Google announced today the launch of Google Partners Academy, a program designed to support web professionals and agencies that help businesses succeed online. The program is part of the company’s effort to build an ecosystem to help small-to-medium businesses maximize their potential from the internet. Many small businesses in Egypt rely on web professionals and agencies to manage their online presence and their online marketing. Google is invested in helping agencies and web professionals receive the training and access to resources necessary to help their clients succeed on the web.
Tarek Abdalla, Head of Marketing for Google in MENA, said, “With the launch of Google Partners Academy, we are rolling out a more comprehensive partner program which will help our agencies to scale their efforts and offer small medium businesses the most advanced and latest technologies. We are making it easier for agencies to access Google resources, training, and support all in one place.”
Research globally shows that small businesses with high digital engagement are two times more likely to be growing revenue and earn two times more revenue per employee. These SMBs will not only have better business outcomes but can be economic powerhouses that will create new jobs for the country. However, past research shows that only 7% of Egyptian SMBs have online presence and that more than two-thirds of small businesses in Egypt don’t have websites, which means that they are missing out on substantial economic benefits.
Abdalla added: “Small businesses in the region are missing a great economic opportunity by not embracing the web and reaching out to customers online. Online advertising can provide small businesses with the same advantages that large companies have long had.”
With Google Partners Academy, partners can have an easy path to certification via free Google exams, more access to Google experts and agency peers through the Partners community, and sales and marketing toolkits.
Around 80% of small businesses in Egypt are not taking advantage of the potential the internet offers and how it can help grow their business. Abdalla added: “We want to show small businesses that don’t use the internet about its value – we need to raise awareness, show them the return on investment, and how they can use the internet to get more of their time back to actually run their businesses.”
