Berlin, Germany, with World Bank President Ajay Banga on the sidelines of G20 Compact with Africa Conference inThe World Bank has revealed that it will give Kenya Sh. 1.85 trillion loans. The loans will be availed starting in July 2024 over a three year period.

The loans are the latest mark in the shift in funding from China to the West that is being undertaken by the administration of President William Ruto.

According to the global financier, commitments from the International Development Association (IDA) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) now stand at Sh. 1.26 trillion ($8.3 billion) with Sh. 670.4 billion ($4.4 billion) available for disbursement.

“World Bank has been one of Kenya’s strongest partners and the largest provider of development finance. Kenya is now accessing about $2 billion in concessional financing each year. IDA and IBRD commitments together now stand at $8.3 billion, with $4.4 billion available to disburse,” the World Bank stated.

“International Finance Corporation’s investment portfolio is $1.2 billion. MIGA is actively engaged with $424 million in guarantees covering the energy, transport, financial, fintech, and tourism sectors.”

Looking ahead, the World Bank said it  is fully committed to support Kenya in its journey to become an upper-middle-income country by 2030.

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Over the three fiscal years (FY24-FY26), IDA/IBRD expect to provide an estimated $4.5 billion including fast-disbursing operations.

Out of this amount, $3 billion is estimated from IDA and $1.5 billion from IBRD. IFC will provide roughly $1 billion in investments and MIGA guarantees can amount to around $500 million.

“Subject to the World Bank Executive Directors approval of new operations, and to factors which may affect the Bank’s lending capacity, this implies a total financial package of $12 billion (Sh. 1.85 trillion) over the three years,” the World Bank said in a statement.

The new funding revelations come bareky a week after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that it would extend Sh. 142.6 billion financing to Kenya.

Subject to the approval of the Washington-based fund’s executive board, Kenya will have access to a total of $3.88 billion, which would bring its total funding under the existing Extended Fund Facility and Extended Credit Facility arrangements to $4.43 billion, the IMF said.