Microsoft East African data centre project delayed in Kenya guarantee dispute
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · May 10
Microsoft East African data centre project delayed in Kenya guarantee dispute
3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · May 10
The project involved Abu Dhabi-based G42 and stalled after private talks with the Kenyan government collapsed over annual capacity payment commitments.
Microsoft and G42 had sought guarantees that the government would pay for a set amount of data-centre capacity each year, but officials could not meet the requested level.
The setback affects a major planned Microsoft facility in East Africa, highlighting financing and demand-risk hurdles facing large technology infrastructure projects in the region.
Was Microsoft's billion-dollar Kenya project a tech dream or a diplomatic fantasy doomed from the start?
After losing a $1B data center, how can Kenya power its digital superhighway without shutting off the country?
With Kenya's AI dream dead, is South Africa now the sole gatekeeper to Africa's digital future?