Microsoft and UAE-based AI company G42 halted their $1 billion Kenya data center project after the Kenyan government refused to guarantee Microsoft's power capacity demands, which officials say would require taking half the national grid offline. Kenya's existing electricity grid cannot handle the power load required for large-scale AI infrastructure without major new investment. The dispute highlights a critical infrastructure gap across East Africa as global tech firms compete to build AI capacity in emerging markets where energy systems are already strained.