Kenya’s Digital Future Brightens as Construction of East Africa’s Largest Data Centre Starts

Kenya’s digital future is bright as construction of East Africa’s largest Data Centre by Nxtra Airtel Africa starts in Tatu City.

Once completed in the first quarter of 2027, the facility with a capacity of 44MW is designed to meet the latest infrastructure requirement for cloud and Artificial Intelligence (AI) services to strategically position Kenya as a Continental technology hub.

In his keynote address, the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy H.E. Hon. William Kabogo Gitau said the project is both historic in scale and strategic in impact, “this facility will mark a new chapter in Kenya’s digital transformation journey.”

“We know that data centres are the digital heart of modern economies. For Kenya, this translates into continuity for businesses, stronger security for data, and the ability for enterprises to scale without heavy capital expenditure. It also establishes a stronger foundation for innovation — in financial technology, healthcare, education, agriculture, and public services,” noted the CS.

CS Kabogo stated that The Government of Kenya has set out a clear roadmap for digital transformation through the National Digital Master Plan (2022–2032). The Plan emphasizes digital infrastructure, digital government, digital business, and digital skills.

Furthermore, the CS remarked, Kenya Cloud Policy (2024) is focal in ensuring Kenya is a Cloud-First Nation, keen to promote data sovereignty, residency, and localisation, while enhancing cyber security, cost efficiency, and scalability.  He alluded that facilities like the Nxtra Airtel Africa Data Centre directly enable this transition by providing secure and scalable cloud infrastructure.

In addition, he pointed out that Kenya has launched its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, which seeks to responsibly harness AI to drive productivity, innovation, and competitiveness. Further adding that the Data Centre, designed to host AI and HPC workloads, is perfectly aligned to provide the computing backbone for AI-driven solutions in healthcare, agriculture, education, manufacturing, and public administration.

The CS explained that the project will advance the Government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), “It will underpin digital inclusion, support innovation-driven enterprises, and enhance Kenya’s role in the digital economy. Data centres are the enablers of the invisible infrastructure that makes e-commerce, e-health, e-learning, and digital trade possible.”

“Kenya is determined to serve as the gateway to Africa’s digital economy. It is through such partnerships between government and the private sector that we will deliver on BETA whilst aligning with continental and global ambitions such as the AU Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals,” the CS added.

In his remarks, Nxtra Africa CEO, Yashnath Issur termed the investment in the Data Centre as part of Airtel Group long-term commitment to Africa’s digital future.

“By building specialized data center capacity that meets long term digital growth requirement in main markets, we are positioning Nxtra Africa as the Go To partner for cloud and AI workload hosting with a view to power businesses, supports governments, and unlocks new opportunities for communities across the region,” added Yashnath Issur.

He noted that Nxtra by Airtel Data Centre is being built to the highest global standards, ensuring reliability, scalability, and energy efficiency.

On his part, Airtel Kenya Managing Director, Ashish Malhotra, said the Nxtra Data Center project is a major milestone for Kenya’s digital economy, “this facility goes beyond infrastructure. It reinforces Kenya’s continuing leadership in Africa’s digital revolution by improving data sovereignty, security, and efficiency.”

“Once operational, it will attract global tech players, create jobs, lower the cost of digital services, and make it easier for Kenyan companies to grow, while Kenya strengthens its place as a regional hub for technology and innovation. We believe also it will create a new portfolio of services that will maximize the benefits of AI and cloud,” he stated.

The groundbreaking marks a major milestone in Airtel Africa’s strategy to strengthen the Continent’s digital backbone, democratize cloud services and support the exponential growth of data services across Africa.

Article by Galgallo Fayo and Evalyne Githinji.