👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Microsoft closes a Window in Nairobi

Microsoft is shutting down its Nairobi engineering center after seven years, putting around 400 jobs in jeopardy. This move comes as part of the tech giant's global restructuring efforts. Microsoft had initially opened its Africa Development Centre in Nairobi and Lagos in 2019, pledging more than $100 million to nurture African tech talent.

The goal was to have local engineers develop products for global markets, rather than limiting the African offices to sales and customer support roles. By 2022, the Nairobi center employed over 450 engineers, surpassing Microsoft's original hiring target ahead of schedule. The company, however, has not disclosed the exact number of employees who will be affected by the closure.

Kenya's ICT minister, William Kabogo, met with a Microsoft delegation on Monday and confirmed that the company had briefed him on its evolving operations. They have agreed to develop an action plan, but it remains unclear if this plan will alter the outcome of the shutdown.