The World Bank has granted Kenya a Ksh20 billion loan to fund projects targeted at job creation, entrepreneurship, and marginalized communities.
The Kenyan government will use the Ksh 20 billion from the World Bank to expand domestic capital and credit programs that support business growth.
In a statement issued Monday, Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria said the decision to extend the sum to Kenya had been reached after a meeting between the World Bank and the Board of Kenya Development Corporation (KDC) which he chaired.
Kenya will get the Ksh20 billion through four programs that focus on entrepreneurship, job creation, and marginalized communities like pastoralists.
The meeting also resolved to expedite World Bank programs in the nation, such as the De-risking, Inclusion, and Value Enhancement of Pastoral Economies in the Horn of Africa (DRIVE) and Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP).
Conversely, the Kenya Jobs and Economic Transformation (KJET) Project and Supporting Access to Finance and Enterprise Recovery (SAFER) Projects will also be fast-tracked as per the meeting’s deliberations.
The DRIVE project will focus on providing support to pastoralist communities through insurance, digital accounts, capital, loans, and access to markets.
The second project, SAFER, aims to aid Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in their recovery and growth.
The ongoing Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP) will continue its efforts to promote industrialization in the SME sector.
Its primary focus is to enhance innovation capacity and foster stronger market linkages for players in the Kenyan entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Jobs and Economic Transformation (KJET) project will contribute to enhancing Kenya’s competitiveness in the MSME sector through targeted business climate reforms.
The loan comes even as the World Bank continues to extend various forms of financial support to Kenya.
In May 2023, the World Bank announced that it had approved a Ksh 138.5 billion loan to help Kenya ease its debt burden and strengthen its weakening currency.
