The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced that it will support four new projects in Kenya and the wider East-African region with loans worth US$78mn
Companies that will benefit from this loan include Telkom Kenya, the BCS Group, the Medical Credit Fund and Novastar II.
EIB added that a large part of the loan will be disbursed in Kenyan shillings, to minimise the risk of currency volatility for the Bank’s counterparts.
EIB’s vice-president Ambroise Fayolle, commented, “This financing will benefit strategic initiatives by private sector players, who will be the key to propelling the Kenyan and African economy forward.”
“Our backing will help to provide thousands of people with improved access to quality healthcare, and potentially millions of people with access to data networks, which nowadays is a basic condition for doing business in a connected world,” he added.
Telkom Kenya Ltd will receive US$39mn loan to increase its 3G and 4G coverage and invest in its Fibre-To-The-Building network, which will dramatically improve services to SMEs and corporate customers.
The BCS Group will benefit from a US$18mn loan to fund the deployment of fibre optic networks throughout eastern and Central Africa, including Zambia and Uganda, and adjacent cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where broadband access is limited, enabling reliable connectivity services.
The Medical Credit Fund is a region-wide operator that invests in small healthcare players such as clinics, pharmacies, diagnostic centres and hospitals to provide quality healthcare in underserved regions. The EIB will invest US$5mn, denominated in Kenyan shillings.
EIB will invest US$15mn in the “Novastar II” venture capital impact fund. The fund will back early-stage businesses, that address proven demand for basic goods and services with innovative business models, that widen access, improve quality, and lower cost for the mass low-income markets in East and Anglophone West Africa.
