Airtel Africa, through its datacentre subsidiary Nxtra by Airtel Africa, has officially begun construction on what is set to be East Africa’s largest datacentre, a $150 million facility in Kenya, as announced on September 15, 2025.
The state-of-the-art datacentre, designed to support cloud computing, AI workloads, and enterprise-scale services, marks a significant step in bolstering the region’s digital infrastructure.
The facility, with a planned power capacity of 44 megawatts (MW), will be developed in two phases of 22 MW each, with completion expected by the first quarter of 2027. The datacentre aims to meet growing demand for advanced digital services across East Africa while prioritizing sustainability and energy efficiency.
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Yashnath Issur, CEO of Nxtra Africa, spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony, emphasizing Airtel Group’s commitment to the continent’s digital transformation. “Nxtra by Airtel is being built to the highest global standards, ensuring reliability, scalability, and energy efficiency,” Issur said. “Beyond capacity, our focus is on sustainability and resilience, enabling customers to fully leverage next-generation technologies in a secure environment.”
Ashish Malhotra, Managing Director of Airtel Kenya, hailed the project as a milestone for Kenya’s digital economy. “This datacentre reinforces Kenya’s leadership in Africa’s digital revolution by improving data sovereignty, security, and efficiency,” Malhotra stated. He highlighted its potential to attract global tech companies, create jobs, reduce the cost of digital services, and support Kenyan businesses’ growth, further solidifying Kenya’s role as a regional technology hub.
Airtel Africa launched Nxtra in December 2023 with a vision to establish five major datacentres across its operational footprint in Africa
