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Airtel New Data Center at Tatu City: A Turning Point for Kenya’s Digital Future

On 9 September, Kenya broke ground on a project set to redefine its place in Africa’s digital economy. At Tatu City, Nxtra by Airtel has begun construction of a 19 billion shilling data center. The project will shift Kenya from a heavy consumer of global data to a trusted regional host. Designed in two phases of 22 MW each, the facility will ultimately deliver 44 MW of capacity, with GPU-ready, high-density racks and enterprise-grade reliability engineered for the most demanding next-generation workloads.

What this means for businesses and citizens

The new data center is engineered to meet the needs of large cloud customers—from hyperscalers and multinational enterprises to government agencies—that are seeking fast, local processing and safer, more sovereign data storage. By bringing capacity and critical services closer to users, the project is expected to lower latency, strengthen security, and provide Kenyan businesses with more affordable and dependable digital infrastructure.

Jobs, local value, and sustainability

Construction will create hundreds of jobs, and the facility will require a permanent cohort of technical and operational staff once it opens. Airtel has signaled an intention to source materials, contractors, and services locally wherever possible—injecting capital into supply chains and helping develop a skilled workforce around advanced infrastructure.

The center’s design emphasizes energy efficiency and resilience, meeting high availability demands while supporting sustainability. Multiple fiber routes and robust security measures address reliability concerns that have driven African organizations to use overseas facilities.

Why timing matters

The project arrives as public- and private-sector organizations across Africa increasingly prefer to process and store sensitive data within the continent. Concerns about data sovereignty, regulatory compliance, and the need for faster response times are shifting demand toward local capacity. This center positions Kenya as an attractive base for global and regional technology firms that want to operate closer to their African customers.

Strategic significance for SEZs and investment

For special economic zones and development hubs such as Tatu City, the presence of world-class digital infrastructure is a powerful magnet for new investment. Reliable, scalable connectivity and local cloud capacity unlock opportunities for manufacturers, fintechs, health-tech and education platforms, and exporters who depend on predictable digital services. In short, infrastructure like this makes SEZs more bankable and more competitive.

Looking ahead

Construction will roll out over the next months, with full operations targeted for the first quarter of 2027. As the project takes shape, its impacts will ripple outward—faster internet access, lower digital costs, new technical jobs, and a stronger innovation ecosystem—all laying the foundation for Kenya’s leadership in Africa’s digital economy.

At AFEZE, we see projects like Nxtra’s as proof that modern SEZs must pair world-class physical infrastructure with cutting-edge digital capacity to stay competitive. A GPU-ready, high-uptime data center embedded in an SEZ campus reduces latency, secures sensitive operations locally, and lowers costs for tenants—measurable advantages that boost a zone’s bankability. This combination attracts a different class of investor: global tech firms, large-scale manufacturers, and institutional financiers who demand predictable performance and local value. For delegates at AFEZE, it offers a tangible example of how strategic infrastructure investments transform policy and planning into jobs, skills, and export-ready industries.

Article written by Martin Kamania - Chief Operations Officer (COO) Email: martin@afeze.africa