Google is hungry for content and it appears Africa is a goldmine for it.
In Nigeria, the internet became available in the late nineties. According to a paper delivered at an ICT conference by Ndukwe (2005)1, in December 2000 there was only one licensed mobile line operator, no connected digital mobile lines, 18 operating internet Service providers (ISPs) and only 200,000 internet users in Nigeria. By 2004, this had grown to 4 licensed mobile line operators; 3.8million connected digital mobile lines, 35 operating ISPs and 1.5million internet users. According to the Internet World Statistics2, in June 2010 there were, 6 licensed mobile line operators, over 75million mobile subscribers, 400 operating ISPs and almost 44million internet users.
And with some 90million people in Nigeria alone gearing to join the connected world by 2012 (many more if you count mobile phones) and massive internet connectivity moves underway, it will only get better.
The truth is this: whoever will conquer Africa’s super information highway will win, big.
Google seems perceptive enough to be making huge plays in this area and I believe it will win. I know it will win. I really want it to win.
But for some reason I think they are going too slowly and this is the reason: they are ignoring the importance of hardware.
Source: Afrinnovator News
