East African-based data center firm iXAfrica is expected to host Oracle cloud infrastructure region in Kenya’s capital Nairobi. The company announced earlier this week that it had been selected for the role as host partner. Moreover, iXAfrica showed its delight to be part of the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) region in East Africa. “We are delighted to be in execution mode to bring OCI to Kenya,” said Snehar Shah, CEO, iXAfrica.

Furthermore, he noted that the collaboration will facilitate leveraging renewable energy as well as talent. It will also facilitate abundant submarine and national connectivity available in Kenya’s market as well as East Africa. Plans for Oracle’s Kenyan cloud region were first announced in early 2024. However, a launch date has not yet been provided as the site is listed as “coming soon” on Oracle’s website. Once operational, it will be the company’s second cloud region in Africa.

Significance of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Region in Nairobi

The Oracle Cloud Infrastructure region in Nairobi provides a monumental opportunity for East Africa to expand its data center footprint. As noted, the infrastructure will be Oracle’s second in Africa after the one based in South Africa. Oracle opened its Johannesburg OCI region in January 2022. Furthermore, a second South African region is planned for the future. Two regions in Morocco are also listed as coming soon.

“Around the world, governments and enterprises rely on OCI for its security, scalability, and ability to run mission-critical workloads that enable innovation at scale,” said David Bunei, country leader for Kenya, Oracle. Furthermore, he noted that these unique capabilities and collaboration with iXAfrica will further support the growth of the country’s digital economy.

iXAfrica’s NBOX1 is a 17,300 sqm (186,215 sq ft) data center located on Mombasa Road in Nairobi. Located on land that was formerly part of a Schneider Electric complex. As data centers take pace around the world, Africa also seems to be making effort to catch up as Airtel recently launched a data center in Nairobi, East Africa’s largest.

Project Factsheet

• Project: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Region – Nairobi

• Host Partner: iXAfrica

• Location: Nairobi, Kenya

• Announcement: January 2026 (plans first announced in early 2024)

• Status: Coming soon (no launch date confirmed)

Key Details

• iXAfrica selected as host partner for Oracle’s Kenyan OCI region

• Will be Oracle’s second cloud region in Africa

• Follows the Johannesburg OCI region launched in January 2022

• Supports government and enterprise cloud workloads in East Africa

Infrastructure

• Hosted at iXAfrica’s NBOX1 data center

• Site size: 17,300 sqm (186,215 sq ft)

• Location: Mombasa Road, Nairobi

• Power capacity: Over 20MW at full build-out

• First phase: 4.5MW, second phase: 18MW

Strategic Significance

• Expands Oracle’s African cloud footprint

• Leverages Kenya’s renewable energy, skilled workforce, and submarine cable connectivity

• Supports growth of Kenya’s and East Africa’s digital economy

• Strengthens regional cloud and data center ecosystem