Google CEO Sundar Pichai has announced the company will invest $1 billion in Africa over the next five years.

Pichai made the announcement at the company’s first Google for Africa event. Google sees momentum building across the continent, with startups taking the lead adopting innovative technologies and strategies to tackle real-world problems.

As Pichai highlights, this momentum will only build in the coming years.

This momentum will only increase as 300 million people come online in Africa over the next five years. Many of them are young, creative and entrepreneurial, and they’re ready to drive new innovation and opportunity across the region.

The Google CEO made it clear that investing in Africa’s technological future was something deeply personal to him.

Expanding opportunity through technology is deeply personal to me. That’s because I grew up without much access to it. Every new technology — from the rotary phone to the television — changed my family’s life for the better. That’s why I’m a technology optimist. I believe in how people can harness it for good.

The $1 billion investment will be spread out over the next five years and will cover digital transformation in four areas:

• Affordable access and building products
• Assisting businesses with digital transformation
• Investing in entrepreneurs, especially ones working next-gen technologies
• Supporting nonprofits focused on improving lives

https://youtu.be/GJw_gOAnAtE