American technology giant Google has announced a 10 million US dollar(Sh1b) package to support Kenya’s post Covid-19 recovery efforts.
The announcement was made on Wednesday evening by Google’s Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai during a virtual meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
In the package, Sh330m will support small businesses, Sh550m for Kenyan start ups and Sh220million for charity.
Pichai announced several other investments lined up by his organization for Kenya adding that his company will expand its Google for Startups Accelerator program this year by supporting 100,000 businesses and 15,000 developers in Kenya.
In the education sector, Google said it will train 29,000 students and 1,800 teachers on remote learning using its Google Classroom platform.
The President welcomed the support from Google and thanked the company for working closely with the government.
“You have been a good part of that journey. A journey that has enabled many Kenyans through the use of technology and digitization to access financial services, knowledge and to enhance their business capacities,” Uhuru said.
Uhuru said Kenya is aggressively expanding internet connectivity across the country and investing in skills development to enable young Kenyans to benefit from employment opportunities created by the digital revolution.
ICT CS Joseph Mucheru, a former Google employee, attended the meetings alongside his Foreign Affairs counterpart Raychelle Omamo, State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita, his deputy in charge of Strategy Mrs Ruth Kagia and ICT PS Jerome Ochieng were also present.