The UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, in collaboration with Google, has announced a $3 million prize in Google Cloud credits to Nigerian women tech innovators to help and discount technology-related expenditures for African firms.
In honour of International Women’s Day in March, the two groups co-hosted an event in Lagos on March 25 that brought together women founders, investors, and ecosystem stakeholders.
“We are happy to announce our collaboration with Google for Startups, which coincides with International Women’s Day around the world.” Justina Oha, Country Director, UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, stated.
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Advancing Women in Technology
The British High Commission Senior Press & Public Affairs Officer Ndidiamaka Eze said the award aims at encouraging women to focus on innovation, customer acquisition, and growth, as well as help promote digital inclusion.
“This support will subsidize cloud technology-related costs for startups, allowing them to focus on innovation, customer acquisition, and growth.”
“The joint effort by UK-Nigeria Tech Hub and Google for Startups Africa will help promote digital inclusion and jointly support technology businesses run by women founders.” He said.
The event will help women founders understand the technology funding landscape and position themselves to secure funding for their startups.
“This partnership is a testament to our commitment to supporting women founders and helping them reach their full potential. Partnerships like this are one of the great ways that stakeholders can come together to advance Nigeria’s tech ecosystem at an accelerated pace.” Country Director, UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, Justina Oha said.
Head of Google Africa, Folarin Aiyegbusi also expressed excitement at the partnership, describing it as a unique opportunity for women to contribute to the growth of Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.
“We are excited to partner with the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub to empower women entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
“This collaboration is a unique opportunity to provide women founders with the support and resources they need to scale their businesses and contribute to the growth of Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.
“At Google for Startups, we are committed to supporting startups and entrepreneurs around the world, and we believe that empowering women founders is key to building a more diverse and inclusive tech industry.” she said.
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Uk-Nigeria Tech hub and Google collaborative mission
The UK-Nigeria Tech Hub is an initiative of the UK government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sports (DCMS) to support the growth of Nigeria’s Technology ecosystem by promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the tech sector, which will lead to increased trade and investment in the long run.
Google’s purpose is to organise global knowledge and make it accessible and helpful to everyone. Google, the most well-known and frequently used search engine, has influenced billions of people worldwide through platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Chrome, and YouTube.
The company launched the ‘Women Founder’ programme through its ‘Google for Startups Accelerator,’ which aims to bring the best of Google’s expertise, products, people, and technology to women-led tech startups up to Series A stage that are based in Africa or are developing Africa-centred technology solutions
The programme offers content and mentorship customised to the specific needs of female founders, as well as networking opportunities with our worldwide female founders community.
Remember that Google announced 15 women-founded firms for its inaugural accelerator earlier this month?The chosen women entrepreneurs will receive business and technical training, as well as mentoring and investment networking opportunities, as part of Google’s long-standing strategy to empower women in business in Africa.
The 15 selected firms are from eight African countries and are using innovation and technology to create solutions that improve people’s lives and communities.