Digital Realty Opens 6.4MW Nairobi Data Center as Cloud and AI Demand Rises Across East Africa
Key Takeaways
- •Digital Realty opened NBO2, a 6.4-megawatt data center that expands its Nairobi campus alongside the existing NBO1 facility.
- •The Nairobi campus connects customers to over 100 networks, two internet exchange points, and a satellite teleport for added resilience.
- •Digital Realty completed transitioning the iColo brand to Digital Realty in Kenya and Mozambique following its majority investment in the operator.
- •DLR shares closed at $188.39, up 0.32%, then declined 1.08% to $186.35 in after-hours trading.
- •The expansion responds to growing cloud, AI, and enterprise demand, with Kenya's 2019 Data Protection Act supporting demand for in-country data storage.

Key Points
- Digital Realty has opened NBO2, a new 6.4-megawatt facility, expanding its Nairobi data center campus.
- DLR stock closed at $188.39, up 0.32%, then fell 1.08% after hours to $186.35.
- NBO2 connects customers to more than 100 networks and two internet exchange points.
- The Nairobi expansion targets growing cloud, AI, and enterprise infrastructure demand.
- Digital Realty now operates more than 300 data centers across over 30 countries.
Digital Realty has expanded its Nairobi campus with a new 6.4-megawatt data center as regional demand for cloud infrastructure rises. The company opened Nairobi Two (NBO2) beside its existing Nairobi One facility to support stronger local digital activity. Shares of Digital Realty Trust (NYSE: DLR) closed at $188.39, up 0.32%, then slipped 1.08% to $186.35 in after-hours trading following the closing bell.
NBO2 Expands Digital Realty's Nairobi Capacity
The new facility increases Digital Realty's capacity for cloud providers, enterprises, content companies, and connectivity operators across East Africa. NBO2 joins NBO1 within a campus that supports interconnection, data services, and business workloads across the wider East African region. Alongside the opening, the company also completed the transition of iColo to the Digital Realty brand in Kenya and Mozambique. Digital Realty first entered the Kenyan market through its majority investment in iColo, a colocation operator with facilities in Nairobi and Mombasa, making the brand transition a step in integrating that platform with its global portfolio.
Customers can connect with more than 100 networks through the Nairobi campus, which supports both regional and international data movement. The site also links users to two internet exchange points, improving local traffic routing and strengthening network choice. A satellite teleport provides an additional connectivity route for areas where terrestrial infrastructure remains limited and improves network resilience. Nairobi's connectivity is also underpinned by subsea cables landing along the East African coast, which carry international traffic between the region and global internet hubs.
Digital Realty expects the expanded campus to support companies seeking local data storage and reliable access to global platforms. Kenya's digital economy continues to attract cloud, telecom, financial, and content businesses that require dependable infrastructure as online demand grows. Stronger local capacity can help enterprises run applications closer to users while supporting data sovereignty requirements across local markets. Kenya's data protection framework, including the Data Protection Act enacted in 2019, has increased attention among organizations to where and how data is stored, a factor that supports demand for in-country facilities.
Cloud and AI Demand Supports Nairobi Expansion
Cloud adoption and enterprise digitization continue to reshape technology spending across Kenya and neighboring East African markets. Companies increasingly need infrastructure that delivers constant availability, scalable computing, faster connectivity, and secure handling of business data. Artificial intelligence workloads are also raising demand for data centers with reliable power, strong networks, and flexible computing capacity.
Nairobi serves as a regional technology gateway, connecting businesses operating across Kenya and wider African markets. The city already hosts major telecom, financial, cloud, and digital service activity, supporting continued infrastructure investment across the region. NBO2 strengthens that role by adding capacity within an established campus and expanding interconnection options for customers. Digital Realty is not alone in expanding on the continent; other operators, including Africa Data Centres and liquid-colocation providers backed by regional telecom groups, have also announced capacity growth in African markets, reflecting broader investor interest in the sector.
Digital Realty operates more than 300 data centers across over 55 metropolitan areas in more than 30 countries worldwide. Its platform provides colocation, interconnection, cloud access, and infrastructure services for companies managing growing digital workloads at different operating scales. The Nairobi expansion extends that global network while increasing resilient infrastructure capacity for businesses operating across East Africa and beyond. Future areas to watch include whether additional capacity phases follow on the Nairobi campus and how quickly regional enterprises and cloud providers take up the new space.