AfDB Approves Ksh65.8 Billion Funding for Kenya

The African Development Bank has approved Ksh65.8 billion ($509 million) in financing to support Kenya’s development priorities.

In a statement on Monday, February 23, Kiptoo confirmed the approval of the funds and emphasized the strengthening of ties between the two institutions.

"The African Development Bank has extended financing amounting to USD 509 million in support of Kenya’s development priorities, reinforcing our partnership under the current Country Strategy framework," he said.

Kiptoo revealed that the announcement came during high-level talks held at the National Treasury involving senior AfDB leadership at the start of a key review mission.

"Today at the National Treasury, I held discussions with Mr. Alex Mubiru, Director General for the Regional Development and Business Delivery Office for East Africa at the African Development Bank, at the start of the joint technical mission for the mid term review of the Country Strategy Paper covering the period 2024 to 2028," he added.

Kiptoo further outlined the sectors set to benefit from the financing, highlighting major projects in health, water, roads, and energy transmission.

"Discussions covered key flagship interventions, including investments in the health sector, water and road infrastructure, transmission networks, and the need to fast track projects through regular portfolio reviews to enhance absorption and impact," he further said.

This comes a week after the government announced a renewed push to strengthen its anti-money laundering systems as it seeks to restore international confidence in the country’s financial sector. 

In a statement on Monday, February 16, Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo outlined the progress made so far and the next steps required for Kenya to meet international standards set by global financial oversight bodies.

"Kenya is accelerating reforms to strengthen its Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework to address identified gaps and restore full international confidence in the country’s financial system," he said.

Kiptoo said discussions had been held to evaluate ongoing efforts and align strategies aimed at meeting international requirements for removal from the monitoring process.

"On behalf of Hon. John Mbadi, Cabinet Secretary, The National Treasury, I held a meeting with Principals of AML/CFT implementing agencies to review progress under the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) process and agree on the next steps toward exiting the grey list," he added.

According to the Treasury, several legal and institutional milestones have already been achieved as part of the reform agenda. 

These include new legislation, stronger coordination mechanisms, and tighter oversight standards intended to improve transparency and reporting across the financial sector.

"Key progress includes the enactment of the Anti Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Financing Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025, and the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) Act, 2025, strengthened institutional coordination, enhanced risk based customer due diligence, improved suspicious transaction reporting, and closer inter agency collaboration across critical sectors," he further said.

Kiptoo further stressed that remaining reforms will be implemented aggressively to secure Kenya’s removal from the grey list maintained by the Financial Action Task Force. 

"We are taking decisive actions to complete the remaining reforms and secure Kenya’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List," he concluded.