers resident in Africa.

    “Last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first virtual class of Google for Startups Accelerator Africa was launched.

    “ It was the first all-online iteration of Google’s accelerator programme for Africa, and saw 20 startups from seven countries undergo a 12-week virtual journey to redefine their offering while receiving mentoring and attending workshops.

    “’This year, with the 6th cohort, we want to continue to play our part by supporting developers and startups within the Africa tech ecosystem, ensuring they get all the access and support necessary to see them continue to grow,’’ she said.

    According to her, the African startups ecosystem is a key driver of economic growth on the continent, with Africa’s tech space experiencing a significant upswing in startup success stories.

    Emerhor said that the Africa Internet Economy 2020 report, sponsored by Google and IFC, Africa’s Internet economy was poised to boosting the continent’s economy by 5.25 per cent in the next five years.

    She said that the report stated that the headwinds caused by COVID-19 would not deter the growth of Africa’s internet economy, which was projected to contribute nearly $189 billion to Africa’s GDP by 2025, increasing to $712 billion by 2050.

    Also, Nitin Gajria, Managing Director of Google Sub-Saharan Africa, said the growth of entrepreneurship was crucial, especially in the African context.

    Gajria said that African developers and startups played a critical role in the transformation of the African economy, creating new opportunities and paving the way for the economic and social development on the continent.

    “We recognise Africa’s exceptional digital potential, and that is why Google is committed to providing this critical support for African startups,.

    “Google for Startups Accelerator Africa gives early-growth stage startups access to the best of Google – its people, networks, and advanced technologies.”

    Gajria said that the accelerator trained participating startups on technology (AI/ML, Cloud, Android, Firebase), product, data, business, design, people, growth and fundraising, through interactive workshops and labs facilitated by Google experts and mentors.

    “Google continues to support developer communities across Sub-Saharan Africa, through Google Developer Groups, Developer Student Clubs and Women Techmakers, providing training and support for developers that is aligned with real-life job competency requirements.

    “Community groups engage in activities like Study Jams: study groups facilitated by developers, for developers.

    “’Today there are over 120 active developer communities across 25 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa,’’ he said.

    Applications for the 6th Cohort of Google for Startups Accelerator programme, a three-month programme, is billed to begin on June 21, 2021, and will remain open until May 14, 2021.

    The online programme includes three intensive virtual training bootcamps, mentorship and Google product support.

    It is open to applications from 17 countries across Africa, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

  • Russia sues Google, Facebook, Twitter for not deleting protest content

    Russia sues Google, Facebook, Twitter for not deleting protest content

    Russian authorities are suing five social media platforms for allegedly failing to delete posts urging children to take part in illegal protests, the Interfax news agency cited a Moscow court as saying on Tuesday.

    Twitter, Google, Facebook each have three cases against them, with each violation punishable by a fine of up to 4 million roubles (around 54,000 dollars), and cases have also been filed against Tiktok and Telegram, the report said.

    The cases were opened after protests nationwide over last month’s jailing of Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin.

    Navalny and his supporters say his 30-month sentence, for alleged parole violations related to an embezzlement case, was trumped up for political reasons, something the authorities deny.

    Google declined to comment on the Interfax report. Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok and Telegram did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

    The cases against Google, Facebook and Twitter will be heard on April 2, the agency said.

  • Google earmarks $25m grant for girls in Africa

    Google earmarks $25m grant for girls in Africa

    Google.org on Monday announced that it had earmarked $25m grant funding for its new Global Impact Challenge (GIC) for Women and Girls in Africa.

    Juliet Ehimuan, Country Director, Google Nigeria, said at a virtual event to mark the International Women’s Day (IWD) that Google was also reinforcing its commitment to the empowerment of women and girls on the continent.

    She said building on their previous work in gender equity – with grantees like the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Laboratoria and GiveDirectly – Google.org was seeking applications from organisations in Africa and around the world.

    Ehimuan said that the GIC for Women and Girls, which would provide $25 million in overall cash grants to nonprofits and social enterprises, follows initiatives such as the 2019 Africa launch of Women Will, Google’s initiative to create opportunities for women, and Google’s #IamRemarkable workshop series.

    ‘’Grantees, who will be announced later this year, are eligible to receive funding ranging from $300,000 to $2 million, selected organisations will also receive capacity building support and mentoring from Googlers,’’ she said.

    The country Director said over the past five years, Google.org had given over $55 million in cash grants to non-profit organisations that support gender equity and access to opportunity for women and girls around the world.

    She said that empowering women and girls in Africa to reach their full economic potential, and to thrive, was more critical now than ever as they bear the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Quoting the Foresight Africa report 2021, Ehimuan said it confirmed that the coronavirus has “exacerbated already-existing gender inequalities, laying bare serious fault lines in safety, physical and mental health, education, domestic responsibilities, and employment opportunities”.

