Google through Google Org has announced a fund for Kenyan women in business.
Google has set aside a grant worth Ksh114 million to support women-owned businesses in Africa and Kenyans stand to benefit from the funding.
The announcement was made as the world celebrates International Women’s Day 2022, and the Head Brand and Reputation, Africa – Google Mojolaoluwa Aderemi Makinde, explained that women-owned businesses do not get the type of support that their male counterparts are given.
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“Research shows that 58 per cent of small and medium-sized business (SMB) Entrepreneurs in Africa are women. Despite this, women-run businesses show, on average, 34% lower profits than those run by their male counterparts.
“They are also less likely to receive funding and investment. This is why we are announcing a series of initiatives today, aimed at providing the support women need to grow their businesses,” Makinde stated.
Google also announced a new campaign aimed at showcasing women entrepreneurs and telling their stories.
The tech giant recognized Kenyan Mary Mwange, who is the CEO and founder of Data Integrated.
Mwange was recognized for her company’s efforts in driving innovation in the mobile payments sector in Kenya.
“Google is also providing free tools to support women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and has launched an intensive program to drive the discovery of women-owned businesses through Google Business Profiles,” Makinde remarked.
Businesses will benefit from tools such as Google Business Profile, which helps businesses create a free webpage to make them easier to find online.
Apart from the google fund for women business, other tools launched by Google are Primer, an app-based skills-building platform, that allows business owners to access free, custom-designed, bite-sized lessons on the go.
“To help women business owners to develop their skills, Google has also dedicated the March cohort of the Hustle Academy to women-owned SMBs.
“The Hustle Academy, launched last month, is a free, week-long Bootcamp designed to help SMBs build the expertise they need to expand their businesses,” the statement from Google indicated.
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