Digital Realty has opened a 6.4-megawatt data centre in Nairobi. The facility expands its East African footprint at a key regional hub.
The new site, called Nairobi Two Data Centre, or NBO2, sits beside NBO1. Together, they form a campus for cloud, data, and digital platforms. The move comes as demand rises for local hosting and lower-latency services.
For telecom operators and enterprise IT teams, location matters. Keeping data closer to users can improve application speed. It can also support better control over local traffic flows.
The Nairobi campus links customers to more than 100 networks. It also connects to two internet exchange points and a satellite teleport. That mix gives businesses multiple paths for traffic exchange.
The satellite link adds another layer of resilience. It can help in areas with limited terrestrial coverage. This matters for banks, content platforms, and public services across the region.
Marcel Louw, Managing Director of Africa at Digital Realty, said: “Digital transformation depends on infrastructure that is local, connected and globally scalable.
“With NBO2 now live, Digital Realty is strengthening Nairobi’s position as a gateway for East Africa and extending the value of PlatformDIGITAL® to customers seeking resilient colocation, interconnection and hybrid IT solutions. This campus gives businesses the foundation to bring data, applications and partners closer together, whether they are serving customers in Kenya, across Africa or around the world.”
The launch also supports the company’s broader Africa strategy. iColo is moving to the Digital Realty brand in Kenya and Mozambique. That shift links a strong local ecosystem with a wider global platform.
For customers, this can simplify expansion beyond national borders. They can keep local relationships while accessing international data centre reach. That appeals to carriers, cloud companies, and digital-first enterprises.
Wanja Muriithi, iColo Country General Manager for Kenya, added: “The opening of NBO2 and our transition to Digital Realty are part of one story: the continued growth of Kenya’s digital economy and iColo’s evolution within a global platform.
“By combining our strong local ecosystem in Nairobi with Digital Realty’s global brand, we are giving customers the ability to grow in Kenya while connecting with the broader communities of carriers, clouds, content providers and enterprises that are shaping the global digital economy.”
However, data centre growth brings challenges. Large sites need stable power, skilled staff, and strong security. Operators must also manage energy efficiency as demand grows.
Even so, the timing looks important. East Africa needs more digital infrastructure near its users. Cloud adoption, fintech growth, and content demand all depend on reliable facilities.
NBO2 gives Nairobi another role in regional connectivity. It strengthens local interconnection and supports hybrid IT strategies. For telecom and VoIP service providers, that could mean faster routes and better service reliability.
