Microsoft Plans Closure of Nairobi Engineering Centre Amid Global Restructuring
The company said it would continue operating in the country, retaining employees and supporting customers across the region. It also acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the proposed changes, stating that discussions with affected employees were ongoing and would remain private.
Microsoft employees at its Africa Development Centre (ADC) in Nairobi were informed on Monday, 12 October, of plans to close the engineering centre, according to a source who spoke to CIO Africa.
Microsoft described the move as part of broader global organisational changes affecting its engineering operations in Kenya. The company said it would continue operating in the country, retaining employees and supporting customers across the region. It also acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the proposed changes, stating that discussions with affected employees were ongoing and would remain private.
The development comes amid a wider restructuring at Microsoft that has resulted in workforce reductions across several parts of the business, including its African operations. However, the company has not explicitly confirmed whether the Nairobi engineering centre will close.
On the same day, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, William Kabogo, met with a Microsoft delegation led by Jeff Bullwinkel, the company’s Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Corporate, External and Legal Affairs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The delegation also included Microsoft’s East Africa team, headed by Angela Ng’ang’a.
Following the meeting, Kabogo said he had emphasised the need to retain local technology talent, safeguard jobs at the Nairobi engineering centre and maintain investor confidence in Kenya’s technology sector. He added that Microsoft had reiterated its long-term commitment to the country.
Both parties are expected to develop a joint action plan focused on artificial intelligence adoption in government, the digitisation of public services, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure and digital skills development.
Microsoft established its Africa Development Centre to strengthen engineering capabilities on the continent and enable African technology professionals to contribute to products and services used globally. The Nairobi facility became one of the company’s major engineering locations in Africa, alongside its centre in Lagos, Nigeria.
The centres have supported work in software development, cloud technologies, cybersecurity and other areas of Microsoft’s global technology portfolio, while providing African engineers with opportunities to contribute to international product development.
The proposed changes come as Kenya continues to position itself as a regional technology hub, attracting investment in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity and software development. The future of the Nairobi ADC could therefore have implications for local technology employment and the country’s efforts to grow its engineering talent and digital economy.
