President Ruto opens Amazon Web Service Development Centre in Nairobi to increase footprint in Africa

Amazon Web Services has opened a cutting-edge development centre in Nairobi, Kenya, as part of its global expansion strategy. This centre, which is Amazon's second in Africa, after South Africa, will provide invaluable cloud computing training to young individuals. Moreover, it will serve as a pivotal location for Amazon to strengthen its foothold in Africa beyond.

The Amazon Web Services Development Center (ADC) will serve as a hub for essential operations such as software development, support services, and retail functions. Additionally, it is expected to create new highly skilled jobs in telecommunications and software. development, cloud support, and software engineering, and deliver solutions for AWS customers and partners around the world.

Speaking during the launch, Kenyan President, William Ruto noted that Kenya’s global and continental leadership in ICT is growing, attracting the biggest technology companies in the world, attributing it to the country’s conducive investment climate and tech-savvy youth.

Acknowledging technology as a crucial enabler for Kenya’s economic growth, President Ruto said Kenya has emerged as one of the most exciting frontiers of global tech competitiveness, with a high revolutionary potential across all sectors.

"This Centre affirms Kenya's attractiveness as an investment destination and recognizes the opportunities in our digital and ICT sector," he hinted.

The launch comes just a fortnight after the President met AWS executives in New York.

"We agreed that Kenya will develop and sustain a conducive business environment that will allow them to expand their investment in Kenya," he noted.

"We will continue investing in education and building partnerships so that we can develop expertise to meet the needs of companies like Amazon," the President added.

US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman pointed out that the launch of the centre is an endorsement of Kenya’s business environment.

"AWS is one of the most important tech companies in the world; the fact that they have decided to set up a development centre in Kenya speaks volumes about this country and his administration," she said.

AWS regional lead, public sector sub-Sahara, Robin Njiru lauded the government’s efforts to build a conducive environment for foreign-owned firms.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, ICT and the Digital Economy Principal Secretary John Tanui and his Investment counter Hassan Abubakar among other leaders were present.

By:  Nana Appiah Acquaye