Microsoft and G42's $1 billion Kenya data centre project is unlikely to proceed
Updated
Updated · Semafor · May 6
Microsoft and G42's $1 billion Kenya data centre project is unlikely to proceed
3 articles · Updated · Semafor · May 6
President William Ruto said the planned site near Nairobi would need about 1,000MW, roughly a third of Kenya's 3,000MW installed capacity, making it unworkable.
Officials said the National Treasury also withheld approval for a concept note needed to unlock funding, and by August 2025 Microsoft and Kenyan officials knew the original May 2026 target would slip.
The stalled project dents a flagship US-Kenya tech tie-up and highlights infrastructure limits as Nairobi seeks $38 billion for energy expansion, even as Kenya's wider data-centre market is still expected to grow strongly.
As a $1B data center stalls, can Kenya's green energy grid power its 'Silicon Savannah' ambitions?
Was the Kenya data center doomed by energy limits or by unrealistic promises made at a global summit?