Google Setting Up a Presence In Kenya

Reader wana forwards the news that Google is establishing a base in Sub-Saharan Africa. What advanced infrastructure exists on the African continent is mostly in South Africa, and a blogger from there speculates on what Google might have been thinking in choosing Kenya over SA.

How will they power this?

[r_jensen11]

When I think of Africa, I think of VERY large areas that, to put it mildly, are miles away from an electrical grid. How does Google plan on powering this? Unless this thing is in Nairobi (which I'm guessing it would have to be,) would they have to use solar power?

On a related topic, maybe Google will actually pay attention to Google Maps for Kenya, and especially Nairobi?

Re:Number one search?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, I don't go around quoting the CIA much, but that's just a religious preference.

I wasn't trolling, it was a poignant joke, modded +2 funny.
Ok, obviously I wasn't anonymous enough for CIA people. Merde.

Google's decision was an economic and political one, though they *probably have more than 1 or 2 reasons.
Sorry to say, I don't think humanitarianism or cultural development are in the top 2. Maybe top 10?

The Q: Is it exploitation to hire capable, hard working people in a developing nation and pay them the minimum wage?

I suppose that depends on who you ask. We'll see what people say in 10 years. If it flops, would google stay?

(So mod unto me, so will I mod unto you) - anonymous coward (the real one)

Re:Why not Kenya?

[ChatHuant]

Possibly but I'd say you are less likley to be murdered in Kenya than South Africa. (...)

I went to a hotel there and we were advised not to walk on the street at any time, night or day.

Well, I've been to Nairobi, and it's quite similar - all homes in Karen and Langata (the rich suburbs of Nairobi) are small fortresses, with alarms, barbed wire, fences and dogs. You see askaris (armed policemen) everywhere in downtown Nairobi, and, when arriving at a hotel, they inspect the underside of your car for bombs. And from what I read, Nairobi and Jo'burg take turns being the crime capital of Africa. Especially lately, because of the war in neighboring Somalia, armed robbery and other attacks have grown a lot.

But except for the crime problem (which is worst in Nairobi), and for the widespread corruption (which you'll find almost everywhere in Africa) Kenya is a great place to visit, and one of the more advanced countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The education levels are fairly high, you see lots of schools everywhere, even in the impoverished countryside areas. So Google's decision to go to Kenya isn't totally unreasonable.

You know what's wierd

[geekoid]

it wasn't until about 10-12 years ago coffee became and indicator of nerd/geek.

until I was 35, almost nobody I knew or worked with drank coffee. I wonder if it is a fallout from the dot com era of everyone working late nighters for start ups.

Life expectancy isn't always a good predictor

[stomv]

of how long you'll live. Why? The skew caused by child mortality. According to UNICEF child mortality statistics [childinfo.org], a child born in Kenya is over 3 times more likely to die before five years old than one born in China, over 4 times more likely to die than one in Mexico. Plus, AIDS infection rates are much higher in Kenya, resulting in more deaths of people in their 20s and 30s.

Are food and water a problem? Sometimes, sure. But, the bigger problems are child mortality and AIDS. That's what's making the life expectancy a paltry 55.

Network security?

[CPE1704TKS]

Will this Kenyan network be on the same corporate network as the rest of the Google offices? If I were a corporate spy and wanted to infiltrate Google this would probably be my point of choice. It's far away from the main headquarters, the society isn't as developed or rich, so if you bribe employees with $10-20k, they would probably let you do whatever you wanted and give you whatever access you wanted.

It's almost a self-fulfilling prophecy though, because if you don't treat the Kenyan employees like full-fledged employees with full privileges, it will probably cause resentment and make them even more likely to take bribes, etc.

I wonder if this is a consideration for them.

a few very good reasons

[RobertLTux]

1 kenya is probably one of the only "green field" areas left NOT on the south pole
2 Google could buy the IT/Infrastructure
3 Built in security (lions and other savan predators)
4 OLPC start node

If youre going to buy a government

[voss]

buy it completely. Google cant afford South Africa...it can probably afford Kenya.

The GDP of south africa is 201 billion, The GDP of Kenya is 17 billion, the Net worth of Google 150 billion.

Re:Number one search?

[the_womble]

I spent several months in Kenya, working on a system for a major financial institution. My experience was:

• Corruption is rife: much worse than in South Asia
• Levels of competence in IT are low
• Ethnic tensions and the huge gap between the rich and the poor make the country unstable
• Violent crime is common, and often really vicious
• Promotion in many organisations is on influence, not merit.
• There is a significant brain drain
• Kenyan fast food is horrible: it makes the big international chains look like beacons of quality

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Politics and stability?

[simong]

Google has to be very risk averse so I can't see them settling in SA. There is an issue around recruitment in that there are quotas that have to be filled by black candidates (not too sure of the details) and there just aren't the candidates to fill the jobs. Many companies work around this by being based in the Maldives or somewhere and hiring in 'contractors' but this isn't a solution for long term operations. In addition, while the general political situation is nowhere near as bad as Zimbabwe, SA's cities are viewed as being increasingly lawless and unstable, something which is also not in Google's (or any big company's) interest. A technologically savvy, cheap, flexible employment base must be a number of ticks on Google's shopping list as well as good infrastructure or potential for good infrastructure, stability and those emolients that bring business in. This could make Nairobi a key location on the communications map.