Microsoft winding down ADC in Nairobi,

Microsoft is winding down its Africa Development Center, ADC, in Nairobi, putting nearly four hundred jobs at risk and reversing a seven-year effort to make Kenya a hub for building technology for global markets.

Two employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that they had been called into a meeting on Monday morning and asked to meet their managers by Friday, October 16th to discuss exit options, including severance terms.

The closure comes seven years after the company pledged more than a hundred million dollars to keep African tech talent to make Nairobi one of its engineering hubs outside the US.

It will unwind a project built on the promise that African engineers can build products for global market without leaving the continent, raising questions about Microsoft's long-term plans for engineering in Africa.

The statement did not confirm the center's closure or specify how many employees will remain or when the changes will take effect.