Dr. Juliet Ehimuan, one of the most prominent African women in tech and an instrumental leader in Google’s regional growth, has announced her departure from the company from today.
The respected figure in the tech industry and key player in Google’s African initiatives announced her departure via LinkedIn at the weekend, stating her intent to take on a broader role within the regional tech landscape.
She unveiled plans to collaborate with corporate executives, global investors, African governments and startup founders to drive growth, excellence and digital transformation within the African tech ecosystem and the broader business landscape.
Ehimuan’s departure marks a significant transition for Google in Africa. During her tenure – first as Country Director for Nigeria and then Director for West Africa – Ehimuan led her team in driving transformative digital initiatives, like the deployment and localisation of key products like Google Maps, Streetview, and YouTube.ng.
This is in addition to the execution of high-priority access projects such as the launch of Google’s public wi-fi service and the landing of Google’s Equiano fibre-optic cable, which runs from Portugal, through West Africa, to South Africa.
Under her stewardship, the Google team across Africa has trained over six million people in digital skills, 100,000 developers in in-depth web and mobile development skills, and empowered over 200 African startups, who have gone on to raise over $1 billion, including some unicorns.
Over the last 12 years, the continent has become increasingly important to Google’s global strategy and a destination for significant investment. Indeed, Google has committed increasing sums to growing Africa’s tech ecosystem – including $50 million for growth-stage start ups through the Africa investment Fund in early 2020 and $1 billion toward Africa’s digital transformation in 2021.
Ehimuan joined Google with a strong background in strategy and technology and her contributions to ICT policy and strategy have been critical. She has been a key player in the development of policies that have fostered investment and infrastructure growth in the Nigerian tech ecosystem.
Her leadership in high-profile committees like the National Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the Presidential Committee that created the national broadband plan in 2019 has been instrumental in shaping the ICT strategy of the region.
Her passion for leadership development and personal excellence coaching will continue to have a global impact through her 30 Days of Excellence program. Based on her book ‘30 Days of Excellence’ published in 2020, this program, which rolled out within Google over the last 18 months, is set to continue its global expansion.
