Joburg goes live as operational Google Cloud region
The cloud provider strategy of putting resources in different zones in a region reduces the risk of an infrastructure outage affecting all resources simultaneously. Putting resources in different regions provides an even higher degree of failure independence.
Director of Google Cloud Africa, Niral Patel projects that the internet economy of Africa is on a rapid growth trajectory, estimated it to reach $180bn by 2025, which will contribute 5.2% to the continent’s GDP.
Google has pledged $1bn to boost Africa’s digital transformation, recognising the key growth drivers as infrastructure investment, nurturing tech talent, and enabling a vibrant startup ecosystem.
The Johannesburg Google Cloud region is expected to provide a significant boost to the African tech ecosystem, offering organisations the resources they need to scale, innovate, and compete globally.
South Africa joins Google’s extensive network of 40 cloud regions and 121 zones, delivering services to over 200 countries and territories worldwide.
Beyond infrastructure
Google’s commitment to Africa extends beyond infrastructure and services. The company is providing training on the latest cloud technologies and sustainable business practices and runs several programmes for African startups, including the Black Founders Fund Africa and Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, which have supported 106 startups across 17 African countries.
These startups have collectively raised over $263m in funding and created more than 2,800 direct jobs.
In October 2023 cohort of Google’s AI First Accelerator Program, 11 startups will embark on a 10-week journey to scale their AI solutions for Africa and globally, leveraging up to $350,000 in Google Cloud Credits, and gaining access to Google’s AI expertise and support.
The operational launch of the cloud region is seen as another significant step towards fostering a dynamic startup ecosystem in Africa.
