Feature/OPED
Then & Now: 5 Ways Google is Improving Search in Africa
There’s a lot that goes into building a search engine. While it seems simple enough — you type a question, and we find results that match — we’ve taken on many deep, technical challenges to make Google what it is today.
And the reality is that Search is never a solved problem. Old challenges evolve, and new challenges are constantly popping up — because the internet and the world are always changing.
Here are some of the biggest technological breakthroughs we’ve made through the years— and where we’re continuing to push the boundaries of innovation — as we build and improve Google Search.
Delivering quality results
It’s important that we rank information not only based on what’s relevant to your query but also on what’s likely to be helpful and reliable. This insight was what set Google apart from day one: Our PageRank algorithm didn’t just take into account whether words on a page matched. It looked at how sites linked to one another as a clue about which pages were important or authoritative.
We’ve adapted our techniques over the years as the web has evolved, and as technology has improved. For example, with the rise in misinformation, we’ve developed ways to understand if topics might be more susceptible to unreliable content, like conspiracy theories or medical misinformation, and orient our ranking more towards authoritativeness in those moments.
We do hundreds of thousands of quality evaluations every year to make sure we’re meeting our high bar for quality. We’ll regularly make broad updates to our systems, called core updates, as well as more specialized updates, like our helpful content update, to continue to deliver useful results.
There are dimensions of information quality that continue to evolve and require novel approaches. For example, one known challenge is information gaps, also known as “data voids,” in which high-quality information just might not be available. We’ve come up with ways to show notices when topics are rapidly evolving or when we don’t have high confidence in the quality of results, cautioning that people should approach these results with greater scrutiny. We’ve also invested in other information literacy tools that help people check sources and get context to evaluate what they’re finding.
Deciphering meaning
Information understanding — and in particular, understanding the meaning behind people’s queries — has been a critical focus area for Google over the years. Early on, our systems were largely built on simple word matching. But that’s where things like spelling became really important. At the time, if you spelt something incorrectly, you’d only find pages that spelt the word wrong, too! So, we built our first machine learning system in Search to tackle this challenge.
Over the years, our systems have become much more sophisticated, understanding synonyms and the context of words better. Breakthroughs like the Knowledge Graph helped us understand how people, places and things in the world relate to each other — understanding the world more like people do — so we can get you exactly what you’re looking for and even take the next step. For example, searching for the hottest new movie and getting facts about the cast and running time, along with theatres near you and links to buy tickets.
Large language models like BERT, developed by the Google Research team, have helped us take huge leaps forward in deciphering natural language queries so we can deliver more relevant results across languages used around the world. Such models can take learnings from one language and apply them to others, so we can return better results in the many languages that Search is offered in. We’ve built tools like Google Translate to help break down language barriers for people so they can understand more of the world’s information.
The latest generative AI technology and large language models can help us reimagine Search, unlocking new types of questions and transforming the way we organize information. We’re currently experimenting with applying generative AI to our Search experience through Search Labs, and we’re rapidly updating the experience as we explore what’s possible.
Understanding images, videos and more
There’s so much information in the world that isn’t text and so many ways to ask for things that aren’t by typing words into a search box.
By applying the latest developments in natural language processing (NLP) in 2008, we launched the ability to search with your voice, making it more natural to search on mobile. Then, we took voice input a step further with the ability to “hum to search” for all those times when you have a tune stuck in your head but don’t know what lyrics to look up.
In 2015, advances in computer vision made it possible to search what you see with Lens. We turned your mobile phone camera into a way to explore and ask questions about the world around you so you can learn more about that flower or insect you saw while you were out for a walk in your neighbourhood. Today, people do more than 12 billion visual searches every month with Lens.
Last year, we launched multisearch, which advanced these capabilities to allow you to add text to your visual searches. Now, you can do things like take a picture of a couch you like and add the word “chair,” and Google will use the image and word to show you similar pieces to add to your living room set.
