Web giant taking the initiatives

Besides the core online advertising business, here are some initiatives that Google’s Dubai office is working on:

Supporting Arabic content on the internet

From apps to online video and e-books, Google is playing its part in encouraging more Arabic content on the web. There are now more than 10,000 books in Arabic on the Google Play store, and the amount of Arabic content uploaded online grew by 40 per cent last year. A designated YouTube studio is opening later this year in Dubai Studio City, which will support the production of more Arabic videos.

Getting historical landmarks on Google Maps and Street View

Google has captured five major landmarks in the region on Street View – Burj Khalifa (2013), Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi (2014), Giza Pyramids (2014), Liwa desert in Abu Dhabi (2014) and Petra (2015). It has also put the first Street View trekker on a camel. Google has captured street-level imagery of six emirates except Abu Dhabi.

Building digital skills for the future

Google has an ongoing coding programme, Computer Science First, in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Education Council. More than 200,000 pupils have so far taken the basic coding class in schools. They also have an innovation hub in Ras Al Khaimah.

Mentoring start-ups

Google launched an Entrepreneurs Tech Hub in 2014 with Astrolabs, supporting 80 start-ups from 46 nationalities. Last year, more than 4,000 entrepreneurs were trained at Astrolabs.

Empowering women on YouTube

Female content is one of the fastest-growing specialisms on YouTube in Mena, growing by 75 per cent last year. Google recently launched a YouTube hub called Batala, (a female hero in films), to promote female-led content.