Join our community of traders FOR FREE!

  • Learn
  • Improve yourself
  • Get Rewards
Learn More

Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Wednesday that it intended to invest $1 billion in Africa over the upcoming five years in order to facilitate access to fast and cheaper internet service and to support the continent’s digital transformation.

The announcement was made during a virtual event where Google launched an Africa Investment Fund, through which it intends to invest $50 million in startup companies, while granting them access to its employees, network and technologies.

By collaborating with non-profit organization Kiva, Google will also provide $10 million in low interest loans to support small businesses and entrepreneurs in countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa during economic difficulties resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Today I’m excited to reaffirm our commitment to the continent through an investment of $1 billion over five years to support Africa’s digital transformation to cover a range of initiatives from improved connectivity to investment in startups,” Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer of Google and Alphabet, said.

Alphabet shares closed higher for a second consecutive trading session on NASDAQ on Wednesday. The stock went up 0.86% ($23.5) to $2,747.1, after touching an intraday high at $2,757.0. The latter has been a price level not seen since September 28th ($2,792.1).

Shares of Alphabet Inc have risen 56.81% so far in 2021 compared with a 16.17% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2020, Alphabet Inc’s stock went up 31.03%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 16.26% gain.

TradingPedia.com is a financial media specialized in providing daily news and education covering Forex, equities and commodities. Our academies for traders cover Forex, Price Action and Social Trading.

Related News

  • Norway’s manufacturing production rebounds in MayNorway’s manufacturing production rebounds in May Manufacturing production in Norway was reported to have increased at a monthly rate of 1.3% in May, while rebounding from a revised down 5.5% drop in April.Production rebounded for most components:- textiles, wearing apparel & […]
  • Gold trading outlook: futures fall a sixth straight day ahead of US Payroll numbersGold trading outlook: futures fall a sixth straight day ahead of US Payroll numbers On Thursday gold for delivery in December traded within the range of $1,113.30-$1,119.00. Futures closed at $1,114.20, falling 0.12% on a daily basis and marking a fifth consecutive trading day of losses. On Wednesday the commodity slumped to […]
  • Brent circling around $100Brent circling around $100 Brent oil plunged after OPECs meeting in Vienna on May 31 where leaders decided to not change the 30 million barrels per day output ceiling. Further pressure on oil prices, both Brent and WTI, was put by disappointing economic data from China […]
  • Soft futures mixed, robusta falls for a fifth day amid amply supply prospectsSoft futures mixed, robusta falls for a fifth day amid amply supply prospects Soft futures were mixed on Thursday with sugar,cotton and arabica coffee on the green side, while robusta coffee and cocoa marked losses.On the ICE Futures U.S. exchange, arabica coffee traded 0.80% higher on the day, standing at $1.2298 a […]
  • Forex Market: USD/RUB daily trading forecastForex Market: USD/RUB daily trading forecast Yesterday’s trade saw USD/RUB within the range of 41.358-41.815. The pair closed at 41.700, gaining 0.77% on a daily basis.At 7:27 GMT today USD/RUB was up 0.39% for the day to trade at 41.909. The pair broke the first key daily resistance […]
  • US approves Rhode Island’s $1.5 bln offshore wind farmUS approves Rhode Island’s $1.5 bln offshore wind farm The US Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council on Thursday gave final nod to the construction of a $1.5 billion offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island.Known as Revolution Wind, the project is expected to generate a […]