Spotting and stopping spam
Anyone who has ever looked into their email spam folder can appreciate all the work that goes into keeping that junk out of your inbox. On Search, we’ve built advanced systems to fight spam in the same way. Without our advanced protections, search results would be clogged with completely irrelevant information, phishing attempts and links to malware.
We constantly develop new techniques and implement updates to our ranking systems to protect against spam. But spam also adapts and evolves, requiring constant attention from our teams.
In recent years, we’ve applied new AI-powered techniques to spam detection, which has helped us keep search results over 99% spam-free. This remains a big area of investment for us: As long as people come to Google looking for information, spammers will be trying their hand at getting around our protections, so we have to stay vigilant and one step ahead.
Making Search safer
Over the years, we’ve maintained a strong commitment to our principles of maximizing access to information while helping people stay safe and in control. We aim to help people find information that’s within the bounds of legal expression while not inadvertently exposing them to low-quality or harmful content that they haven’t asked to see.
We’ve approached this both through expanding our policy protections for people to remove sensitive personal information from our results and through improving our ranking systems with safety and inclusivity in mind.
For example, we’ve launched improvements to reduce unwanted explicit content from ranking highly in Search updates to blur explicit imagery by default, and ranking improvements to limit the reach of sites that use exploitative practices. Meanwhile, we’ve updated our policies so that people under the age of 18 can have images of themselves removed from Search and launched new tools like Results About You to make it easy to control how your personal information shows up in search results.
Billions of people rely on Google for information, so there’s always something more we can do and new questions that we can help people with. That’s why we’re always working to make Search better every day.
Feature/OPED
What Does Nigeria’s $51bn Reserves Milestone Mean if Most New Foreign Money Can Leave Quickly?
Nigeria’s foreign reserves have climbed to about $51 billion, a decade-plus high, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). EBC Financial Group (EBC) notes that this reflects stronger investor confidence, but the second half may show whether it holds, as the build rests on three cyclical drivers: oil earnings, short-term foreign money and a narrowing official-to-street naira gap.
Reserves rose from about $32 billion in April 2024, during a dollar shortage, to about $51 billion now, near the CBN’s target. Much came from two cyclical sources, strong oil earnings and money chasing high-yielding naira assets, so EBC expects the pace to slow or reverse. Fitch Ratings, a major international credit rating agency, expects a marginal decline to about $47 billion by the end of 2026, citing higher spending and external pressures.
David Precious, Senior Market Analyst at EBC Financial Group, said, “Nigeria’s reserve build is real but may not be durable yet, because nearly all of the new money is the kind that can leave quickly. Of the $10.37 billion that came in over the first quarter, the overwhelming majority was short-term portfolio funds rather than long-term investment, so a shift in oil prices, global interest rates or confidence in the naira might pull a large part of it straight back out.”
Most New Money Can Still Leave Quickly
The composition of the foreign inflows explains the caution over how long the build can last. The country attracted $10.37 billion in foreign investment in the first quarter of 2026, up 83.83 per cent year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Of that, $9.86 billion or 95.09 per cent, was portfolio money, largely short-term naira debt such as Treasury bills that investors can sell at the next auction, while foreign direct investment, the long-term kind that builds factories and jobs, was $135.08 million, or 1.30 per cent. Put simply, of each dollar coming in, about 95 cents can leave quickly, and barely one cent stays.
That money supports reserves while it stays. Dollars brought in to buy naira assets add to market supply, letting the CBN hold more reserves and steady the naira. It leaves when conditions change. Nigeria earns most of its export dollars from oil and gas, so lower oil prices mean fewer dollars, and as a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), it cannot simply produce more, output capped by quota and reduced by theft and ageing fields. Higher global interest rates draw money toward safer returns abroad, and a weakening naira prompts investors to sell early. When oil fell in 2016 and 2020, foreign investors withdrew and could not convert naira to dollars as supply dried up, leaving the CBN to clear more than $7 billion in trapped obligations into 2024.
