President William Ruto has admitted that Kenya’s goal of hosting large-scale, renewable energy-powered data centres has hit a major hurdle due to the country’s limited electricity supply.
While agreements with international technology firms like Microsoft and UAE-based artificial intelligence company G42 were already signed, the nation currently lacks the capacity to operate these massive facilities.
“When I went on a trip to the United States, we signed an agreement between G42 of UAE, Microsoft of America and Kenya to establish data centres,” Ruto told Kenyans living in Qatar during an address on Wednesday.
The President explained that Kenya’s current power generation falls far short of the requirements for hyperscale data centres.
“Tulikuja na kimbelembele yetu tukaanza kazi kuuliza tukaambiwa one data centre requires 1,000 megawatts. Yet, as a whole country, we only have 2,300 megawatts,” he said, eliciting laughter from the audience.
He added jokingly that running a single facility at full capacity would require shutting down the entire country, underscoring the scale of the energy challenge.
Ruto warned that unless the country rapidly expands its electricity supply, it risks missing out on industrialisation and the opportunities presented by the global AI revolution.
“We need a minimum of 10,000 megawatts and we need it like yesterday,” he said. “Between 5pm and 10pm, we have to do load-shedding because our energy haitoshi. If we want to industrialise and manufacture, we must invest in power generation.”
He highlighted Ethiopia’s newly commissioned 5,400MW mega-dam as an example of how neighbouring countries are advancing their energy capacity, leaving Kenya trailing.
“We have a problem and we need to sort it out. We need about Sh1.2 trillion to do it, and we will find the money,” Ruto said. He cautioned that falling behind in technological development could permanently hinder economic growth.
The President’s remarks underline the dual challenge of attracting high-tech investment while building the infrastructure needed to support it. Ruto’s address called attention to the urgency of boosting power production, scaling industrial capacity, and ensuring Kenya can participate competitively in the global digital economy.
With the rise of artificial intelligence and the demand for data storage, the President stressed that expanding the country’s energy base is critical to avoid missing opportunities in technology, manufacturing, and industrial development.
He emphasized that immediate investment in power generation is necessary to realise Kenya’s aspirations for industrialisation and economic growth.
