Google Nigeria on Wednesday announced the winners of the debut edition of the Google Impact Challenge in Nigeria.
The winners include, The Cece Yara Foundation, HelpMum, Project Enable Africa and Vetsark.
In 2017, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a $20 million commitment from the tech company to empower nonprofits to create impact in their communities across the African continent.
The Google Impact Challenge Africa 2018 kicked off in May through an open call to provide $6m in grants to 36 grantees (nonprofits, social enterprises, ecosystem builders) in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.
Three out of the four winners, The Cece Yara Foundation, HelpMum, Project Enable Africa were chosen by the judges, while the final winner, Vetsark, was chosen by the general public.
In a statement signed by Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Googles’ Communications and PR Manager, West Africa, “all four winners will receive $250, 000 each, while the eight runners up will each receive $125 000.
“The funding will be allocated in tranches, to be assigned to each enterprise as they reach a set of predefined milestones specific to each venture. In addition to the funding, the winners and runners up also receive support from Google to reach their goals and meet those milestones,” he said.
Google Country Director in Nigeria; Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor at the event also said, “Many African innovators are doing great work with real impact and Google is keen to shine a light on their work, and also give a financial boost to their projects and ideas.
“We believe technology can help local and national organisations to better reach their goals and solve some of the continent’s most pressing challenges, and Google is eager to provide support to individuals and organisations using technology in new ways to make a positive difference.”
