Microsoft prepares to shut down its Africa Development Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, putting hundreds of local tech jobs at risk.
Global technology giant Microsoft has officially begun steps to shut down its Africa Development Centre located in Nairobi, Kenya.
The unexpected closure notification was shared directly with affected office staff on October 12, 2026, marking the end of the company’s major engineering presence on the African continent.
Under this new corporate shutdown, workers based at the Dunhill Towers office in the Westlands district of Nairobi were called into emergency staff meetings and told that their engineering positions were being eliminated.
Management instructed affected workers to meet individually with line supervisors to discuss job exit options and final contract severance packages.
The closure of the Nairobi software hub comes after Microsoft closed its sister development centre in Lagos, Nigeria, in early 2024.
The Nairobi hub employed over 400 skilled computer engineers who built core global software products, including security sign-in systems, Microsoft 365 tools, and Windows features used by millions of computer owners around the world.
Shutting down a major computer development office is a big blow for everyday citizens, young tech workers, and local businesses across East Africa.
In recent years, big global technology companies helped build up Africa’s digital economy by hiring top local talent, paying good monthly salaries, and training young workers on world-class software systems.
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When a giant global firm closes its engineering doors, hundreds of skilled workers lose their monthly livelihoods, local families face financial uncertainty, and local tech startups lose a major training ground for future industry leaders.
Explaining that the company is currently holding private discussions with local staff regarding structural changes to its international engineering operations, official representatives at Microsoft shared a formal public response.
Speaking on behalf of the company during the ongoing staff transition process, a Microsoft official stated that “we are communicating directly with employees in Kenya about proposed changes to our engineering operations. We recognise the uncertainty this brings and are keeping those discussions private”.
Reflecting on the heavy impact the sudden closure brings to hundreds of skilled software builders who contributed to global software products from Nairobi over the past seven years, industry reporters noted the deep sense of loss among staff members.
Local technology observers reviewing the development noted that “two employees said that staff at the centre, located in Dunhill Towers in Westlands, were called to a meeting and asked to meet their managers by Friday, October 16, to discuss exit options, including severance”.
Local labor regulators in Kenya are monitoring the redundancy filings. As affected computer engineers finalize their exit agreements, local technology startups and regional business hubs across East Africa are watching closely to see if the local tech job market can absorb the newly available senior engineering talent.
