South African company scores a R35.94 million payday from Google

This grant will help WeThinkCode empower 12,000 learners in South Africa and Kenya with critical AI skills for the rapidly evolving job market.

Established in 2015, WeThinkCode is a registered non-profit company (NPC) and public benefit organisation (PBO) which offers tuition-free, aptitude-based training.

Its business model operates across the youth development value chain, identifying young people with a high aptitude for coding.

These recruits are then rigorously trained over 16 months and placed in jobs as software developers at some of South Africa’s most reputable and innovative companies.

Since taking in its first cohort in 2016 in Johannesburg, the academy has grown notably, expanding to Cape Town in 2018 and Durban in 2021.

Now, WeThinkCode offers a proven curriculum at public technical vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in South Africa.

Training is delivered across five campuses, including Ekurhuleni West College and Central Johannesburg College.

Most students participating in the academy’s tech training come from low-income households. 30% of WeThinkCode students come from low-income households earning less than R350,000 per annum (around R29,167 per month).

Another 60% of WeThinkCode students come from extreme low-income households, earning less than R75,000 per annum (around R6,250 per month).

The Google-funded program will run through 2026 and features two distinct AI training streams.

The first, “AI for software engineers,” will train 6,000 aspiring and early-career engineers in essential AI-powered programming tools and workflows, enhancing their technical capabilities.

The second, “AI for non-tech careers,” will empower another 6,000 students and junior employees from diverse sectors such as legal, education, and health.

Students will learn to integrate AI seamlessly into their daily administrative tasks, significantly boosting efficiency, productivity, and employability.

Google invests billions in Africa

This isn’t the only investment Google has made into skills development in Africa. In 2021, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that the company would invest $1 billion (R18 billion) over five years in digital transformation on the continent.

Earlier this year, at the launch of the company’s Johannesburg cloud region, Google’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa President Tara Brady spoke about the opportunities for AI investment in Africa.

According to Google, their infrastructure investment in Johannesburg will create 300,000 jobs and contribute R1.7 trillion to the South African economy by 2030.

Stats SA’s Q1 2025 Quarterly Labour Force Survey revealed that the country’s official unemployment rate was 32.9%.

Youth unemployment is even more pronounced. South Africans aged 15-24 have an unemployment rate of 62.4%, a climb of more than 10% compared to Q1 2025.

Brady explained that a “large chunk” of the $1 billion investment was targeted towards the cloud region. It is also aimed at skilling people in Africa and aiding tech startups in the area.

“I do believe that when you have a large number of organisations willing to invest in training, you could leapfrog many other countries and become an AI leader.”

South Africa’s minister of communications and digital technologies, Solly Malatsi, also emphasised the importance of these skilling initiatives in the country’s vision of a digital future.

“We know that infrastructure alone is not enough. True digital transformation requires that all South Africans have access to the tools and, most importantly, the skills to participate meaningfully in the digital economy,” Malatsi said.

“We look forward to working with Google to explore how we can collaborate in advancing digital skills development, thereby ensuring that this investment has both economic and social impact.”

Issued on Daily Investor by Kirsten Minnaar | https://dailyinvestor.com/technology/90695/south-african-company-scores-a-r35-94-million-payday-from-google/