Google is scaling up investment in Africa by laying fibre-optic cable, easing access to cheaper Android phones and training a workforce in digital skills as the US technology giant seeks to expand on the continent.

“We laid about 1 000km of fibre in Uganda and we are busy doing about 1 000km in Ghana,” Google’s South Africa head, Luke Mckend, said in a phone interview. “We want to make sure that we cover all the bases. We want to train people and make sure that they have the devices and are able to connect to the Internet.”

About a million people in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa have been trained by Google over the past year, yet many had to complete their courses with limited Internet access due to unreliable coverage and high data prices, Mckend said.

The Mountain View, California-based company is now turning its attention to Web-focused skills training for small businesses across Africa, he said (see story).

Alongside US competitors including Facebook, Google is seeking to boost connectivity on the continent to prise open a new market for smartphones and services such as web search and social media.

Younger consumers in sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly demanding quicker Internet speeds and cheaper phones to go about their business, while local wireless operators including MTN and Vodacom see the digital space as their fastest-growing market.

Facebook last month said it plans about 800km of fibre cable in Uganda, while CEO Mark Zuckerberg met technology businessmen in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa last year. The company planned to launch a satellite to extend Internet access to rural parts of sub-Saharan Africa, but the plan was scuppered when a SpaceX rocket connected to the initiative blew up in Florida.

Google is running African trials for its Project Loon, which uses solar-powered balloons to connect people in rural or remote places. The company will also provide offline versions of its training courses in languages including Swahili, IsiZulu and Hausa.