resident Cyril Ramaphosa opens inaugural Google Cloud Summit in Africa
Google announced five major AI initiatives, spanning research, digital skilling, startup funding, and infrastructure
Google Cloud today hosted its inaugural Cloud Summit in Africa at the Sandton Convention Centre in South Africa, gathering more than 2,500 business leaders, developers, public sector leaders, and partners. Anchored by the central theme, “Building for Africa with Google Cloud,” the summit builds upon Google’s 2025 launch of its Johannesburg Cloud Region. At the summit, Google Cloud launched a number of new initiatives for Africa, including new infrastructure, a new applied AI lab, expanded connectivity to the continent, and other investments in the region.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa opened the summit, stating: “Today’s Google Cloud Summit affirms Africa’s position as a core growth region for the global cloud ecosystem. As we step boldly into the age of artificial intelligence, our aspiration is to anchor South Africa as a catalyst for the continent’s digital ascendancy. By building robust infrastructure to harness this technology, we are doing more than modernising our economy, we are taking a quantum leap into the future.”
At the summit, Google announced five new initiatives that build on its existing $1 billion investment commitment, its recent $37 million AI skills and research funding, and launch of the AI Community Center in Accra last year to advance AI in Africa. The new initiatives fall under the banner of Google’s “Building for Africa” mission, designed to equip Africa’s local ecosystem for AI-driven innovation:
- Building foundational infrastructure: Today, Google announced a new connectivity hub (“Digital Exchange Port”) located in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The first of four connectivity hubs Google committed to delivering to the African continent, this hub will anchor the country as a strategic international switching point, directly connecting the continent to Australia via the Umoja subsea cable, as well as a new subsea route to India, to support African internet connectivity. This is the latest milestone in Google’s ongoing commitment to building strategic infrastructure that boosts economic growth, strengthens resilience, and ensures reliable cloud services across Africa.
- Building Africa’s first applied AI lab: In Ghana, Google AI Futures Fund, Google Research, and leading VC partners are launching Africa’s first applied AI lab. The Google Africa Applied AI Lab pairs African founders with Google researchers and provides early access to Google’s latest AI models. Based at the Accra AI Community Centre (AICC), the Lab supports founders from across the continent in using the latest AI research to address real-world, uniquely African challenges across work, knowledge, creativity, entertainment, and software development – and, in turn, helps support Africa’s first generation of AI-native unicorn startups. Applications are open now and will close on August 31, 2026.
- Building capacity through creative AI education: Google is partnering with The Akuna Group to empower underrepresented creators in Africa. Backed by more than $1 million (R17 million) in Google.org funding, the program delivers AI creative education alongside advanced digital tools. The program’s goal is to equip African creators to tell locally rooted stories in new ways and forge professional advancement pathways.
- Building the talent pipeline with a digital innovation centre: To ensure the next generation is equipped to lead in the AI era, Google’s Economic and Community Development programme and WeThinkCode has committed to build a R3 million digital innovation centre at the George Tabor Campus of South West Gauteng TVET College in Soweto. Once complete, the centre will serve as a scalable skills platform built to reach talent the industry usually overlooks.
- Building the next generation of African founders: On July 21, 2026, Google will open applications for the 2026 South African cohort of its Google for Startups Accelerator. The program will select 15 local startups for an AI-focused curriculum, hands-on mentorship, and non-dilutive, equity-free funding. This fulfills part of Google’s pledge to back 50 African ventures between 2024 and 2028.
James Manyika, Google’s Senior Vice President for Research, Labs, Technology & Society, said, “The AI opportunity for Africa is significant, and Google is committed to doing our part working with Africans to help Africa realize it. Building on our past commitments, we’re making new investments in critical areas: infrastructure, African-led innovation, and education and skill building. From a new Digital Exchange Port in the Eastern Cape to Africa’s first Applied AI lab, we’re harnessing technical progress and building partnerships to amplify and scale Africa’s incredible vibrancy, hustle, and innovation for the world.”
Maureen Costello, Vice President for UK, Ireland, and Sub Saharan Africa at Google Cloud, said: “African enterprises have moved decisively past the initial phases of AI experimentation. Powered by our Johannesburg Cloud Region, which is estimated to contribute $90.6 billion (ZAR 1.7 trillion) in additional gross economic output and support 314,900 jobs by 2030, leading organisations like Vodacom, Discovery, Pepkor, Naspers are establishing the essential framework to build and deploy autonomous agents that solve uniquely African challenges in real-world environments.”
These new initiatives build on Google’s ongoing work across the continent. Recent efforts have included partnerships to co-develop AI tools for early hunger forecasting and crop resilience to guide farmers; funding to support AI-driven startups; and digital skilling through Google Career Certificate scholarships for students in high-learning institutions.
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