Technology giant Oracle has announced plans to open a new public cloud region in Nairobi, Kenya later this year.
The move comes after Oracle executives met with President William Ruto and ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo this week to outline proposals for the new cloud facility. It is Oracle’s latest investment aimed at accelerating digital transformation across Africa.
President Ruto welcomed the announcement, saying: “I am excited to see major technology companies like Oracle investing in Kenya and bringing state of the art technologies like AI and cloud applications that will benefit Kenyan citizens, especially in creation of jobs.”
The Nairobi facility will become Oracle’s latest data centre globally providing its full suite of cloud services, including computing, storage and networking.
Mr Owalo said it would be “a key component” of the government’s digital strategy, supporting public sector modernisation, businesses and startups.
“We are delighted to extend our commitment to helping Kenya accelerate the digital transformation of its government and private sector,” said Scott Twaddle, Oracle’s senior vice president for cloud infrastructure.
Oracle said it would also leverage Kenya’s green energy supplies and extensive broadband infrastructure to power and connect the Nairobi site.
The move builds on Oracle’s existing presence in Africa, including its Johannesburg cloud region. It aims to meet rapidly growing demand for cloud services across the continent.
Mr Twaddle said Oracle’s cloud architecture was already used by governments and companies globally “as a scalable and secure platform for mission-critical workloads on which to drive innovation and transformation”.
Rishon Chimboza of the Tony Blair Institute welcomed the investment in Kenya’s digital future.
“Cloud infrastructure means more people can access education, opportunities, and unleash the business potential that without technology could not happen at scale or at speed,” he said.