Google‘s first West African executive Juliet Ehimuan has announced her departure from the company. Ehimuan, a prominent figure in the African tech industry and a key player in Google’s growth in Africa, made the announcement on LinkedIn. She expressed her intention to take on a broader role within the regional tech landscape, collaborating with corporate executives, global investors, African governments, and startup founders to drive growth, excellence, and digital transformation in the African tech ecosystem and the broader business landscape.
Prior to joining Google in 2011, Ehimuan held positions at Shell, Microsoft in the UK, SI Consulting, and CHAMS PLC. In April 2011, she was appointed as Google’s country manager for Nigeria. In this role, Ehimuan represented the company in business development projects and partnership opportunities in the region. During her tenure, she oversaw the launch of YouTube.ng, a platform equivalent to YouTube that allows Nigerian multimedia and video content creators to showcase their work. Under Ehimuan’s guidance, Google also engaged in capacity building in Nigeria by providing training to developers, students, and businesses on app development, online advertising, and access to global information repositories.
During her 12 years as Google’s director for West Africa, Ehimuan achieved numerous accomplishments, driving the introduction of innovative products and services to enhance Nigeria’s online ecosystem. Google Nigeria’s strategy focused on increasing internet access, facilitating local content creation, and developing capacity. Notably, Google supported local businesses through programs like “Get Nigerian Businesses Online” and collaborated with Nigerian content creators to promote their films, music, arts, educational materials, news, sports, and more on YouTube.
Ehimuan emphasized the importance of local content creation and highlighted the Digital Business Manager program, which assists businesses in their online journey. Through partnerships with local entrepreneurs, Google monetized content on YouTube and helped businesses tap into the export market. Ehimuan recognized the opportunities provided by the internet for entrepreneurs to build business models based on content creation, online publishing, and e-commerce, connecting with a global customer base.
Overall, Ehimuan’s departure from Google marks the end of an era, as she leaves behind a legacy of driving Google’s initiatives and contributing to the growth of the African tech ecosystem.
