Google Wallet will soon arrive in South America as part of a $1.2 billion investment commitment

Within the framework of the IX Summit of the Americas, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, announced a commitment by the company to contribute US$1.2 billion over the next five years in the region. The company seeks to promote economic recovery, after the crisis left by the pandemic, with the digital transformation in Latin America.

“I always thought that technology is a great enabler and has a unique ability to help people access new opportunities. Digital transformation can bring a lot to Latin America, a region where the pandemic hit very hard and where closing the digital divide is key to an inclusive recovery,” Pichai said.

Thus, among others, the commitments assumed by Google for the next 5 years include:

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Via press release Google He specified that he will base his commitment to the region on four pillars. What are they specifically about?

digital infrastructure

Google wants to lay the foundations and the necessary infrastructure to prosper as a region. The company has had a presence in Latin America since 2005 and has constantly invested in technical infrastructure to improve access to services such as Search, Gmail and YouTube, as well as Google Cloud.

In recent years, the company significantly expanded its presence and invested in projects such as submarine cables (Curie, Tannat, Monet), new regions for Google Cloud, infrastructure dedicated to cloud services (in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Santiago, Chile), and the expansion of its data center in Quilicura, Chile. These investments also include future projects such as the Firmina submarine cable, projected to launch in 2023, which will connect North and South America across the Atlantic Ocean.

All these projects seek improve the availability and quality of Google services in the countries of the region, including Peru. Going forward, the company’s Cloud regions will help more organizations accelerate your digital transformation and build on long-term growth.

Also, part of the announced commitment will go to increase the engineering team in Brazilwith a focus on essential areas, such as privacy and securityas well as in the creation and development of better products for the region and the world.

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Training in talent and digital skills

Google He promised to train more people in digital skills to promote quality employment. Through the “Grow with Google” program, the company has already trained almost 8 million people since 2017.

Added to this are the “Google Career Certificates”, a series of courses created in recent years that offer, to people from different social sectors, key competencies in high-demand fields, without the need for a university degree or previous experience. With the commitment announced today, the granting of 1 million scholarships for Career Certificates is expected.

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entrepreneurial ecosystem

the company wants support the development of new businesses and promote innovation and entrepreneurship. When the company opened the Google for Startups campus in Brazil in 2016, there were no unicorns (companies valued at more than $1 billion) in the region. Today, 13 of the 35 unicorns that Latin America has were part of the programs promoted by Googleand in 2020, the region posted a record $15.3 billion in startup funding.

Google for Startups Accelerator LATAM, for its part, already links dozens of early-stage companies with expert mentoring and advice. Among some of the notable participants who went through the program are Ualá, Ripio, ComparaOnline and TiendaNube.

With investment, resources and training, Google supported to date more than 450 startups in Latin Americawhich created 25,000 jobs and have raised more than US$9 billion in investments.

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Inclusive and sustainable communities

Through Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, the company has supported organizations such as Laboratoria in Peru, the Colnodo Association in Colombia, the Instituto Rede Mulher Empreendedora in Brazil or, more recently, Pro Mujer in Central America. These organizations work to Bringing the benefits of digital transformation to underserved communities.

The company will seek to continue helping build more inclusive and sustainable societies in the region. Google.org will award US$300 million between monetary contributions (US$50 million) and advertising credits (US$250 million) to support Latin American non-profit organizations focused on areas such as sustainability and the creation of economic opportunities for youth, women and underrepresented groups.

Part of these donations will go, for example, to Pro Mujer, which will help companies led by women in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to access training and microcredit. Donations will also support organizations working to reduce carbon emissions in the Amazon rainforestamong others.

Source: Elcomercio

James

I have worked as a journalist for over 10 years and have written for various news outlets. I currently work as an author at 24 News Recorder, mostly covering entertainment news. I have a keen interest in the industry and enjoy writing about the latest news and gossip. I am also a member of the National Association of Journalists.