Google investing millions in South African startups and non-profits

Google will be investing $50 million (R767 million) in African startups as part of its larger billion-dollar Africa Investment Fund, the tech giant announced on Wednesday.
The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund in Africa Program has selected 50 top black-led technology startups across the continent.
Google said the selection process was rigorous and competitive, and the funding is intended to help spur their growth.
Mobile game publisher Carry1st in South Africa is one such startup that has already received equity investments.
Google is part of a group of investors that poured $20 million into the business in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.
The Carry1st team includes 37 people located across 18 countries.
The co-founders are based in South Africa. The rest of the team is located in New York, South Africa, Kenya, Germany, Egypt, Canada, Switzerland, France, Morocco, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Turkey, and Vietnam.
Carry1st will use the additional capital to expand its content portfolio, grow its product, engineering, and growth teams, and acquire new users.
Another investment priority for Google is small and medium enterprises, which it said form the backbone of South Africa’s economy and is key to job creation.
In partnership with the Department of Small Business Development, Google wants to provide support, training and resources to these small enterprises through the newly launched “Hustle Academy.”
Hustle Academy is a sub-Saharan African initiative aimed at supporting SMMEs.
In the coming months, Google will be disbursing $3 million in loans to qualifying small businesses in South Africa in collaboration with Kiva and a local financial service provider.
For nonprofits, Google.org is awarding $500k in grant funding and training to Gift of the Givers and Food for Life South Africa to support them in their economic recovery.
“To date, 22 South African nonprofit organisations have tapped into $6.5 million in Google.org grants to bolster their work supporting under-served Black youth, SMMEs, and women with skills and knowledge to improve their livelihoods,” said Google South Africa country director Dr Alistair Mokoena.
Google Arts & Culture has also partnered with the Origins Centre in South Africa on a new project called “Cradle of Creativity”.
The project is dedicated to preserving the creative history and heritage of Africa.
It enables people worldwide to explore over 500 high-resolution images, 60 curated stories with audio narrations, and Street View virtual tours.
“We are here for the long-term, and our investments and programmes are geared to support this,” said Mokoena.