Key highlights
- As part of initiatives to mark this year’s International Women’s Day, UK-Nigeria Tech Hub and Google are collaborating to empower women founders.
- Through the collaboration, $3 million will be in Google Cloud credits to women founders in Nigeria.
- The support will subsidize cloud technology-related costs for startups, allowing them to focus on innovation, customer acquisition, and growth.
The UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, which is a significant component of the UK government’s broader Digital Access Program (DAP), has recently revealed its collaboration with Google for Startups Africa.
As part of this partnership, the two organizations will be providing $3 million in Google Cloud credits to women founders in Nigeria. This initiative aims to support and empower women entrepreneurs in Nigeria who are running technology-based startups.
This support will subsidize cloud technology-related costs for startups, allowing them to focus on innovation, customer acquisition, and growth.
The joint effort by UK-Nigeria Tech Hub and Google for Startups Africa is expected to help promote digital inclusion and jointly support technology businesses run by women founders.
Support for women founders
Speaking on the collaboration, at an event to commemorate International Women’s Day, Country Director, UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, Justina Oha said:
- “We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with Google for Startups, which comes at a time when the world is celebrating International Women’s Day. This partnership is a testament to our commitment to supporting women founders and helping them reach their full potential. Partnerships like this are one of the great ways that stakeholders can come together to advance Nigeria’s tech ecosystem at an accelerated pace.”
Head of Startup Ecosystem Google Africa, Folarin Aiyegbusi, while speaking on the collaboration, said:
- “We are excited to partner with the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub to empower women entrepreneurs in Nigeria. This collaboration is a unique opportunity to provide women founders with the support and resources they need to scale their businesses and contribute to the growth of Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. At Google for Startups, we are committed to supporting startups and entrepreneurs around the world, and we believe that empowering women founders is key to building a more diverse and inclusive tech industry.”
In case you missed it
Earlier this month, Google announced 15 startups for the inaugural Google for Startups Accelerator Africa: Women Founders Cohort, including 3 from Nigeria. This was also part of several initiatives to mark the 2023 International Women’s Day.
Google said the programme aims to empower women entrepreneurs in Africa and provide them with the resources they need to succeed.
The 3 startups from Nigeria are Alajo App, a digital piggy bank for the underbanked and non-smartphone users in Africa; Maxibuy, a cooperative inventory procurement and financial services platform for bulk buying merchants of consumer goods in Nigeria; and Tyms Africa, a startup that offers instant microcredit for microenterprises in Africa, powered by ROSCA.