SAN FRANCISCO: The government and Google have announced a strategic collaboration to create inclusive growth opportunities for more Malaysians and homegrown companies in the fast-growing digital economy.

The collaboration brings both parties together to help businesses of all sizes advance their digital competitiveness through upskilling programmes, investments in digital infrastructure, responsible innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud-first policies, Google said in a statement yesterday.

“This latest commitment by Google, aimed at accelerating local innovation and talent development in the field of AI, will certainly boost the nation’s digital competitiveness, in line with the Madani Economy framework and the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030),” Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday.

The Madani Economy framework aims to increase the size of Malaysia’s economic pie, as well as ensure that all stakeholders – particularly the Malaysian public and small businesses – will enjoy the ensuing socio-economic benefits, he said.

Google said the latest initiatives were built on its investments in Malaysia over the last 12 years.

In 2022 alone, the company’s products and programmes supported more than 47,900 jobs and also contributed, directly and indirectly, an estimated US$2.8bil in economic benefits to local businesses.

“The partnership we are announcing with the government of Malaysia aligns Google’s local mission of Advancing Malaysia Together with the government’s goal to create a supportive ecosystem for innovation that includes more meaningful and equitable job opportunities,” said chief financial officer for Alphabet and Google Ruth Porat.

To provide Malaysians from all backgrounds with more training opportunities, Google Cloud, CloudMile and Trainocate are making five digital learning paths available at no cost.

“Accessible through the Go Cloud programme – which aims to upskill 300,000 Malaysians by 2026 – the learning paths consist of online courses to help individuals better apply generative AI, data analytics and cloud-based productivity tools.”

People who complete the five learning paths will earn digital skills badges that they can share on their resumes and extended 30-day access to more learning paths at no cost. — Bernama