Summary
- The facility will help the multinational grow its market share across the continent in the wake of increased technology uptake in various economic sectors.
- It will hire local engineers who will be tasked with working on cutting-edge technology tailored for the local and global markets.
- The centre is the seventh globally, with plans underway to open another one in Lagos, Nigeria, later in the year.
Technology firm Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled a research and
development centre in Nairobi tasked with producing innovative
solutions.
The facility, dubbed Africa Development
Centre (ADC) and which is the first of its kind in Africa, will help the
multinational grow its market share across the continent in the wake of
increased technology uptake in various economic sectors.
The
centre will hire local engineers who will be tasked with working on
cutting-edge technology tailored for the local and global markets.
It is the seventh globally, with plans underway to open another one in Lagos, Nigeria, later in the year.
The firm has set aside Sh10 billion for the two centres in Africa over the next five years.
About 100 full-time engineers will be employed across the two
ADC sites, a number that is set to grow to more than 500 by the end of
2023.
“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,” Phil Spencer,
and executive sponsor of the ADC at Microsoft said in a statement.
“Beyond
that, it is an opportunity to engage more with local partners,
academia, governments and developers — driving impact and innovation in
sectors important to Africa.”
The unveiling of the new
centre, which will initially be based at Microsoft’s main office, comes a
year after it launched its first software testing hub in Africa.
The
investments in the centres are part of Microsoft’s ongoing plans for
“enabling digital transformation, bridging gaps in infrastructure,
connectivity and capability while creating sustained societal impact on
the continent”.
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