Ramaphosa: Africa driving digital solutions, hosting Google Cloud

President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered an address at the first Google Cloud Summit on the African continent and welcomed Google’s latest investment in South Africa announced at the Summit.

• Announcement / Event details: President Ramaphosa said Africa has broken the cycle of “digital catch-up” and positioned the continent to imagine, test and scale digital solutions; he welcomed Google’s latest investment in South Africa, announced at the first Google Cloud Summit on the African continent held at the Sandton Convention Center on Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
• Background / context: The statement notes South Africa hosts approximately 70 percent of the continent’s hyperscale data center capacity, Cape Town is ranked the third-highest startup ecosystem in Africa, and the government (through Operation Vulindlela) is coordinating the creation of a comprehensive digital public infrastructure to support digitalisation, financial inclusion and public service delivery.