Kenya is the latest country to become a member of Pan-African multilateral development finance institution, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).
Kenya is the AFC’s fifteenth member and its third East African member after Rwanda and Uganda. The other members are Cabo Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
Being one of the largest economies on the continent and a regional hub for East Africa, Kenya’s pivotal geographical location at the intersection between East and South make it a commercial centre bridging the two regions.
As an infrastructure developer, the AFC believes it is perfectly placed to help improve the quality of Kenya’s infrastructure, enabling the country to capitalise on its strategic position and strong growth prospects.
AFC CEO Andrew Alli highlighted that Kenya’s membership is a critical step in the AFC achieving its goal of developing high-quality infrastructure across the continent, driving positive economic growth.
“By improving the infrastructure of regional hubs such as Kenya, it is our hope to facilitate closer intraregional trade links, a milestone that can only be achieved if the adequate transport, telecommunications networks and power supply are in place.
“Kenya is already making significant progress in this area. Just last month, the first railway to be built in the country in a century opened between Mombasa and Nairobi. The new line connects the capital to the port, an essential link for facilitating the movement of goods and people.
“This is where AFC steps in; we want to build on these pioneering developments and accelerate Kenya’s growth and we are excited by the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead,” he added.