World Bank announces $12 billion in support for Kenya over next three years
The World Bank announced it is packaging a 12 billion U.S. dollar loan to Kenya. The funds, if the package is approved, will be disbursed over three years, beginning in July 2024. The World Bank said in a statement that the money is part of efforts to help Kenya “become an upper-middle country by 2030.”
The COVID-19 pandemic’s aftermath and recurrent droughts brought on by climate change have put a strain on Kenya’s finances.
Kenya has also experienced severe liquidity problems as a result of uncertainty surrounding its ability to obtain financing from financial markets before the June 2024 maturity of a 2 billion U.S. dollar Eurobond.
The International Monetary Fund last week secured a staff-level agreement with Kenya, providing immediate access to a 682 million U.S. dollar funding tranche and boosting its current lending programme by 938 million dollars.
Currently, Kenya receives 2 billion U.S. dollars in concessional funding annually. The combined commitments of the International Development Association and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development currently total 8.3 billion U.S. dollars, of which 4.4 billion can be disbursed.
