International Finance Corporation to Borrow Up to KSh12.99bn for New Kenyan Investments

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced it will raise up to KSh12.99 billion in the short term to finance fresh investment projects in Kenya.

The World Bank Group’s private-sector arm said the loan will be sourced in Kenyan shillings as part of a strategy to mitigate foreign-exchange risk, noting that most of its assets and liabilities are denominated in US dollars.

IFC also reported an undrawn Kenyan shilling credit line worth about $100 million as of June 30, 2026, which can be accessed until June 24, 2027, and highlighted that it diversifies borrowing by currency, country, source and maturity, having used 31 currencies in the year to June 30, 2026.

Outstanding local-currency loans totalled $8.9 billion at the end of June 2026, a rise of $738 million from the previous year, covering frontier-market currencies such as the Tanzanian shilling, Bangladeshi taka, Romanian lei, Kenyan shilling, Kazakhstani tenge, Nigerian naira and Tunisian dinar.

Kenya holds 38,487 votes in IFC, representing 0.15 per cent of the institution’s voting power, which invests in more than 2,000 businesses worldwide.

Among the new proposals, IFC plans a $10 million (KSh1.3 billion) senior 10-year loan to Revital Healthcare (EPZ) Limited, a Mombasa medical-device maker whose founder Rajnikant Chandulal Vora owns 64 per cent, with the company committing $23.4 million (KSh3 billion) to the expansion.

IFC also intends to purchase a 6.45 per cent stake in supermarket chain Quickmart for KSh1.94 billion.

The financier previously backed rival retailer Naivas Limited through a consortium that later sold its holdings to a group led by Mauritius’ IBL Group, and has supported other Kenyan firms including National Cement Company, Co-operative Bank of Kenya and Equity Group Holdings.

In 2021, Co-operative Bank of Kenya secured $75 million (KSh8.25 billion at the time) of long-term IFC financing for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises, while IFC provided Equity Group with $50 million in 2022 as part of a $165 million fundraising round.