Google unveils new Products at Google for Nigeria Event

On Wednesday 24th July 2019, Google hosted the third edition of ‘Google for Nigeria’ at the Podium Event Center, Lekki Lagos State. Google gathered together the tech community, partners, members of the media and the general public to announce the launch of new products and features at the event.

The use of African prints for decoration made the venue resonate the rich cultural heritage of Nigeria. The ceremony started with a welcome address by Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor, Google Nigeria Country Director. She walked us through the achievements and various initiatives Google embarked on through partnerships alongside empowerment programs.

So far we have trained 15K developers. We also partnered with Pluralsight and Andela, we awarded 33K scholarships. Since launching last year, 35 startups have graduated from Launchpad Accelerator Africa, and they’ve created 385 jobs& raised $19-million. #GoogleforNigeria pic.twitter.com/r1XHtR7XI3

— Google in Africa (@googleafrica) July 24, 2019

We are committing $4 million from @Googleorg to support youth empowerment, gender equality and agriculture, alongside piloting new initiatives to power the social impact ecosystem and promoting research on what the future of work looks like for African youth. #GoogleforNigeria pic.twitter.com/qDGlwDqtaE

— Google in Africa (@googleafrica) July 24, 2019

The new features and products were unveiled by some key staff who came from different regional offices to attend the event. Research Scientist and Head of AI in Accra, Moustapha Cisse took the stage to announce how the use of Artificial Intelligence can tackle the challenges faced in Africa.

We also aimed to train 60 startups over 3 years with our Launchpad Accelerator Africa program. Since launching last year, 35 startups have graduated, and they’ve created 385 jobs and raised over $19-million. #GoogleforNigeria pic.twitter.com/VFY9kaTAcT

— Google in Africa (@googleafrica) July 24, 2019

Online Safety Curriculum for Safer Internet

Paul Nicholas, Director of Trust & Safety announced that Google partnered with the Nigerian Educational Research & Development Council (NERDC), Public and Private Development Center and the Nigerian government to develop an online safety curriculum for students. The initiative aims at reaching 56 million students every year and will be piloted by September 2019.

Today we’re honoured to announce that, in partnership with the Nigerian Government, an online safety curriculum will be made available to all Primary and Secondary school students in the country; reaching an estimated 56 Million Nigerian students every year. #GoogleforNigeria pic.twitter.com/gYvKjonFqg

— Google in Africa (@googleafrica) July 24, 2019

New Features on Google Maps

The new features were announced by Ramesh Nagarajan, Director/Product Manager for Google Maps and Jeff Albertson, Senior Product Manager for Google Maps.

Streetview – to give you imagery recognition of streets in Abuja, Benin, Enugu, and Ibadan.
Motorcycle Mode – a dedicated travel mode to provide directions and navigation for the many motorcyclists in Nigeria, Benin Republic, Ghana, Togo, and Rwanda.
Nigerian Voice Navigation – to assist you with navigation instructions in a Nigerian voice for both motorcycle and car modes
Traffic Tab – this new feature will be added in a few months to help you find the fastest routes on the map

Today we excited to announce a dedicated travel mode to provide directions and voice navigation for motorcycles in Benin, Ghana, Rwanda, Togo and Uganda well as transit informations for Danfos in Nigeria on Google Maps. #GoogleforNigeria pic.twitter.com/4csRFqN02X

— Google in Africa (@googleafrica) July 24, 2019

Smart Photo Editor and Organizer

Ben Greenwood, Product Manager of Next Billion Users announced the launch of Gallery Go app, the smart and lightest photo gallery that is designed for people who do not have a reliable internet connection. It helps you organize, edit, optimize photos and only requires 10mb to download! He also announced that Assistant will be made available next week, on Google Go app.

Reading Tools

Nitin Kashyap introduced the Google Lens feature and Bolo App for reading. Google Lens has been added to Google Go to help people read, translate and source for words by simply scanning overusing their cameras. The feature was launched in Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba.

Bolo is a speech-based reading app that helps kids learn how to read in English. Children would be able to get customized feedback, play games and read local stories book to improve reading capabilities. The apps are now available in Ghana and Nigeria.

Arts and Culture

Laurent Gaveau, the Head of Lab for Google Arts and Culture, introduced a project tagged: “Come Chop Bellefull: A Taste of Nigeria.” The new project cuts across generations and geography of the vibrant culture and diverse food in Nigeria.

After the announcements were made, the Global Head of Music at YouTube, Lyor Cohen reinforced commitments to support emerging talents during an interview with Mr. Eazi. YouTube will support 10 emerging Nigerian music artists through the musician’s emPawa Africa Initiative.

The event ended with demo expos of the new features at the Digital Playground.