Google set to 'light up Africa'

ADSL South Africa (Broadband South Africa), 24 February 2008

The penetration of the mobile market in South Africa forms part of Google’s quest, in the words of Dr Douglas Merrill, VP of engineering at the Internet giant, to ‘light up Africa’.

While Google has not made known details in regard to new products, infrastructure plans and the number of employees employed by Google SA, Google’s South African arm, we can expect to see a strong focus on the mobile Internet market in South Africa. The reason for this is simple: The majority of mobile users in South Africa don’t’ own personal computers (PCs) and will never own personal computers. The same can be said in regard to the rest of Africa.

Stafford Masie, Country Manager for Google SA, made it clear at a strategy briefing that the mobile phone is going to be the method to access the African market, because 70% of mobile users in South Africa don’t have PCs and 85% of that 70% will never have PCs. Masie’s job at Google SA will primarily be to make sure that Google in Mountain View in the US, knows about ‘the unique mobile innovation strategies used by Africa’.

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