In a statement, Alphabet Inc’s Google said, it plans on providing grants worth $1.1 million to help businesses in the Middle East and North Africa towards improvements of their digital skills as well as to get them connected to the internet.

In a presentation, Google said, it will also provide $3 million in loans to thousands of businesses in the region, of which $2 million has been allocated to Egypt, towards its digital transformation.

With people forced to stay at home because of the Coronavirus induced COVID-19 pandemic, the region is seeing an increase in the number of people coming online, according to Arab Monetary Fund.

The pandemic which started in Wuhan, China, has placed 6 million jobs are at risk.

Google plans on improving the digital skills of at least 1 million firms or individuals in the region and get them online by the end of 2021.

Google will also provide $9 million in advertising credits and grants to support businesses and governments in the region.