Google is Moving in East Africa

Guest post by: Erik Hersman
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Google is Moving in East Africa - By Erik Hersman

7 Month old Google Kenya is starting to interact with the local hackers and devs. Just this Tuesday they sponsored the local Tuesday Skunkworks event, giving some of their thoughts on Kenya specifically. My friend, and fellow Kenyan blogger, Bankelele was in attendance and took notes.

Google Kenya

Highlights. Google is…

* Mapping Kenya
* Partnering with the largest mobile carrier (Safaricom) and giving free email accounts to all subscribers
* Partnering with universities to make inroads with their web-based office applications and associated services
* Encouraging local content providers to get online (ex: NTVKenya on YouTube)
* Fighting for more bandwidth for all Kenyans
* Working with legislatures to create the right atmosphere to get the right internet infrastructure

Read the rest, and get more detail, on Bankelele’s blog.

It’s interesting to see how Google continues to look at new markets and move ahead in them, without any real profit there yet. Meanwhile, their main competition on the global level on the web (Yahoo!), doesn’t. Interestingly enough, Yahoo has had the mindshare and marketshare in East Africa, but didn’t capitalize on it. They basically left the door open for Google to come in and steal it all away… and they are.

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Google is Moving in East Africa - By Erik Hersman

About the Author: Erik Hersman

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Erik Hersman is a rising international technology influencer with a keen eye on the impact of Web 2.0 advancements in the U.S. and his finger on the pulse of technology innovation across Africa. An avid blogger Erik writes four different technology blogs including: AfriGadget; WhiteAfrican; African Signals; and Realty Thoughts. When he is not blogging Erik serves as VP of strategy and marketing at eppraisal.com an online real estate site providing on-demand access to home valuations, real estate professionals, home inspectors and appraisers. In this position he is responsible for marketing implementation, partner strategy and consumer evangelism. Raised in Sudan and Kenya, Erik brings unique energy and insight to the world of technology – bridging the gap between Africa and Silicon Valley. Erik can be seen speaking around the world at recognized conferences including the TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania and Inman’s Real Estate Connect.
Click here to visit Erik's website.

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