It has been an eventful week for tech space in the country.
On Tuesday, 19th of April, Google announced the launch of a product development centre in Nairobi; a first in the African continent. The tech giant allocated a Sh115.5billion in October 2021 for investments across Africa to build transformative products and services for the African market and the world at large in the next five years. The Nairobi centre is Google’s second major research and development in Africa after an Artificial Intelligence centre in Ghana in 2019.
Other corporations namely Microsoft, Visa, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have already recently set up shop in the country.
Google is already hiring over 100 software engineers, researchers, and designers. News that has been discussed on social media as many people wait to see the effect it shall have on the industry.
Ali Hussein Kassim a tech leader in Kenya broke down his views on LinkedIn saying: “The immediate and short term effects of the talent question will be more pain for the local ecosystem but the mid to long term effects will, I believe, be very positive to the region. More focus on industry-ready talent by collaboration between academia and industry. #STEMA (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and the Arts) should be the focus. Deeper integration of the African Tech Ecosystem with the global one will have both positive and negative effects. Positive because of more opportunities for local entrepreneurs and talent. Negative for those who fail to take advantage of the opportunities.”
Coding to be Taught in Kenyan Schools
Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) this week approved a new coding syllabus to be taught in both primary and secondary schools. KICD’s Chief Executive Prof Charles Ong’ondo was excited to share the update saying that it’s time the skill was taught to children and not just at higher institutions of learning. He added that the lessons will be as practical as they can be and will be offered by Kodris Africa.
Here’s more on Google’s investment plans in Africa and jobs https://africa.googleblog.com/2022/04/were-hiring-for-our-first-product.html.
