YOKOHAMA, Japan – Kenya has signed a Sh22 billion financing agreement with Japan aimed at spurring industrial growth and lowering electricity costs, in a deal sealed on the sidelines of the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9).
The facility, known as a Samurai loan, will channel funds into Kenya’s automotive and energy sectors.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi signed on behalf of Kenya, while Atsuo Kuroda, Chairman and CEO of Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), represented Japan.
President William Ruto and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba witnessed the signing in Yokohama.
Of the total package, Sh13.1 billion will go to the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry to support local vehicle assembly, scale up electric mobility, and reduce reliance on used car imports.
Another Sh4.8 billion will be invested in high-efficiency transformers to cut power losses, while Sh3.9 billion will ease general government spending pressures.
“This unique Samurai financing facility will stimulate the entire automotive value chain, foster innovation, and help prepare our youth for green industry jobs,” said Mudavadi, adding that the package would also address electricity transmission losses that currently drain nearly a quarter of Kenya’s power output.
The loan, which has a seven-year maturity period, reflects what the government calls a diversification of borrowing options to reduce reliance on traditional lenders.
At the TICAD 9 plenary, President Ruto renewed his criticism of global credit rating systems, saying African countries are unfairly penalised with high borrowing costs.
He backed calls for an Africa Credit Rating Agency to complement international reforms.
“The current global credit rating system overlooks Africa’s realities and penalises our countries during global distress. This must change,” Ruto said.
The President further urged African leaders to deepen intra-continental trade, pointing to UNCTAD data showing only 18 per cent of Africa’s exports remain within the continent, compared to over 60 per cent in Europe and Asia.
He said the African Continental Free Trade Area could raise that figure by 50 per cent by 2035, creating millions of jobs.
Ruto also singled out agriculture as Africa’s most underutilised sector, employing more than 60 per cent of the population but undercut by poor investment and infrastructure.
In other deals inked in Yokohama, Kenya signed agreements with Japanese pharmaceutical giant Shionogi to expand access to critical antibiotics, and with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to strengthen skills and technology transfer in industrial innovation.
Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba also floated the idea of an Economic Region Initiative of Indian Ocean–Africa to deepen trade ties between the two regions.
