Microsoft’s Africa Development Centre (ADC) in Nairobi is reportedly closing its engineering operations. Employees were told of the decision on Monday, 12 October 2026.
CIO Africa first reported the closure, citing an employee source.
Microsoft has acknowledged that its global restructuring has affected its Kenyan engineering department, however it has not confirmed that the entire Nairobi ADC will close. The company says it will continue operating in Kenya and supporting customers across the region.
Microsoft has not said how many employees are affected, given a timeline for the changes, or said whether staff will be offered transfers to other teams or locations.
On the same day, ICT Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo met a Microsoft delegation led by Jeff Bullwinkel, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Corporate, External and Legal Affairs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The delegation also included the Microsoft East Africa team led by Angela Ng’ang’a.
“Microsoft briefed me on its evolving operations in Kenya in the context of its global restructuring. I stressed the importance of retaining local talent, protecting jobs at Microsoft’s Nairobi engineering centre and sustaining investor confidence in Kenya’s technology sector,” said Kabogo.
“I also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to a competitive and transparent environment for investment.”
According to Kabogo, the meeting also covered AI adoption in government, the digitisation of government services, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure and digital skills delivered through universities and other institutions. Microsoft’s support for developing Kenya’s National AI Policy and the country’s innovation ecosystem was also on the agenda.
“Microsoft reaffirmed its long-term commitment to Kenya. The Ministry and Microsoft will develop a joint action plan to take these discussions forward,” he said.
Microsoft announced the ADC in May 2019, with Nairobi and Lagos as its first hubs. It committed US$100 million over five years to build engineering capacity in Africa and develop products for global markets.
The Nairobi centre officially opened in March 2022. Reports at the time put its team at more than 450 full-time engineers and product leaders. Catherine Muraga was appointed ADC managing director in June 2022. Microsoft closed its Lagos ADC in 2024.
The reported closure follows weeks of concern among staff. In late September, Kipkorir Arap Kirui, a former Microsoft senior product manager now at Google, described cases of high-performing employees being placed on performance improvement plans (PIPs) or offered “voluntary” exits. Reports cited six-week improvement periods and alleged restrictions on sharing separation agreements with independent legal advisers.
Kenya’s Employment Act, 2007, sets out requirements for redundancies. Whether those requirements apply depends on the facts of each case, and a PIP or voluntary separation offer does not on its own establish a breach. There is also no evidence so far that the earlier performance decisions were part of a coordinated redundancy process.
The development comes two years after Microsoft and G42 announced a US$1 billion investment in Kenya covering digital infrastructure, including a data centre and cloud services, and skills development. Microsoft has not indicated that the engineering changes affect those commitments.
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