On May 22, 2024, Microsoft Corp. and G42 announced a $1 billion digital investment initiative in Kenya, in partnership with Kenya’s Ministry of Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy. The initiative includes the construction of a state-of-the-art green data center in Olkaria, Kenya, to run Microsoft Azure in a new East Africa Cloud Region. The data center, which will run entirely on renewable geothermal energy and feature advanced water conservation technology, is expected to become operational within 24 months of signing the definitive agreements. The initiative also includes local-language AI model development and research, an East Africa Innovation Lab, international and local connectivity investments, and collaboration with the Kenyan government to support safe and secure cloud services across East Africa.