For the second year running, Google will host G-South Africa, a two day web and mobile conference for tech savvy entrepreneurs and developers in South Africa. With fresh content, a strong focus on strategy, and more hands-on sessions, G-South Africa 2.0 will take place at the Turbine Hall, Newtown, Johannesburg on 3rd and 4th November.

 

Over 800 business people, marketers, entrepreneurs, engineers, and web developers will gather at the event, together with over 30 Google experts from around the globe, to discuss the future of online business and web application development, and receive training on Google’s products.

 

G-South Africa represents Google's commitment to driving the web forward in South Africa and across the continent, and highlighting the business opportunities presented by the internet. Businesses will have the opportunity to explore the huge benefits of cloud computing, and learn how to integrate internet-based tools to run their businesses.

 

The business tracks and hands-on workshops at G-South Africa will help businesses develop a digital strategy to boost growth by improving and monetising their online presence, growing their customer base and tracking their performance.

 

A dedicated series of sessions will focus on helping publishers and content owners promote and monetise content online. This will include a YouTube partner training session, on the back of local YouTube success stories who are now earning money from their channels, like  Six Pack Factory and Buck Norris.

 

For techies, G-South Africa will focus on Google Chrome, Android, Google Maps, AppEngine and Google Apps. Attendees will have the chance to explore Google’s open source technologies through a combination of tech talks, breakout sessions and codelabs run by engineers from across the globe.

 

There will also be workshops for journalists and news portal webmasters about useful tools for journalism. Key speakers at the event include Nelson Mattos, vice president for Engineering and Product, Europe Middle East and Africa, and Luke Mckend, country manager for Google South Africa.

 

Luke comments: “At Google we’re working hard to get more people online, make the Internet part of everyday life in South Africa and show how the internet can boost the country’s economy, even during prevailing global economic uncertainty. After a very successful event in Cape Town last year, we’re bringing G-South Africa back this November, this time in Jo’burg, with lots of new content. Our Google experts will be on call for diverse group of South Africans to share and discuss the opportunities that the web offers, be it for businesses or web developers.”

 

This conference is the latest in a series of interactive forums and tech days that Google has been holding across Africa since late 2009, aiming to promote innovation and business on the continent.