The Oil Boost is No Longer Certain
Oil looked like a dependable source of the dollars behind the reserves only months ago. Earlier in 2026, concern over disruption around the Strait of Hormuz lifted crude prices, and stronger receipts flowed in, with crude oil export earnings of $8.11 billion in the first quarter in the CBN’s balance-of-payments data. That support is now easing. The tension has subsided, and Brent traded near $72 on June 29, down about 24 per cent over the month, back to pre-conflict levels. With the price boost gone and output constrained, reserves are more exposed, leaning on non-oil earnings and investor patience rather than oil.
The Naira Still Trades at Two Prices
The naira has traded at two prices, an official rate and a higher parallel-market rate, and closing that gap into one trusted price is what many investors might watch most. Before committing funds, they may want assurance they can convert naira to dollars at a fair rate when they exit, and a wide gap revives the fear of being trapped that lingers from earlier shortages. The gap has narrowed to roughly N20 to N30, with the CBN’s official rate near N1,380 per dollar on June 26 against parallel-market quotes around N1,400. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) 2026 Article IV review urged Nigeria to depend less on this fast-moving portfolio money and to keep phasing out its multiple exchange-rate practices. The CBN’s Foreign Exchange Manual, in force from 1 June, is intended to make the market clearer, though such rules build confidence only once investors can freely trade dollars at the posted rate.
What could Make the Build Durable
A few signs that may show the build turning durable include a smaller gap between the official and street naira rates, more long-term foreign investment, and steadier oil earnings. A gap that stays small, now roughly N20 to N30, may mean investors trust the official rate and no longer need the street market. A clear rise in foreign direct investment, only $135 million last quarter against $9.86 billion of short-term money, might mean lasting capital is replacing funds that can leave at the next auction. Oil earnings that hold up, rather than sliding from the low $70s, should help keep reserves steady, since oil and gas bring in most of Nigeria’s export dollars.
“Reserves built on money chasing high yields can fall as fast as they rose, as they did after the last two oil shocks, when investors left, and the CBN spent years clearing a foreign-exchange backlog,” Precious added. “What holds through a downturn is slower money, direct investment, steady oil and non-oil export earnings and one credible naira rate, and that is the shift Nigeria has yet to make.”
By Olajumoke Bello
Across Nigeria, small and medium enterprises remain the backbone of economic activity. They drive trade, create jobs, and sustain millions of livelihoods. Yet, despite their importance, many SMEs continue to operate below their full potential due to persistent structural challenges.
Access to finance remains one of the most cited constraints. However, the issue today goes beyond the availability of capital. Many businesses struggle with financial readiness, weak documentation, and limited understanding of what lenders require. This often leads to missed opportunities, even when funding options exist.
At the same time, SMEs face gaps in market access and visibility. Business owners operate in highly localised environments, with limited exposure to broader networks that can unlock partnerships, new markets, and growth opportunities. This isolation can constrain scalability and reduce long-term competitiveness.
Equally important is the capability gap. Many entrepreneurs grow through resilience and experience but lack structured knowledge on critical areas such as financial management, export readiness, and digital adoption. Without this, even well-capitalised businesses can struggle to sustain growth.
These challenges point to a clear need for a more practical and integrated approach to SME support. It is no longer sufficient to offer standalone solutions. SMEs require ecosystems that combine knowledge, access, and direct engagement in ways that reflect how they actually operate.
A key shift is the move from centralised interventions to localised engagement. SMEs are deeply influenced by their immediate environments, whether markets, industrial clusters, or trade corridors. Solutions must therefore be brought closer to where these businesses function, allowing for more relevant support and stronger relationships.
Another important shift is from awareness to action. Business owners do not only need information; they need insights that they can apply immediately. This includes understanding how to structure their finances, how to access trade opportunities, and how to connect with the right partners to scale their operations.
