Microsoft has invested in a $100 million Africa Development Centre (ADC) in Nairobi and another site in Lagos which will be a hub of Microsoft engineers to create its solutions for in cloud services, use of Artificial Intelligence amongst others.
Phil Spencer, the executive sponsor of the ADC and executive vice president at Microsoft, says that engineers are already working on site and the software giant plans to hire 100 full-time engineers by the end of the year – expanding to 500 across the two sites by 2023.
He said that the centre would bring together various partners in the field of academia, government and developers who will help to drive its impact to sectors like FinTech, AgriTech and OffGrid energy.
“The ADC will be unlike any other existing investment on the continent. It will help us better listen to our customers, develop locally and scale for global impact, Mr Spencer said.
Michael Fortin, corporate vice president at Microsoft and the lead in establishing the first ADC engineering team in Nairobi added that ADC would create opportunities for engineers to do meaningful work from their home countries.
The software giant is also partnering with local universities to create a modern intelligent edge and cloud curriculum which will enable students to build a meaningful career in data science, AI, mixed reality, application development amongst others.
Recently, Microsoft partnered with Strathmore University to launch AI for Good series which is aimed at boosting awareness around the new frontier that AI will bring to Kenya.
