EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY FOR TIES WITH GOOGLE?

East African Community Secretary General Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko has appealed to Google to set up base here so as to catalyse digital development within this regional bloc of six nations.

Amb. Mfumukeko made the appeal when he visited Google Inc. - the multinational technology giant whose services; including its popular search engines - Gmail, Google Map and YouTube - are popular consumer online meeting places across Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and South-Sudan, all of them enjoined by the EAC.

“I have negotiated with Syracuse University and Google Inc. to set up innovative parks in the EAC region … specifically for development and transfer of the latest technologies,” Tweeted Amb. Mfumukeko from the United States.

The EAC is headed for a population of 170 million residents; Tanzania and Kenya are the most ‘digitally’ developed countries in the region, followed by Rwanda. Already a household name in East Africa, Google became the first to provide a live view of Gombe National Park right from the satellite mapping.

Two years ago, this giant American multinational specialising in Internet-related services and products, had toyed with the idea of suspending hot air balloons across Africa, transforming the entire continent into a large ‘hotspot,’ so that all residents could enjoy “free and faster Internet connection.”

Other services include online advertising technologies, the popular search engine, cloud computing, software, Electronic Mail, Online Videos, Maps and hardware.

Founded in 1998 by Mr Larry Page and Mr Sergey Brin - both alumni of the Stanford University in California, Google recently started developing ‘self-drive’ cars, the first technology house to take that stride.

Its partner in the academia, Syracuse University, is on the other hand, a 150-year-old private research university with a large campus in the heart of New York State; it offers recognised programmes in information studies and library science, architecture, communications, business administration, inclusive education and wellness, sport management, public administration, engineering and incorporates the College of Arts and Sciences.

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