They have tools in google apps for making pages/simple sites, but everything about the call stinks of scam.
> Caller: Twenty one days. We're going to develop the website within twenty one days
When has google ever "developed websites" for independent companies?
Caller: XXXXX, and do you have a gmai account?*
Business owner: yes, I do have a gmail account.
Caller: Kindly give me your gmail account.
...
Caller: ... you will be given a personal password which you can use to log in and make changes in case you want to.
...
Caller: ... For photos, I will give you my gmail account so you can forward to me either the business logo or the photos you feel have nice looking clothes that can attract customers.
Yes, I've cherry-picked some of the transcript, but the point is that these are practices which aren't just against Google's "Do no evil" policy, but would be counter to how they would actually run. For a company like google, with their existing infrastructure, this would just be bad business.Also, why ask for a gmail username, and then say later "Well we'll send you a username and password once we're done". It doesn't make any sense.
Oh well, I assume that at some point, Google will be forced to respond, will give a big "What the hell, guys, this wasn't us", and then everyone will look sheepish for a while until a year later where some blogger will stumble on it again, and try to expose the truth of "google being evil in africa".
And I suspect they aren't, as a company. Even though these were Google employees, as Google has admitted, I doubt they were acting in accordance with anyone sufficiently high up in the corporate hierarchy.
1. Google doesn't offer website creation. 2. Google doesn't charge for low-traffic hosting. 3. Google wouldn't setup your website via email.
They've done a similar action in France few months ago.
The guys who said coming from Google were probably a partner of the operation.
There is much in that transcript which is inconsistent and even contradictory to any available information on the "Getting Kenyan Businesses online" site.