The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is set to loan Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Kenya Sh19.4 billion ($150 million) for onward lending to small enterprises and to enhance its capital base, new disclosures by the World Bank affiliate show.

The IFC said that it will lend $100 million directly from its account to the Kenyan bank, with the other $50 million coming from parallel lenders to be mobilised by the institution. Approval of the lending is expected to be considered in an IFC board meeting on September 4.

In addition to the cash loan, the IFC added that it will offer advisory services to KCB Kenya to support the implementation of a sustainable finance framework.

“Financial additionality includes an innovative de-risking instrument not readily available in the market, financial structure in terms of loan amount and tenor, and mobilisation of additional funding from co-lenders,” said the IFC in its disclosure.

“Non-financial additionality is primarily through advisory services to support KCB Kenya in implementing a sustainable finance framework.”

By the end of the first quarter of the year, KCB Kenya had a loan book of Sh1.7 trillion, up from Sh1 trillion a year earlier.

The lender estimated that it extended Sh13 billion in new lending to MSMEs in the first quarter of the year. KCB has regularly accessed external financing from development and multilateral institutions to support its lending capacity, particularly targeting medium and small enterprises.

In July, the bank received Sh12.9 billion in financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for onward lending to women and youth-led businesses, and green enterprises. This was the first investment in the Kenyan banking sector by London-based EBRD since its formation in 1971.

Similar to the IFC arrangement, EBRD will also offer KCB technical assistance to strengthen its green lending capacity through specialised training, advisory services and technical expertise, enhancing its ability to support environmentally sustainable investments.

Other international lenders who have given loans to the bank include British International Investments with a Sh12.9 billion facility in 2025 and the European Investment Bank with a Sh32 billion facility in 2024.

In total, KCB Bank’s borrowings from development institutions stood at Sh72.4 billion in March, up from Sh67.5 billion a year earlier.

The new capital has come at a time when Kenyan banks are under pressure from the Central Bank of Kenya to grow their lending to the private sector to boost the growth of the economy.

In the 12 months to May 2026, growth in credit to the private sector stood at 9.3 percent, up from 71 percent in April, but still well below the 12 to 15 percent level seen as ideal to back healthy growth of the economy.

→ cmwaniki@ke.nationmedia.com

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