Google, through its philanthropic organization, Google.org, has announced that it will be committing $1 million in charitable grant funding to support programs helping women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. This coincides with the global celebrations of International Women's Day on 8 March 2022.
Google has said the announcement of the charitable funding is part of a series of new initiatives aimed at supporting women-owned businesses.
“Research shows that 58% of small and medium-sized business (SMB) entrepreneurs in Africa are women. Despite this, women-run businesses show, on average, 34% lower profits than those run by their male counterparts. They are also less likely to receive funding and investment. This is why we are announcing a series of initiatives today, aimed at providing the support women need to grow their businesses,” said Mojolaoluwa Aderemi Makinde, Head Brand and Reputation, Africa - Google.
In addition to the funding announcement, Google has also announced #LookMeUp, a campaign to showcase women entrepreneurs and tell their stories.
These stories feature women like Vivian Nwakah in Nigeria, who launched Medsaf, a pharma supply chain solution to help Nigerians get access to quality pharmaceutical health care services, Mary Mwange, CEO and founder of Data Integrated who is driving innovation in the mobile payments sector in Nairobi, Kenya, and Mosa Mkhize in South Africa, who launched Origins Publishers to provide her children - and others like them - with books in their home languages.
“Google is also providing free tools to support women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and has launched an intensive program to drive the discovery of women-owned businesses through Google Business Profiles,” said Makinde.
For more details and information, and/or to register for the #LookMeUp events, visit lookmeupevent.com.
— By Tefo Mohapi
