Pranav Hotkar
Nairobi, Kenya, September 9, 2025- Airtel Africa has officially broken ground on a 44MW data center in Tatu City, Nairobi, through its data center subsidiary, Nxtra by Airtel. Valued at about KES 19.4 billion (USD 150 million), the facility is set to become the largest in East Africa, supporting cloud computing, AI, and enterprise services while positioning Kenya as a regional digital hub.
The Nxtra Data Centre will be developed in two phases of 22MW each, with full operations scheduled for the first quarter of 2027. Designed to global hyperscale standards, it will feature GPU-ready server racks, multiple redundant fiber paths, advanced security systems, and 99.999% uptime, ensuring reliability and scalability for hyperscalers, enterprises, and governments.
The project is expected to create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs during construction, along with permanent technical roles once operational. Airtel has pledged to engage local suppliers and contractors, injecting millions into Kenya’s economy.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, ICT Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo and Airtel Kenya Managing Director Ashish Malhotra emphasized the project’s role in advancing the country’s Cloud Policy 2024 and National Digital Master Plan 2022–2032, strengthening data sovereignty, security, and efficiency.
Nxtra Africa CEO Yashnath Issur said, “The Nairobi facility would be built to global benchmarks for reliability, scalability, and energy efficiency.” He added, “The project reflects Airtel Africa’s broader vision to bolster the continent’s digital infrastructure, following a 38MW data center in Lagos, Nigeria, and planned deployments in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gabon.”
The new campus comes at a time of rising demand for local data processing in Africa, driven by data sovereignty requirements and the need for faster response times. By reducing reliance on overseas cloud infrastructure, the Nairobi data center is expected to lower digital service costs, attract global technology players, and foster innovation across East Africa.
