Collaborating with the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy of the Republic of Kenya, Microsoft and G42 have unveiled several digital investments in the country.
G42 will lead the effort to get a one billion dollar seed investment for the comprehensive package’s various elements, working in tandem with Microsoft and other stakeholders.
Kenyan investment goals include a state-of-the-art green data centre created by G42 and its partners to run Microsoft Azure in a new East Africa Cloud Region.
With local partners, the initiative will pursue four additional pillars: local-language AI model development and research; an East Africa Innovation Lab with broad AI digital skills training; international and local connectivity investments; and collaboration with Kenya to support safe and secure cloud services across East Africa.
Kenyan President William Ruto will sign a letter of intent formalising the partnership during his official visit to Washington, D.C., the first by an African leader in nearly two decades. Microsoft, G42, and Kenya’s Ministry of Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy will sign the letter of intent, which was drafted with US and UAE support. This landmark agreement advances Kenya’s digital revolution.
G42 is training an open-source large-language AI model in Swahili and English through its US data infrastructure to serve Kenya’s unique cultural and linguistic needs and national economic growth. Microsoft and G42 will collaborate and support local universities through the Microsoft Africa Research Institute, the Microsoft AI for Good Lab, the Mohammed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi, and select Kenyan and East African universities to accelerate advanced research in Kenya.
Microsoft and G42 will open an East African Innovation Lab in Nairobi to enable Kenyan and other East African startups, entrepreneurs, enterprises, and organisations to develop and execute cloud and AI services. Microsoft developers from its 500-person Africa Development Centre in Nairobi will coach and assist the East Africa Innovation Lab in design and fast prototyping.
The Kenyan government, Microsoft and G42 will construct and administer the new East Africa cloud area as part of a global “trusted data zone” to guarantee digital safety, privacy, and security. Kenya will create the new data centre as part of a “trusted data zone” with technical aid from G42 and Microsoft, allowing foreign data to be governed by their local laws while stored and resident in Kenya.
Microsoft Threat Intelligence Centre (MSTIC) and Microsoft Threat Analysis Centre (MTAC) will assist Kenyan and East African customers with cybersecurity.
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