Google has chosen Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, to set up its first ever development center on the continent. Google arrives with a portfolio of investments of more than KSh115 billion (Kenyan shilling), or nearly $1 billion, over the next five years and plans to provide numerous job opportunities for engineers and researchers in the technology field.
Google becomes the third company to set up a technology development center in Kenya. In the past two months, Visa has opened an innovation studio in the country and Microsoft has launched a $27 million research and development center.
Opened on March 25, Microsoft Africa Development Center is one of the largest engineering facilities in Africa. The company has partnered with local universities and startups to provide training and skills that are expected to provide more than 200,000 jobs for young Kenyans.
Kenya is thus poised to become a regional and even continental technology hub.
