Technology: Google Calling Africa

South Africa's smartphone users will now benefit from technology and be able to enter a voice command in Afrikaans and Zulu, as Google wants to extend its reach in this part of the world. It will return written search results via its search engine, using computer and human translators to ensure there is sufficient content on the Internet to make searches in these languages worthwhile. Key to Google's mission is to capitalise on the widespread use of mobile phones, which outnumber desktop computers tenfold. Mobile technology has already given millions of people in Kenya access to banking, and Google recently won a Mobile World Congress award for an 'SMS tips' a service which answers users' texted questions about health or agricultural issues.

The latest technology launch is part of Google's plans to encourage more Africans online and onto its sites such as Gmail, Maps and Chat. Currently, Africans make up 14 per cent of the world's population, with only five per cent as Internet users. A region where literacy is low, Google hopes its new initiative will encourage more people to go online in a way that suits them. Google has pledged to deliver search results in audio in the near future. However, this initiative is not without challenges, as apart from harnessing Africa's many languages, it is the costs...Google's cheapest Android phone in South Africa is R1,399 (£127), which already freezes out the majority of potential users. Plus, Internet access is still unreliable even in the big cities and the average Internet cafe modem struggles to load Gmail and Streetmap.

Etienne Barnard, a linguist expert from North West University, helped build a database of one million recognisable words for each language by finding volunteers to ask common questions. He said, "We see speech technology as the way to cross the digital divide. It's not realistic to expect someone in a far corner of the Limpopo to use web technology but boy they can talk." Barnard's team took the technology to rural areas where many people had never heard of Google and the mixed response they received reflected a general mistrust of technology in African communities. Barnard said, "You have a group of people who are horrified - they see speech as a human thing and don't want to talk to a machine. Then you have a group who are fascinated. They're proud of their language and when a phone responds to them in it. It means they're taking ownership."

The company is still to make a profit in the region and most of the services it offers are free. Denis Gikunda, Google's localisation manager for African languages, said it was happy to play the long game, as once Africa's massive audience is engaged, there's the potential for considerable profit through relevant advertising.

For Africa to succeed in the digital revolution it needs to get more people use the Internet successfully. Google is a company that can make that commitment and should reap other rewards from its African adventure too.

Photo Credit: Kiwanja