    She said that despite decades of work aimed at achieving gender equality, the disparity between men and women not only remains – it is growing alarmingly, thanks largely to the global pandemic, the report warned.

    According to her, the GIC for Women and Girls was focused on changing the status quo, that job cuts, income losses and lack of education, were not simply side-effects of the pandemic, but would negatively impact the economic strides made by women and girls for many years to come.

    “As economies and societies rebuild, we need bold new ideas that will propel us forward. We cannot afford to go back to the way things were, and we certainly can’t do it alone.

    The country director added that we have a collective responsibility to ensure that generations of women and girls from all walks of life—no matter their race, sexual orientation, religion or socioeconomic status—live in a world where they are treated equally and can realise their full potentials.

    Ehimuan said when women and girls have the tools, resources and opportunities to turn their potential into power, this not only changes the trajectory of their individual lives, but also strengthens entire communities.

    ‘If we lift up women and girls, the rest of the world will rise, too,” Ehimuan said.

    She said organisations have until Friday, April 2, 2021 at 11:59pm GMT to submit their applications at g.co/womenandgirlschallenge.

    An all-female panel of expert Google executives and world / business leaders, including Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women; Victoria Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on SDGs, among others, would preside over the application review and selection process once application closes, Ehimuan said.

  • Google adds Apple’s TV app to latest Chromecast device

    Google adds Apple’s TV app to latest Chromecast device

    Alphabet Inc’s Google has added Apple Inc’s TV app, which includes paid streaming service Apple TV+, to the latest Chromecast TV device, the search giant said on Thursday.

    The move comes at a time when Apple has grown warmer to granting access to its services to hardware devices outside its ecosystem, with Chromecast users getting access to its renowned originals like “The Morning Show” and “Greyhound”.

    Apple in 2019 had made its TV app available on Amazon.com Inc’s Fire TV devices and Roku Inc’s platform.

    “In addition to Chromecast with Google TV, the Apple TV app will also be available on Google TVs from Sony and TCL,” Google said in a blogpost.

    Google had announced the move late last year, after having said Apple Music would soon be available on Google smart speakers.

    The pandemic has seen traditional pay-TV consumers shift increasingly to streaming services for entertainment-on-demand while sheltering at home, boosting subscribers to platforms like Netflix Inc, Walt Disney Co’s Disney+ and AT&T Inc-owned HBO Max.

  • Google names exec to oversee responsible AI research after staff unrest

    Google names exec to oversee responsible AI research after staff unrest

    Alphabet Inc’s Google on Thursday named Marian Croak, one of its few Black executives, to oversee research on responsible artificial intelligence (AI) after weeks of internal anger over its firing of a prominent Black scientist.

    Google confirmed Croak will manage 10 teams, including a dozen scientists studying the ethical considerations of automated technologies known as AI.

    Ethical AI co-lead Timnit Gebru said in December that Google abruptly fired her for contesting company orders.

    Employees for weeks have expressed concern that Gebru’s critiques of Google led to unfair punishment, and Croak has been among executives trying to broker a way forward between staff and management.

    Croak, a vice president of engineering who will report to Google AI chief Jeff Dean, told employees in a Thursday meeting that she respected Gebru and that what happened to her was unfortunate.

    In a video on Google’s blog, she also acknowledged dissent in the research areas now in her purview. “There’s quite a lot of conflict right now within the field, and it can be polarising at times, and what I’d like to do is just have people have the conversation in a more diplomatic way,” she said.

    Google employee Alex Hanna on Twitter called the news about Croak “a betrayal,” saying it occurred behind the Ethical AI team’s back and did not address demands the team made after Gebru’s firing.

    Gebru said in a statement, “Marian is a highly accomplished trailblazing scientist that I had admired and even confided in. It’s incredibly hurtful to see her legitimising what Jeff Dean and his subordinates have done to me and my team.”

    Croak, who previously was working on site reliability for Google, will also oversee teams doing research related to accessibility, social good and fairness in health algorithms.

  • Facebook, Google to start paying for news content

    Facebook, Google to start paying for news content

    Australia is on course to become the first country to require social media giant Facebook and search giant Google to pay for news content.

    Member of the Australian Parliament, Josh Frydenberg, who is the federal treasurer and deputy leader of the Liberal Party, made this known in an emailed statement on Friday.

    He said Australia will introduce landmark legislation to force Alphabet’s Google and Facebook to pay publishers and broadcasters for content next week.

    “The bill will now be considered by the parliament from the week commencing 15 February 2021,” Frydenberg stated.

    The US search and social media giants have pressed Australia to soften the legislation.

    Google had specifically said the bill is “unworkable” and that it will force it to pull out of the country altogether.

    Senior executives from both companies have held talks with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Frydenberg.

    But, a senate committee examining the proposals had remained adamant and had recommended no amendments.