In a landmark move, Microsoft and G42 announced on Wednesday a comprehensive digital investment package worth $1 billion for Kenya. This initiative, in collaboration with Kenya’s ministry of information, communications, and the digital economy, aims to position Kenya as a digital leader in East Africa.
In collaboration with Microsoft and other stakeholders, G42 will lead the arrangement of an initial investment of $1 billion for the various components of the comprehensive package. One of the Kenyan investment priorities is a state-of-the-art green data center. G42 and its partners will build this data center to run Microsoft Azure in a new East Africa cloud region.
Microsoft and G42 will pursue four main pillars with local partners under the initiative:
- Local-language AI model development and research
- An East Africa innovation lab coupled with broad AI digital skills training
- International and local connectivity investments
- Collaboration with the government of Kenya to support safe and secure cloud services across East Africa.
“This initiative will empower the Kenyan government and communities with robust, secure cloud services and AI capabilities, providing the foundation for a thriving digital economy across the region,” stated Peng Xiao, group CEO of G42.
Sustainable data center infrastructure
Under the agreement, G42, in collaboration with local partners, will design and build a state-of-the-art data center campus in Olkaria, Kenya. The data center will run entirely on renewable geothermal energy and utilize state-of-the-art water conservation technology. Moreover, G42’s data center will run on and provide access to Microsoft Azure through a new East Africa cloud region. It will become operational within 24 months of the signing of the definitive agreements.
“This partnership between two companies and three countries highlights a real opportunity to bring digital technology to the Global South in a safe and secure manner,” said Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft.
Swahili/English AI models
To support national economic growth and development and support Kenya’s unique cultural and linguistic needs, G42 has started work through its data infrastructure in the United States to train an open-source large-language AI model in Swahili and English.
To build on the model and help accelerate research in Kenya, Microsoft and G42 will increase their collaboration and support for local universities through:
- The Microsoft Africa Research Institute
- The Microsoft AI for Good Lab
- The Mohammed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi
- Select universities from Kenya and East Africa
East Africa innovation lab
Microsoft and G42 will also launch and operate an East African innovation lab in Nairobi. This lab will help Kenyan and other East African startups and organizations to develop and implement cloud and AI services.
Furthermore, Kenya’s ministry will continue to expand work with Microsoft and G42 to broaden internet connectivity across the country. In addition, Microsoft will continue to expand its work to bring last-mile wireless internet access to 20 million people in Kenya. Moreover, it will expand this access to 50 million people across East Africa by the end of 2025.
Read: Microsoft bets on AI-driven ‘Copilot+’ PCs to drive strong profit growth
Digital safety, privacy and security
Microsoft and G42 will also work with Kenya to design and operate the new East Africa cloud region as part of a “trusted data zone”. This zone will align with global standards to protect digital safety, privacy and security. With technical assistance and support from G42 and Microsoft, Kenya will establish the new data center as part of this zone. This will allow it to govern data from other countries according to their local laws.
Moreover, Kenya will utilize the new data center and cloud services for governmental and citizen services. It will also provide government support by adopting a “cloud-first” policy like other countries. This will allow it to permit and encourage the government, its agencies, state enterprises, and other local entities to move their data and computing services to the cloud.
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