Kenyan Catherine Muraga Appointed Microsoft's African Development Center Managing Director

American tech giant Microsoft Corporation has appointed Kenyan Catherine Muraga as the new Managing Director for its Nairobi engineering hub—the African Development Centre (ADC).

Muraga replaces Jack Ngare, who is leaving the organization to join Google Cloud as a technical director in the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

The new Microsoft ADC Managing Director has over 15 years of experience in Information Technology (IT), having worked in a variety of industries including manufacturing, aviation and banking.

Muraga joins Microsoft from Stanbic Bank where she has been serving as the Head of Engineering since April 2021. She previously held various IT roles in Sidian Bank, Kenya Airways (KQ) and East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL).

She holds a Bachelors in Computer Science from Africa Nazarene University and has certifications from Oxford’s Said Business School and Columbia Business School.

The Microsoft ADC has employed more than 450 engineers in Kenya as well as 500 employees in other areas since its inception in Nairobi in 2019.

In March, President Kenyatta presided over the opening of a $27 million (Sh3 billion) Microsoft Africa Development Centre facility at Dunhill Towers in Westlands, Nairobi.

The facility, the first of its kind in Africa, houses the engineering, design, research, and innovation teams, as well as the Microsoft Garage—an incubation hub launched as part of the ongoing efforts to boost tech innovation on the continent.