Technology giant Google has pledged $15 million (nearly Rs 109 crore) to support small and micro enterprises in India in the face of Covid-19 pandemic. The investment is part of the $75 million commitment from Google to help small businesses outside of the US last year.
“In India, we will invest $15 million to support small and micro enterprises across the country and are in discussions with local partners,” the company said in a statement.
In July last year, the company’s CEO Sundar Pichai announced a Google for India digitisation fund through which the company plans to invest Rs 75,000 crore or approximately $10 billion over the next five to seven years to help India go digital.
“We will do this through a mix of equity investment, partnerships and an operational infrastructure ecosystem in India. This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy,” Pichai said during the ‘Google for India’ virtual conference.
Meanwhile, the investment pledged by the technology giant is part of its earlier commitment to support businesses across the globe during Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. The company is likely to spend about $200 million on small Indian businesses ‘generally overlooked by traditional lenders’. The company has overall pledged about $800 million to support similar business across the globe.
“Google has had a special relationship with small businesses around the world helping them scale, innovate and reach new customers. With today’s announcement, we’re proud to help them meet a new challenge accessing the capital needed to recover and build resiliency for the future,” the tech giant said.
