Nearly 400 engineers in Nairobi could be out of a job. Microsoft is winding down its Africa Development Centre (ADC) in Kenya — a project that was once held up as proof that African engineers could build world-class software without leaving the continent.
Two employees, speaking anonymously to TechCabal, confirmed that staff at the centre — based at Dunhill Towers in Nairobi's Westlands district — were called to an all-hands meeting on Monday morning. They were asked to meet with their managers by Friday, October 16, to discuss exit options, including severance terms.
The mood among staff is grim. One employee described the situation bluntly:
"Our case is sealed; we just did not know when."
A person familiar with the matter told TechCabal that fewer than 10 employees are expected to remain after the restructuring — mostly staff in sales, recruiting, two roles within Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions (MCAPS), and employees working on AI for Good, Microsoft's initiative applying artificial intelligence to social and environmental challenges.
Microsoft's Official Response
A Microsoft spokesperson acknowledged the development but stopped short of confirming a full closure. "We are communicating directly with employees in Kenya about proposed changes to our engineering operations," the spokesperson told TechCabal on Monday. "We recognise the uncertainty this brings and are keeping those discussions private. Microsoft remains committed to Kenya and will continue to have employees in the country while supporting the country's ongoing digital transformation and innovation ambitions."
The statement gave no clarity on how many employees would stay, or when exactly the changes would take effect. For the nearly 400 engineers at Dunhill Towers, that silence likely says enough.
Seven Years and $100 Million Later
Microsoft launched the ADC in 2019, backed by a pledge of more than $100 million to develop African tech talent. The vision was ambitious and genuinely novel: make Nairobi one of Microsoft's global engineering hubs outside the United States, and give African engineers the chance to build products used worldwide without relocating.
Michael Fortin, who was a corporate vice president at the time of the launch, said the centre would allow engineers to do "meaningful work from their home countries" while operating within a global engineering structure. Microsoft initially planned to hire 100 engineers by the end of 2019, then scale both the Nairobi and Lagos operations to a combined 500 employees by 2023.
By December 2022, Microsoft President Brad Smith reported that the Nairobi centre alone employed more than 450 engineers — surpassing the original hiring target. That is what makes this closure particularly hard to frame as a simple failure. The centre delivered what it promised. The decision to shut it down appears to be a strategic reversal, not a performance issue.
Lagos Was Just the Beginning
This is not Microsoft's first African engineering retreat. In May 2024, the company shut down its sister Africa Development Centre in Lagos, Nigeria — a move that caught staff off guard. At the time, Microsoft explicitly said the Lagos closure would not affect its Kenya operations. That assurance has now proven hollow.
Together, the Lagos and Nairobi closures effectively dismantle what Microsoft once marketed as a transformative commitment to African engineering talent. The broader implications for tech careers across the continent are hard to overstate — particularly as African governments and investors continue pitching their countries as destinations for global tech investment.
For the engineers in Westlands, Friday's manager meetings will likely focus on one thing: how much severance they will receive, not whether they still have a job. As one employee put it — the case was already sealed. They are just waiting for the paperwork.