Microsoft’s chief executive has announced that the technology firm will donate $1bn (£700m) worth of its cloud services, at market value, to non-profits and university research teams around the world over the next three years.

Satya Nadella, chief executive of Microsoft Corp (pictured), who is speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland today, said that the donation is intended to “drive new growth equally”.

According to Microsoft, charities will be able to apply in the spring of 2016 and aims to “serve 70,000 nonprofits in the next three years with these Microsoft Cloud Services”.

“Microsoft is empowering mission-driven organisations around the planet with a donation of cloud computing services," said Nadella. “Now more than 70,000 organisations will have access to technology that will help them solve our greatest societal challenges and ultimately improve the human condition and drive new growth equally.”

The news comes on the back of Microsoft’s announcement in December 2015 that it would be launching Microsoft Philanthropies, which is a dedicated organisation within the company that will focus on driving digital inclusion and empowerment around the world.

Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, said: “We’re committed to helping nonprofit groups and universities use cloud computing to address fundamental human challenges. One of our ambitions for Microsoft Philanthropies is to partner with these groups and ensure that cloud computing reaches more people and serves the broadest array of societal needs.”

A spokeswoman from Microsoft could not confirm how much of the $1bn worth of cloud services would be made available to organisations in the UK.