Stockport tech firm powers Kenya’s cloud future with government-backed £1.8m deal
Vespertec, a Stockport-based technology company specialising in data centre and AI infrastructure, secured a £1.8m export contract to Kenya, supported by UK Export Finance (UKEF), the government’s export credit agency.
UKEF provided a Standard Buyer Loan Guarantee (SBLG) to Apple Bank on behalf of Atlancis, a Kenyan-based cloud services firm. The loan was arranged by Apple Bank’s UK servicer, AF Capital. This financial backing enabled Atlancis to purchase high-performance hardware and systems from Vespertec.
The resulting contract reflects growing international demand for UK expertise in data centre and cloud infrastructure, particularly in markets investing in digital resilience. It also demonstrates how UK exporters can use government-backed export support to pursue complex, high-value opportunities in emerging markets.
For Vespertec, the agreement builds on an existing relationship with Atlancis and represents a significant step forward in the company’s international expansion. The latest contract builds on Vespertec’s first Kenyan order, reinforcing their position as a trusted partner for complex infrastructure projects outside Europe.
The project has supported continued growth at Vespertec’s Stockport operations and across its UK supply chain, with a high proportion of the equipment designed, built, or integrated in the UK. The agreement also comes during a period of strong growth for Vespertec.
The company more than doubled its turnover in the financial year ending 2025 and was recognised in the Sunday Times Top 100 fastest-growing private companies. As one of a select number of NVIDIA Elite partners and winner of Nvidia’s 2025 Northern Europe Star Performer, Vespertec is seeing rising international demand for its data centre and AI infrastructure expertise.
This marks another milestone in Vespertec’s collaboration with UKEF, following earlier support that enabled the company to enter African markets for the first time in 2022.
Chris Bryant, Minister of State for Trade, said: “Vespertec’s success in Kenya is exactly the kind of British export story we want to see more of. As global demand for AI and data centre infrastructure accelerates, we’re making sure innovative UK businesses have the tools they need to seize those opportunities and win contracts abroad.”
Tim Reid, CEO at UK Export Finance, said: “This deal shows how UK expertise in AI and data centres is in demand across Africa, and how government-backed finance can help innovative British companies like Vespertec to compete and win on the global stage.”
Steve Evans, director of Finance at Vespertec, said: “Demand for data centre and cloud infrastructure is growing rapidly across Africa, and this project reflects the trust international partners place in UK engineering and delivery capability. Support from UK Export Finance has helped us pursue opportunities of this scale and complexity, and to build on relationships that have developed over time.”
Daniel Njuguna, co-founder and CEO at Atlancis Technologies, said: “Thanks to the loan secured with UKEF’s guarantee, we are able to procure products and services from a trusted, reliable, first-class UK partner. We have a long-term strategic partnership with Vespertec, and their optimum designs and services have played an important part in our present success, delivering private and public sovereign cloud services to African Telcos, FSI and Service Providers.”
Andrew Woolfson, partner at AF Capital, said: “AF Capital remains committed to supporting the UKEF SBLG programme. With the benefit of the UKEF guarantee, we are able to continue providing funding to Vespertec and Atlancis, ensuring that Atlancis can keep buying British – accessing high quality products from a trusted UK supplier on affordable financing terms.”
By helping overseas buyers like Atlancis to purchase UK products and services more easily, UKEF helps secure export contracts for British businesses like Vespertec.
Over the last financial year, UKEF provided a record £14.5bn in new financing, helping over 667 UK companies to export and grow, supporting up to 70,000 jobs