Google has
announced the expansion of African language accessibility across its platforms
and a $5.8 million commitment towards AI education. Speaking on these
developments, Matt Brittin, President of Google Europe, Middle East, and
Africa, shared that the new initiatives will enable more Africans to harness
digital tools and connect online in their native languages, while the education
investment will empower workers and students with essential skills in
artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
To create a
more inclusive web experience, Google is introducing 15 additional African
languages to its Voice Search, talk-to-type on Gboard, and dictation on Google
Translate. This expansion is part of an ongoing effort to make digital
technology accessible in the languages people speak every day. Google’s
technical program, led by the Google Speech and Research team in Accra, is
using advancements in artificial intelligence and multilingual speech
recognition technology to convert spoken words into text. This approach trains
AI models to recognize and transcribe speech sounds based on language patterns,
similar to how children learn languages.
This latest
update will allow around 300 million more Africans to interact with the web
through voice, which is often a more intuitive mode of communication. Google
already supports text typing in over 200 African languages on Gboard and offers
translation for more than 60 languages on Google Translate. The voice-input
features have been extended to 12 additional languages on Gboard and Voice
Search, bringing the total to 25, while Google Translate now includes voice
input for 13 more languages, totaling 22.
The new
languages available on Voice Search and Gboard talk-to-type include Chichewa,
Hausa, Igbo, Kikuyu, Nigerian Pidgin, Oromo, Rundi, Shona, Somali, Tigrinya,
Twi, and Yoruba. Additionally, Google Translate has expanded its voice input
support for languages like South Ndebele, Swati, Tswana, and more. This
substantial addition reflects Google’s commitment to creating digital tools
that speak directly to African users, accommodating their linguistic diversity
and making the web more accessible.
Complementing
this language expansion, Google.org has committed an additional $5.8 million to
foster AI skills and digital education across Sub-Saharan Africa. This funding
aims to equip workers, students, nonprofit leaders, and the public sector with
foundational AI and cybersecurity skills, providing them with the tools they
need to thrive in an increasingly digital economy.
Part of this
commitment includes a $1.5 million grant to the Data Scientists Network
Foundation, which will develop programs to train unemployed and at-risk
Nigerians in essential digital skills, particularly in data and artificial
intelligence. Working in collaboration with organizations such as the Raspberry
Pi Foundation and Young Scientists Kenya, the program will prioritize youth in
Nigeria and Kenya, offering AI literacy education that can help bridge the
digital skills gap across the continent.
Google’s recent
contribution builds on the foundation set by its prior $20 million in economic
opportunity initiatives for Africa. The Grow with Google program trained over
6.5 million Africans in 2023 alone, supporting them in building careers and
businesses in the digital era.
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
