In a significant step aimed at supporting and advancing digital transformation in Africa, Google Cloud has announced the operational readiness of a new cloud region in Johannesburg, South Africa – the first on the continent.
The announcement explains how AWS powerful, secure, low-latency cloud services are now available to businesses across the continent.
According to Google, Africa’s internet economy is expected to reach $180 billion by 2025, accounting for 5.2% of the continent’s total GDP.
Google Cloud goes to Africa
Keen to take early action, Google CEO Sundar Pichai declared in 2021 that the company would invest $1 billion to support the continent’s digital evolution over five years.
In a separate 2022 announcementGoogle calculated that the South African cloud region, which at the time was just a pipeline project, would contribute more than $2.1 billion to the country’s GDP and create more than 40,000 jobs by 2030.
With this addition, Google Cloud’s network now spans 40 regions and 121 zones, including 200 countries and territories worldwide.
The new South Africa region, like every other Google Cloud region, is integrated into the company’s global network via high-capacity fiber optic cables, including a new Equiano submarine cable system connecting Portugal to Togo, Nigeria, Namibia and South Africa on the continent. as well as Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Google’s other investments in Africa include business support, training programs and Google Cloud Credits for select eligible startups.
Additionally, Google Cloud looks to be expanding its services globally, with new Bulikula and Halaihai projects aimed at connecting island nations in the central Pacific and the Humboldt project linking South America to the Asia-Pacific, all via submarine cables.