There is also a growing need for continuity. Many SME-focused initiatives deliver strong initial impact but lack follow-through. For support to be effective, it must extend beyond one-off engagements into sustained relationships, with clear pathways for onboarding, advisory, and growth.
For financial institutions, this presents both responsibility and an opportunity. Supporting SMEs now requires moving beyond transactional banking to deeper partnership models. It requires understanding businesses at a granular level and co-creating solutions that evolve with their needs.
At Stanbic IBTC, this perspective continues to shape our approach to SME development. Our focus is on delivering practical support that translates into real business outcomes, helping enterprises grow, compete, and contribute more meaningfully to the economy.
As part of this commitment, we are extending our SME engagement to the regions through the Nigeria Business Summit Regional Tour. The tour will take structured, on-ground activations into key commercial hubs, where SMEs can access funding guidance, trade insights, advisory support, and direct engagement with financial experts.
The regional tour will take place across five strategic locations, bringing these solutions closer to business owners in Aba, Onitsha, Ibadan and Kano.
This approach reflects an important principle. When support moves closer to businesses and when solutions are delivered in ways that are practical and continuous, SMEs are better positioned to grow sustainably. In turn, this strengthens not only individual enterprises but the broader economy.
Olajumoke Bello is the Head of Enterprise Banking at Stanbic IBTC Bank
By Winston Osuchukwu
The average Nigerian borrower is widely considered high-risk – a claim repeated in credit committees, priced into retail loans, and largely treated as settled fact. Every credit market accepts that an individual loan may not be repaid; this is ordinary, priced risk. The high-risk claim, however, is applied to whole segments – the informal trader, the gig economy earner whose income is steady but split across several accounts, the remote worker paid by an overseas client into a fintech FX wallet. What the assessment establishes is not whether they are likely to repay, but how they fit into an arbitrary segment. Having spent years building decisioning systems for this market, my thesis is a specific one: “high-risk” does not mean “no credit” – it simply requires that the lender embrace alternative datasets to price the risk appropriately.
This is not a criticism of the institutions that built their frameworks around collateral and documentation; those were rational responses to the tools available at the time. When data is scarce, prudence means defaulting to the status quo. The limitation is not that this approach is wrong, but that it leaves a blind spot – excluding fundamentally sound borrowers whose economic lives simply are not captured on the bank’s ledger. A market trader who has moved consistent, growing volumes of cash through mobile money for three years is not, in any meaningful sense, unknowable. Their financial behaviour is observable and patterned; it simply occurs outside the traditional banking system, rendering it invisible to conventional underwriting.
This is the gap technology is now positioned to close – not by replacing institutional judgment, but by augmenting it. When AI-driven analysis is applied rigorously to the financial behaviour these borrowers generate, a far more complete picture of their repayment ability emerges – and a meaningful share presents a risk profile that compares favourably with segments the traditional system has long considered safe. The “high-risk” label, applied broadly to an entire category of borrower, was never a risk pricing tool so much as the limit of what the available tools could see.
For banks, this is the opportunity to extend capital with confidence beyond the borrowers who fit their stringent criteria. Nigerian banks are highly liquid; the constraint on credit growth has rarely been capital, but the ability to assess and price the borrowers who sit outside the traditional file. Close that gap, and the whole ecosystem strengthens: banks grow their loan books into segments they have long wanted to serve, and the real economy gets the capital it needs to expand.
This is precisely what we focus on at Mathesis Analytics: building AI-powered credit decisioning that gives lenders a fuller, more defensible picture of the individuals long excluded as high-risk when they were simply misjudged. The Nigerian credit gap has never been a non-lendable population problem, but one of incomplete visibility. By unifying varied data sources and partnering with the institutions that hold the capital and scale to move the market, we translate out-of-ecosystem behaviour into reliable, bank-grade risk scores. Closing this gap is one of the clearest, highest-leverage opportunities in Nigerian financial services today.
Winston Osuchukwu is the founder & CEO of Mathesis Analytics
