Microsoft Taps Government Relations Expert as East Africa Lead Amid Stalled Data Centre Plans

Microsoft has appointed Angela Nganga as Country Lead for East Africa, placing an executive whose background is in government engagement and public policy into a market where the company's largest planned investment is blocked on precisely those terms.

Nganga, based in Nairobi, joined Microsoft in 2012 and most recently served as Regional Director of Customer Success for East and West Africa. She has also held roles as Director of Corporate Affairs for the Middle East and Africa and Education Industry Director for Africa.

The company's $1 billion data centre at Olkaria, announced with UAE partner G42 during President William Ruto's Washington state visit in May 2024, has not been built. The project stalled over power, with Kenya's installed generation capacity sitting at roughly 3,000MW, and the facility's requirement revised upward from an initial 60MW to 1,000MW for regional use.

Nganga's stated priorities are skills, partnerships, and local capability. 'I look forward to partnering with governments, enterprise, and the local startup ecosystem to build AI skills and workforce readiness, and to help partners develop and scale locally relevant solutions to real-world challenges,' she said.