Google has announced that over 500 000 young Africans have been trained on digital skills under its Digital Skills Africa program.

In a statement released to the media, in April Google committed to train one million people across the continent on digital skills within a year and has, six months later, reached the halfway mark. The announcement was made alongside the launch of its online training portal for Africa - https://digitalskills.withgoogle.com/.

According to Google its online portal offers 89 courses in three languages.

Says Google South Africa country director Luke Mckend, "Although 500 000 people have acquired digital skills since we launched the program six months ago, there are people across the continent who are unable to attend face-to-face training sessions and who want to acquire digital skills in their own time, from their phone or computer. The online portal will make it possible for them to take advantage of the free digital skills training program."

The portal, which offers online courses on a wide range of digital subjects, including web analytics, social media management and mobile marketing, will be available in English, French and, in the near future, Portuguese.

"We're excited that over 500 000 people in Africa have acquired digital skills through our program and we're grateful to every organisation that has partnered with us to make it happen. But we're only half way towards our goal. As we mentioned when we launched the program in April, we want anyone in Africa to be able to access digital skills training. Through this new online portal, more people will be able to gain the skills and knowledge to help them build and grow businesses and find and create new jobs," comments Mckend.

Google stipulates that the Internet continues to be a key engine of growth for business in Africa and globally, with estimates putting its total GDP contribution in Africa at US$300 billion within the coming decade.

"Although Africa's online population, which is currently estimated at 340 million, is said to have grown by a rate of over 7 000% since 2000, the continent is yet to enjoy a corresponding increase in the size of its Web economy. In April 2016, Google announced its commitment to train 1 million people in Africa on digital skills with the aim of helping more young Africans access and create web-based jobs, and contribute to the growth of Africa's digital economy," the company adds.

Back in April Google stated that by 2020 there will be half a billion internet users in Africa, presenting an opportunity for African businesses and digital entrepreneurs.

The global firm states that youth unemployment across Africa is high (35% in South Africa, 17% in Kenya, 13% in Nigeria) - developing digital entrepreneurship and creating new job opportunities for young people is critical to Africa's transformative growth. But digital skills are still under-developed, making it harder for African economies to get the most out of the web.