American technology giant, Microsoft Corporation, has unveiled its first Africa Development Centre (ADC), with two offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and Lagos, Nigeria.
The ADC is worth $100 million: Microsoft said that an estimation of the investment in the ADC project and employment of qualified local engineers sums up at $100 million in the first five years of operation.
The company further disclosed that it plans to hire highly-qualified to develop the technologies suitable for Nigeria and Kenya.
“Our desire is to recruit exceptional engineering talent and provide the opportunity to work on the latest technologies suitable for Kenya, Nigeria and the rest of the world. In doing so, engineers are able to enjoy meaningful work from their home countries, while plugged into a global engineering and development organisation.”
The goal of the centre: The ADC will serve as a premier centre of engineering for Microsoft, building world-class talent capable of creating innovative solutions for local and global impact. It is expected to establish a collaborative engineering springboard for new technology investments in Kenya.
Commenting further on the plans for the Africa Development Centres, Microsoft‘s Vice President for Gaming, Phil Spencer, said the following:
“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.
“Beyond that, it’s an opportunity to engage further with African partners, academia, governments and developers – driving impact and innovation in sectors important to Africa.”
This is one amongst Microsoft’s many projects in Africa: This move follows Microsoft‘s recent initiative to make Artificial Intelligence (AI) available to every country in Africa through its 4Africa initiatives.
About Microsoft: Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company with headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
It develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services. The company’s best-known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft Office suite, as well as the Internet Explorer and Edge Web browsers.
Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface lineup of touchscreen personal computers.
I I’ll like to say a big thanks to Microsoft for having Africans in mind too.