AWS opens second Africa development center in Kenya

AFRICAN BUSINESS AND ECONOMYOctober 5, 2023 at 2:08 PM UTC

Amazon Web Services (AWS), US tech giant Amazon's cloud-computing division has opened a new African Development Centre in Kenya. This is AWS' second Hub in Africa with the first one located in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Development Centre will host AWS Research & Development teams, creating new, highly skilled jobs in software development, cloud support, and software engineering. The launch was presided over by Kenya's President William Ruto who emphasized that the center underscores Kenya’s appeal as a prime global investment destination for tech giants within the continent.

“The Kenyan technology sector continues to be a source of growth and job creation at a time when there is so much uncertainty in the world,” President Ruto said. “The decision to open a new development center in Kenya is evidence of the trust that AWS has in our people and in our economy. I look forward to our continued collaboration with AWS as it deepens their commitment to our country.”

Key Takeaways

The new AWS center signals the US tech giant’s growing ambitions on the continent and the direction of this ambition; a focus on nurturing Africa's tech talents alongside its lucrative and rapidly expanding cloud service business. The company recently launched a fintech accelerator for African startups, selecting a total of 25 for the inaugural cohort in May. As part of its foray on the continent, it dabbled into e-commerce in Egypt and earlier this year launched local zones in Nigeria, the newest addition to its AWS infrastructure, which already includes local offices, Amazon CloudFront edge locations, and AWS Outposts.