The European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union, is playing a pivotal role in transforming Kenya’s private sector by providing catalytic funding that enables local enterprises to scale their operations, create jobs, and drive innovation across industries.
Over the past few years, EIB’s investments have gone beyond traditional infrastructure to focus on inclusive, private sector-led growth, channeling financing to startups and small businesses that are often the backbone of Kenya’s economy but face persistent barriers to accessing capital.
Through targeted initiatives such as Boost Africa, the Bank has injected millions of euros into Kenya’s entrepreneurial ecosystem through local intermediaries and venture capital funds which in turn invest in high-potential enterprises in sectors such as agritech, fintech, clean energy, and health.
The goal is not merely to fund businesses, but to nurture them into scalable, sustainable ventures capable of expanding regionally and globally.
Samuel Munguti, the CEO and founder of agri-tech firm Shamba Pride, is one of the entrepreneurs who is growing his business through EIB’s timely support.
Munguti says that EIB through the Boost Africa program allocated his business an initial funding of USD500,000 which enabled him to expand his business, including investing in professionals. The funds were delivered through Boost Africa’s partner fund Seedstars Africa Ventures.
“At Shamba Pride, we felt that we needed financial partners like EIB and we feel that such funds really resonate with local early-stage capital needs to spur development. Beyond the capital that Seedstars Africa Ventures (the EIB backed Fund) deployed to Shamba Pride, we have really benefited as a business a lot from the technical assistance offered to grow our senior management team,’’ Munguti explains.
Shamba Pride, an agri-tech firm, currently connects over 80,000 farmers and 4,000 agri-retailers through tech-powered digishops. Its platform modernises agro-dealer operations, improves supply chains, and builds local farming communities through the provision of quality farm inputs and linkage to markets for farmers’ produce.
“Farmers in the Shamba pride ecosystem report a 2.5X increase in farm productivity,” Munguti notes.
According to Munguti, through Boost Africa, Shamba Pride grew its revenues from Sh5 million to close to Sh300 million within 3 years from 2021. Additionally, the firm its workforce from 4 direct employees to more than 40 within four years.
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Turaco Ltd
Turaco is an insurtech company that provides affordable and simple insurance products, primarily to underserved customers in Africa.
With Boost Africa’s support, it’s scaling customer-centric insurance products for the mass market across Kenya.
“I learned about EIB being a part of AfricInvest (the private equity fund) when he had some challenges in our business around developing and coaching our people to be upskilled. I really wanted resources to be able to do this, and Boost Africa came alongside us and met the specific needs we had in the business at that time,” Turaco Insurance CEO and Co-founder Ted Pantone said.
According to Ted, Turaco has experienced a remarkable growth from 100,000 users to 1.6 million active users in the last three years.
“That’s around $1.5 million of premium to $12 million of premium. By going to a Fund like AfricInvest which is backed by Boost Africa and EIB, we were able to find people who understood Africa risk in terms of investment and were able to see the potential and what we were trying to build,” he explained.
Poa Internet
Founded in Nairobi in 2015, Poa Internet is closing Kenya’s digital divide by delivering low-cost Wi-Fi to underserved communities.
With support from Boost Africa, Poa scaled its operations to reach peri-urban and semi-rural areas, where traditional telecoms had little presence.
“We’ve been working with Boost Africa through an EIB backed fund called Seedstars Africa and that capital has been used to finance additional infrastructure, equipment and to hire additional people into the business and to train them in all the necessary skills,” Poa Internet CEO and founder Andy Halsall said.
The firm currently operates in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Eldoret, employing 400 people directly. A 2024 impact study revealed that 62 percent of Poa users were first-time home Wi-Fi subscribers, and 70 percent of low-income households accessed the internet through Poa.
Among professional users, 85 percent used the work service, and 68 percent reported increased income or savings. The platform also boosted digital literacy, with 83 percent of users learning new skills and 82 percent expanding their professional networks.
Edward Claessen, Head of European Investment Bank, Regional Hub for East Africa, says that Boost Africa supports businesses in all stages through financial and technical assistance to grow sustainably.
“At a higher level, Boost Africa is supporting incubators, accelerators, early-stage and growth stage fund managers who then, in turn, invest in companies from the inception stage to the growth stage, to more mature companies,” says Claessen.
He adds that for the venture capital industry to effectively support the country’s private sector, more private capital is needed, as the public sector cannot meet the demand alone.
“We have had to find a way to attract private sector money into these venture capital funds since the amount of capital needed is extensive. At Boost Africa, we have a unique approach to mobilising capital. We invest in funds by structuring a junior tranche, which means that we, as the European Investment Bank, commit to taking on some losses, if there are losses, therefore shielding the other private sectors who have put their money in the venture funds,” notes Claessen.
So far, Boost Africa has supported 73 companies, and the number is projected to reach 120 companies by the end of the investment window, thus creating thousands of jobs.
EIB’s investment of EUR 78 million in Boost Africa has encouraged other private investors to bring in nearly EUR 400 million for investing in African companies.
