Microsoft is preparing to close its Africa Development Centre (ADC) in Nairobi, putting about 400 engineering jobs at risk and threatening to end a seven-year effort to build a major software engineering operation in Africa.
Employees were informed of the planned closure on October 12, that the changes could leave fewer than 10 of the centre’s roughly 400 employees at ADC. The proposed changes under its global restructuring had affected its Kenyan engineering department but did not explicitly confirm that the entire centre would close.
The reported move follows the closure of Microsoft’s Lagos engineering centre in Nigeria in May 2024. The two facilities were established in 2019 under a planned $100 million investment to develop African engineering talent and build products for Microsoft’s global business.
From Nairobi and Lagos to a single remaining hub
The ADC was announced in May 2019, with Nairobi and Lagos selected as its two engineering locations. The company planned to hire 500 engineers across the centres by 2023.
The Nairobi operation initially worked from Microsoft’s existing offices before moving into dedicated premises at Dunhill Towers along Waiyaki Way in March 2022. The Lagos centre opened its dedicated offices at Kings Towers on Glover Road, Ikoyi, during the same month.
At the Nairobi opening, the firm said the centre had grown to more than 450 full-time employees working across software engineering, machine learning, data science, infrastructure and research. By December 2022, Microsoft President Brad Smith had said the company employed more than 500 engineers in Nairobi and more than 200 in Lagos.
The Nairobi centre’s teams worked on Microsoft 365, identity systems, Windows and devices, Microsoft Security and developer tools. The facility also housed Microsoft Garage and the Microsoft Africa Research Institute.
In June 2022, Catherine Muraga, formerly an engineering leader at Stanbic Bank Kenya, succeeded Jack Ngare as managing director of the centre. TechMoran reported the appointment.
Microsoft closed Lagos in May 2024
Microsoft confirmed on May 8, 2024, that it had decided to close its Africa Development Centre in Nigeria, approximately two years after the Lagos facility opened.
“Microsoft has decided to close the Africa Development Centre in Nigeria, and as a result some of our employees based in Nigeria will be impacted,” a company spokesperson told Reuters.
The company attributed the decision to organisational and workforce adjustments. It did not publicly disclose a definitive number of employees affected.
Microsoft said its wider Nigerian operations would continue and that the Lagos decision would not affect the Nairobi engineering centre.
TechMoran reported the Nigerian closure on May 9, 2024. At the time, Nairobi remained Microsoft’s principal dedicated engineering hub in Africa.
The reported Nairobi closure would follow that decision by more than two years, leaving both original ADC locations facing shutdown after the company’s initial expansion into African product engineering.
Nairobi engineers worked on global products
The Nairobi centre supported engineering work across Microsoft’s international product portfolio, including Microsoft 365, identity systems, Windows and devices, Microsoft Security and developer tools.
Its teams worked on technologies used by customers and businesses around the world, giving Kenyan engineers access to global product development without relocating to Microsoft’s major engineering centres elsewhere.
The Nairobi facility also housed the Microsoft Africa Research Institute, which focuses on research in areas including artificial intelligence, machine learning and human-computer interaction. Microsoft has not clarified whether the reported engineering changes will affect the institute or Microsoft Garage.
The scope of the proposed changes remains unclear. Microsoft has not publicly disclosed the final number of affected employees, a closure date or whether some staff will be transferred to other teams or locations.
Kenya government discusses jobs with Microsoft
Information, Communications and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo met a Microsoft delegation on October 12, the day employees were reportedly informed of the planned closure.
The delegation was led by Jeff Bullwinkel, Microsoft’s vice president and deputy general counsel for corporate, external and legal affairs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Kabogo said he had raised concerns about protecting jobs at the Nairobi engineering centre, retaining local technology talent and sustaining investor confidence.
The discussions also covered artificial intelligence adoption in government, digitisation of public services, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure and digital skills development.
Kabogo said Microsoft had reaffirmed its long-term commitment to Kenya. The ministry and the company were expected to develop a joint action plan following the meeting.
Microsoft said it would continue operating in Kenya and supporting customers across the region. It has not publicly specified how many employees will be affected by the proposed engineering changes, when they will take effect or whether staff will be transferred to other teams.
Wider Microsoft investment in Kenya
The reported engineering shutdown comes after Microsoft and Abu Dhabi-based technology company G42 announced a planned $1 billion investment in Kenya in May 2024, covering digital infrastructure, cloud services and skills development.
The initiative included plans for a data centre and expanded cloud capabilities. Microsoft has not announced that the reported ADC changes amount to a withdrawal of those separate investment commitments.
The company has also not clarified whether the Nairobi restructuring will affect the Microsoft Africa Research Institute or Microsoft Garage, both of which have been associated with the engineering centre.
The future of those activities, along with the final number of jobs affected and the timing of the proposed changes, remains undisclosed.