Kenya missing final IMF review could delay other cash

Kenya and the International Monetary Fund agreed last week to skip the ninth and final review of the current programme, leaving roughly $800  million (Ksh.104.4 billion) on the table.

"Since IMF funding often serves as a catalyst for other official and private flows, we expect there might be delays to World Bank (about $800 million) and United Arab Emirates (UAE; $1.5 billion) funding in first-half 2025," S&P said in a statement, adding:

"In the meantime, the government has built up sufficient foreign exchange reserves of about $10 billion and could plug immediate concessional financing shortfalls with domestic funding or other commercial facilities, albeit at a much higher cost.

Kenya's Finance Minister John Mbadi said the government had already applied for a new IMF programme, and has said that the World Bank loan was not related to the IMF money, but was conditional on other requirements, such as passing a conflict of interest bill that the government is finalizing.