From Google search to YouTube, Maps and other Apps, Google is used by millions of Nigerians every day, however, these apps have mostly operated with little to no local touch that address peculiar needs of the local users. Even the voice used by the Google assistant (globally), is a Western accent many people in places like Nigeria struggle to understand, but today, this has changed, along with other locally contextualized revisions, some featuring in Nigeria before anywhere else in the world, and more are expected to follow.
The newest improvements to some Google Apps announced at the Google for Nigeria event today, have revealed what appears to be a conscious effort by the Tech Giant to make purpose-built apps for Africa’s most populous nation.
Most striking perhaps, is the popular Google Maps used by commuters to locate places they are not familiar with, and more important for many users in traffic prone cities like Lagos, for estimating traffic and avoiding it when possible. However, considering the bulk of current users of Google Maps are driving themselves or being chauffeured, the newest update in Google Maps targets the millions of daily commuters who use public transportation.
Google for the first time, has introduced a new mode for motorcycles popularly known as ‘Okada’ in Nigeria, using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to calculate travel estimates (a feature currently only available for vehicles). The motorcycle mode will now be available in Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, and Rwanda.
Working with Road Preppers, a Nigerian tech start up that is said to have mapped all the roads in some cities including Lagos, Accra, and Nairobi, Google has also included a feature which allows users taking public transportation to find routes to their destinations. It shows them bus stops (by local and colloquial name), as well as traffic estimates for the commercial buses popularly known as “Danfo”.
Millions of man-hours are lost commuting in traffic prone cities like Lagos, and with an efficient mapping system, individuals would be able to commute faster and better utilize their time.
Samuel Adeloye, founder/CEO of Road Prepper, who wouldn’t disclose the financial value of his partnership with Google, citing confidentiality told BusinessDay that data from ‘Lara’ a platform he created and already used by over 300,000 users has now been integrated into Google maps, to provide the localized transport and routes information.
Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Kaduna, Accra, Nairobi are cities that have currently been mapped by the platform, with all of these data now integrated into Google Maps. For instance, with these a user can through the App, know what Buses to take when going to a place, the bus stops to alight, and the connecting vehicles to take; either for Okada, Danfo, Keke or other public transport modes mostly used by the average Nigerian.
If you wanted to get from point A to B, you could use Google Maps, Adeloye explained, but an estimated 80 per cent of commuters use public transport. In developed countries, information on public transportation is often available for commuters, but not in Nigeria where public comminuting is predominantly run by informal transit and information on travel time/directions is rather unreliable.
“Every day, people in Nigeria, Africa and around the world turn to Google for help,” said Juliet Ehimaun Chiazor, Google Nigeria country director. “We hope that the products and updates we’re announcing today will make Google even more helpful for fueling people’s hustles and getting things done.
“We remain committed to bringing the transformational power of technology to everyone in Nigeria and Africa as a whole,” she said.
According to Ramesh Nagarajan, Google’s director of Product Management, apart from the Google Map updates capturing Nigeria’s informal transport routes, ‘Street view’, which has been accessed over a million times in Lagos is now launching in Abuja, Benin, Ibadan, and Enugu, to further improve accessibility and mapping of locations across Nigeria. Also, the voice assistant used particularly during navigation, can now be set to one with the “Nigerian English”, localising for the first time anywhere in the world, the digital assistant used on the Google platform.
“Technology does not have all the answers but it can play a critical role in improving our lives in Africa,” said Moustapha Cisse, head of the Google Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Lab in Accra, Ghana. “We need to build systems that are fair, align with the values of society and make decisions we can understand.”
At the core of the advancements being made at Google are Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and as Cisse explained, an important aspect of Google’s mission is to ensure the deployment of AI and ML in Africa, to contribute to the education of young Africans to use this technology. Furthermore, putting the knowledge and skills to build intelligent systems in the hands of people who have these challenges, so that they can solve their problems on their own.
Google, through its collaboration with local developers in Nigeria, says its working to build a self-sustaining ecosystem that can develop solutions fit for the continent, and good enough for the rest of the world.
Other announcements made today apart from navigation instructions in a Nigerian voice for both motorcycle and car driving modes, include Gallery Go, Google Go updates, Google Lens and Bolo, and a Nigerian culinary experience from Google Arts and Culture. Google has also partnered with the Nigerian Government to make an online safety curriculum available to all primary and secondary school students in the country, reaching an estimated 56 million Nigerian students every year.
