Microsoft winds down Nairobi ADC, putting ~400 jobs at risk in Kenya

Microsoft is winding down its Africa Development Centre in Nairobi, putting nearly 400 jobs at risk and reversing a seven-year effort to make Kenya a hub for building technology for global markets. On Monday, October 11, staff at the centre, located in Dunhill Towers in Westlands, Nairobi, were called to a meeting and told to meet with managers by Friday, October 16 to discuss exit options, including severance terms. The closure follows Microsoft's May 2024 shutdown of its sister centre in Lagos, which had been part of a plan to grow the workforce across Nairobi and Lagos to 500 engineers by 2023. By December 2022 the Nairobi ADC employed more than 450 engineers, meeting the original hiring target. A Microsoft spokesperson said the company is discussing proposed changes privately and remains committed to Kenya, but did not confirm the centre's closure or say how many staff will stay; sources say fewer than 10 employees are expected to remain, mainly in sales, recruiting, Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions and AI for Good.

For Nigerian tech professionals, this signals a pullback from Microsoft's African engineering ambitions that once offered local careers on global projects. The Lagos centre closure already displaced many Nigerian engineers, and now the Nairobi winding down reduces alternative hubs across the continent. It raises questions about where the specialised talent built at these centres will go and whether Kenya can retain the skills Microsoft helped create.

Will you start exploring other multinational tech firms operating in Africa, deepen your skills in AI or cloud services to stay competitive, or consider remote opportunities with companies that still invest in African engineering talent?

SOURCE: https://techcabal.com/2026/10/13/mircosoft-close-adc-nairobi-kenya/