Kenya will buy an additional $25 million (Sh3.23 billion) stake in Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) as the infrastructure development-focused multilateral institution moves to set up its first office outside Nigeria in Nairobi.
President William Ruto said on Wednesday during ongoing ‘The Africa we Build Summit 2026’ in Nairobi, the investment is part of Kenya’s move to continue strengthening regional development finance institutions.
Kenya has been one of the shareholders in AFC since 2017.
The pledge for additional equity came as AFC president and CEO Samaila Zubairu announced that the firm was going to set up a regional office in Nairobi. This will be AFC’s first office outside its headquarters in Lagos.
‘I want to inform AFC fraternity that as you set up office in Nairobi, the Kenya government is going to enhance its equity by $25 million as a demonstration of the confidence we have in African financial institutions,’ said Dr Ruto.
Mr Zubairu, who said AFC reached the agreement with Kenya officials to set up Nairobi office, explained that the office will be the first one outside Nigeria and aims to ride on opportunities in the East African region.
‘This is strategic. Nairobi sits at the heart of a region where trade capital, energy and industrial opportunity are increasingly interconnected. Establishing a presence here will allow us to work more closely with East African governments and partners who are moving from plans to projects and from commitment to capital,’ said Mr Zubairu.
‘It allows us to support what comes next- integrated corridors, regional energy platforms, industrial ecosystems, pipelines and domestic capital mobilisation at scale.’
AFC was created to help Africa nations plug infrastructure gaps via financing. Global shocks and geopolitical shifts have made it harder for African nations to raise funds for development abroad, making it imperative states can draw on internal capital.
But that is not happening enough, according to the AFC’s annual study, the State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report published on Thursday at the start of a two-day meeting in Nairobi.
The talks will try to achieve deals for infrastructure projects in Africa.
Mr Zubairu said domestic funds focused too much on low-risk assets such as government bonds that do not fully translate into productive investments. The need was to invest in infrastructure, which creates jobs and can have wider economic benefits.
“The Africa of will not be shaped by hope alone. It will be shaped by what we build,” he said.
Kenya’s planned fresh equity in AFC follows a similar move in the likes of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), African Development Bank (AfDB) and African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (Atidi) and Trade and Development Bank (TDB) where the country has been increasing its equity.
In 2023, Kenya raised its stake in TDB by about $40 million (Sh5.17 billion), making it among the countries with highest stake in the Bujumbura-based institution. President Ruto said he has held talks with TDB for further injection.
‘We have already discussed how Kenya, being among the highest shareholders of TDB, is going to enhance our equity and shareholding. We are doing it intentionally and deliberately. We will continue as leaders in this continent to continue building our own Africa financial institutions and give them capacity,’ said President Ruto.
AFC has over 47 shareholders including sovereigns, pension funds, banks, and multilaterals across Africa. Since the start of the equity raise in 2018, the corporation has cumulatively mobilised over $1.1 billion (Sh142.1 billion).
The corporation plans to further diversify its shareholding by attracting investment from regional and non-regional institutional investors and double its current capital size to accelerate Africa’s infrastructure development and economic growth.