Google announced on Tuesday the launch of the Google Impact Report, a report conducted by Public First research agency, that looks at how Google products (Search, Play, Maps,YouTube, and Google Ads) help people, local businesses, content creators, and developers in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Around the world, Google releases Impact Reports which are based on public polling, economic modeling and third party data. The report estimates that Google drove EGP 11.2bn in economic activity in Egypt in 2021.
“In the last couple of years, Covid-19 has helped accelerate some pre-existing trends such as the rise of e-commerce, the shift towards remote working, and the use of online tools to support lifelong learning. In our research, people and businesses across the Middle East told us how important Google’s tools and services had been in enabling them to adapt to these changes: helping small businesses start to sell online, supporting workers to collaborate better online and children to keep learning,” said Jonathan Dupont, Partner at Public First.
Commenting on the report, Hisham El-Nazer, Google’s Country Manager in Egypt, said: “We’re happy to see how people, businesses, content creators, and developers in Egypt used our products like Search, YouTube, and Maps, in their own way to grow and innovate in the face of adversity and change over the last few years. We’re deeply committed to investing and doing more in Egypt this year through programs and local partnerships, whether to help individuals gain necessary skills to grow, or support businesses with tools and mentorship to scale successfully online.”
The Google Impact Report in Egypt explores the impact of Google products in 2021 across three areas: people, businesses, and economy. Below are the key findings:
Helping people in Egypt
- 71% of people used Google Search to find the latest Covid-19 public health information
- 54% of parents (with children under the age of 12) used YouTube Kids to support their children’s learning
- 77% and 58% of people used Google Search to learn a new skill and find a new job opportunity, respectively
- Every month, an average of 11 million women use Google Search to look for a new job
Helping businesses in Egypt
- 45% of people used Google Maps to find a local business
- 49% of businesses reported an increase of customers coming from online search or search advertising in the last two years
- 56% of online businesses said that Google Workspace was essential in enabling remote working. Google Workspace is a collection of cloud computing and collaboration tools like Google Drive, Gmail and Meet
Driving economic activity in Egypt
This section of the report, which combines Public First research and Google internal data, looks at Google’s contribution to creators, developers and publishers. It found that:
- Google drove an estimated EGP 11.2bn to the economy in Egypt in 2021
- Every year, the Android developer ecosystem supports at least 85,000 jobs in Egypt
- YouTube channels making 6 figures or more in revenue are up by 55% year over year [Google Internal Data – 2021]
- The total number of developers making $10,000 per month on Google Play grew by 22% [Google Internal Data – 2021]
In October 2020, Google announced a $13bn fund to help one million people and businesses in the Middle East and North Africa learn digital skills and grow their businesses by the end of 2021. The program aims to accelerate the MENA region’s economic recovery through digital transformation, by offering digital tools, training and financial grants to support local businesses and job seekers.
