For years Nairobi has emerged as a lead hub in terms of technological innovation in Africa. So far the city has recorded approximately US$291 Million in Start up funding in 2021 according to Africa Tech Startup Funding Report .

As a result, tech occupiers have continued to drive office enquiries, with our latest  market analysis  indicating that approximately 94% of these companies occupy a formal working place with 85% of these, occupying leasable space,  3% occupying co-working spaces and 4% occupying owner occupied offices.

Tech occupiers are driving renewed interest in the office market

While Westlands has always been a preferred location for most of the tech companies, the area seems to be attracting renewed interest this year. In addition to hosting well known innovation and co-working spaces such as Nairobi Garage and tech giants such as Oracle, the area has over the recent months attracted global tech giants.

So far, American tech firm Microsoft has opened a new $27 million (Ksh3 billion) office and lab for its premier engineering hub, at Dunhill Towers in Westlands. The center is set to be  one of the largest software engineering facilities in Africa and sets the standard for a new generation of technology hubs across the continent

The facility will house the research, design, engineering, and innovation teams as well as the Microsoft Garage, an incubation hub launched as part of the ongoing efforts to scale tech innovation on the continent.

In addition, Google’s Africa Development Center in Nairobi also debuted in Westlands. The center will aim to  to build transformative products and services for the African market and the world. Collectively Google aims to hire over 100 employees to drive innovation across the continent, with the choice of location being critical to their war for talent 

Infrastructure development has increased accessibility to the region

Westlands’ status as an innovation hub has further been exacerbated by major infrastructure developments that have enhanced accessibility to the region. The completion of the Nairobi expressway, Red Hill road as well as the Southern bypass have all served to improve access to Westlands and position it as the new ‘CBD’. 

This has also increased the viability of areas upwards of Westlands towards Kikuyu as residential areas making it an ideal location for tech talent to live and work in.

Rents remain stable 

Estate Intel is currently tracking 233,801.08 square meters in the area. According to our analysis, rents and sale prices in the area have grown by 0.5% and 3.10% respectively over the past 5 years to record rents at approximately US$12 psm. Based on our analysis, we estimate the market direction over the next year is neutral due to the addition of new stock in the market such as the Global Trade Center (GTC).

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