G42 / Microsoft East Africa Cloud Region data centre campus
Also known as Microsoft Azure East Africa Region, G42 Kenya Data Centre
- Status
- Paused
- Location
- Olkaria, Kenya
- Operator
- Not disclosed
- IT load
- Not disclosed
- Timeline
- Not disclosed
- Last verified
Overview
Microsoft's 22 May 2024 announcement says G42 and local partners would design and build the data centre campus in Olkaria, Kenya. It describes a new Microsoft Azure East Africa Cloud Region powered entirely by renewable geothermal energy and using water-conservation technology.
The announced $1 billion is for a broader digital initiative covering the data centre plus local-language AI, an innovation lab and skills programmes, connectivity, and government cloud collaboration. It should not be cited as the facility's individual construction cost.
The source says the cloud region would become operational within 24 months of signing definitive agreements. Because it does not state that those definitive agreements were signed or give their date, this record does not infer a fixed operational deadline.
The Swahili/English language model mentioned in the announcement was being trained using G42 infrastructure in the United States. It is therefore not evidence of AI training taking place at the planned Olkaria campus.
By May 2026, the original plan and timetable had stalled. Data Center Dynamics reported an initial 100MW concept scaling to 1GW, which would be roughly one-third of Kenya's approximately 3GW installed generation capacity. President William Ruto described the implication more starkly: operating it at that scale could require switching off power to roughly half the country.
Power was not the only obstacle. Bloomberg reported that talks broke down over Microsoft's request for the Kenyan government to guarantee annual purchases of compute capacity. Data Center Dynamics also reported that a project concept note did not receive National Treasury clearance.
The project should not currently be described as formally cancelled. Kenya's Special Tech Envoy denied that it had been suspended or withdrawn and said the government remained committed to enabling projects of this kind by expanding national generation toward 10GW. Reporting also indicates that discussions may continue around a smaller project. The tracker therefore records the present status as paused, with project continuation treated as disputed.
Infrastructure
Tier certification explained- AI cooling readiness
- Not assessed
Cooling adequacy for AI workloads has not been independently assessed for this facility.
AI racks draw around 100 kW each, about ten times a conventional rack, so rack-level liquid cooling is the key differentiator. Training versus inference
Power
PPAs and wheeling- Renewable % (reported)
- 100%
- Microsoft and G42 say the planned campus will run entirely on renewable geothermal energy; this is a forward-looking company commitment.
- reported Source [s1]
Governance
Data residency explained- Data residency
- Planned East Africa cloud region described as part of a trusted data zone intended to support local-law governance for data stored in Kenya.
- reported Source [s1]
- Government contracts
- Planned letter of intent among Microsoft, G42, and Kenya's Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, announced on 22 May 2024.
- The source announces the intended LOI and its planned signing date; it is not independent evidence that the LOI was executed.
- reported Source [s1]
Workloads
Training versus inference- AI inference
- General cloud
The announced East Africa cloud region is intended to provide Azure cloud and AI services. The source does not disclose GPU models, GPU counts, training capacity, rack density, or cooling technology for the Olkaria campus.
Claims
How claims workClaims are contested or still-evolving assertions, kept apart from sourced facts. A disputed claim is not a confirmed fact.
Microsoft and G42 said the planned Olkaria campus would run Microsoft Azure as a new East Africa Cloud Region.
The announcement said a letter of intent among Microsoft, G42, and the Kenyan ministry would be signed on 24 May 2024; this source does not independently confirm that the signing occurred.
G42 was to lead arrangement of an initial $1 billion investment covering the entire five-pillar digital initiative. The source does not allocate $1 billion specifically to the data centre.
Data Center Dynamics reports that the concept targeted an initial 100MW and could scale to 1GW. The 1GW figure is not disclosed in the original Microsoft announcement and is not stored as IT load in the structured capacity fields.
Denial status: Denied by one party
Reporting describes the original project as stalled or suspended, with Treasury clearance and commercial offtake issues unresolved. Kenya's Special Tech Envoy says it has not been suspended or withdrawn and that the government remains committed. No source reviewed confirms a formal cancellation by Microsoft or G42.
Constraints
Reporting says the full 1GW concept would equal about one-third of Kenya's roughly 3GW installed generation capacity. President William Ruto said operating it at that scale would require cutting power to roughly half the country. Government officials later clarified that this was an argument for expanding generation, not confirmation that the project was cancelled.
Reporting says the project concept failed to receive National Treasury clearance and that talks broke down over requested government guarantees to purchase a minimum amount of compute capacity each year.
Field change history (1)
Earlier values of structured fields, kept when they changed. Most recent first.
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status
Previously announced
Observed 2024-05-22, superseded 2026-05-06
Later reporting established that the original timetable and commercial structure had stalled, while the parties continued discussing the project.
Sources
How sources are ranked- [s1] Microsoft and G42 announce $1 billion comprehensive digital ecosystem initiative for Kenya, Microsoft Source
company official Retrieved 17 July 2026 Not yet archived
- [s2] Microsoft and G42 data center in Kenya stalled due to lack of power capacity, Data Center Dynamics
trade press Retrieved 17 July 2026 Not yet archived
- [s3] Microsoft's African Data Center Falters on Payment Demands, Bloomberg
trade press Retrieved 17 July 2026 Not yet archived
- [s4] State: Microsoft-G42 data centre project remains on track despite power concerns, The Star Kenya
local journalism Retrieved 17 July 2026 Not yet archived
- [s5] Kenya suspends $1 billion Microsoft data centre as energy shortfall raises doubts over Africa's AI ambitions, Business Insider Africa
local journalism Retrieved 17 July 2026 Not yet archived
What these source types mean
- company official
- Press releases, investor relations filings, and product pages from the operating company.
- trade press
- Specialist outlets (DatacenterDynamics, DataCenter Knowledge, etc.) with editorial standards.
- local journalism
- Local news outlets; variable editorial standards, used for leads and corroboration.