Kenyan private sector, EA-wide funds receive new financial support from Europe

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced four projects in Kenya and the wider region, ranging from backing for Telkom Kenya Ltd. 3G & 4G expansion, to support for the Medical Credit Fund; USD 78m financing in support of private sector players to ultimately benefit the underserved in terms of access to both connectivity and quality healthcare.

At a ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya,  EIB announced four new projects it will support in Kenya and the wider East-African region. The four projects will receive loans worth of USD 78 million, a large part of which will be disbursed in Kenyan Shillings, to minimize the risk of currency volatility for the Bank’s counterparts.

The EIB’s Vice President Ambroise Fayolle commented: “The projects we announce today in Nairobi, build on what we discussed in Addis Ababa yesterday at the EIB & UNIDO ‘Africa Day’. This financing will benefit strategic initiatives by private sector players, who will be the key to propelling the Kenyan and African economy forward. Our backing will help to provide thousands of people with improved access to quality healthcare, and potentially millions of people with access to data networks, which nowadays is a basic condition for doing business in a connected world.”

The loan agreements signed include a EUR 35 million project with Telkom Kenya Ltd. to allow Kenya’s third telecommunications provider to increase its 3G and 4G coverage and invest in its Fibre-To-The-Building network, which will dramatically improve services to SMEs and corporate customers.

BCS Group will benefit from a USD 18 million loan to fund the deployment of fibre optic networks throughout Eastern and Central Africa, including Zambia and Uganda, as well as bordering towns in DRC, where broadband access is limited, enabling reliable connectivity services.

The Medical Credit Fund is a region-wide operator that invests in small players in the healthcare sectors, such as clinics, pharmacies, diagnostics centres and hospitals, so they can provide quality healthcare in underserved region. The EIB will invest USD 5 million, denominated in Kenyan Shillings.

Finally, the EIB will invest USD 15 million in the “Novastar II” venture capital impact fund, which closed at USD 72,5 million last month. The fund will back early-stage businesses, that address proven demand for basic goods and services with innovative business models, that widen access, improve quality, and lower cost for the mass low-income markets in East and Anglophone West Africa.