KCB Bank Kenya and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have signed a USD 100 million facility to expand SME financing in Kenya.
The facility, equivalent to approximately KES 12.9 billion at the exchange rate cited in the agreement, is intended to support entrepreneurship and job creation across Kenya's private sector.
Under the agreement, 35% of the facility will be directed towards enterprises led by women and young entrepreneurs, while 30% will finance green investments that enable businesses to adopt climate-related technologies and sustainable operating practices. The remaining portion of the facility is intended for broader MSME lending.
EBRD’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Dr. Heike Harmgart, mentioned that the transaction represents the bank's first investment in Kenya's financial sector. It was also said that the facility is designed to channel financing to MSMEs, which the EBRD identifies as a driver of job creation and economic growth in the country, and noted that the structure is intended to support both the transition to a greener economy and expanded access to finance for women and youth-led businesses.
Technical support for green lending
In addition to the financing itself, the EBRD will provide technical assistance to KCB Bank Kenya to develop its green lending capabilities. This will include specialised training, advisory services, and technical expertise intended to build the bank's capacity to appraise and support environmentally sustainable investments, including renewable energy and climate-smart agriculture projects.
KCB Bank Kenya Managing Director, Mrs. Annastacia Kimtai, said the facility is expected to support the extension of financing to SMEs that have faced barriers in accessing credit, and pointed to the bank's ongoing focus on renewable energy and climate-smart agriculture as areas for continued investment.
Track record in SME and green financing
The agreement builds on KCB Bank Kenya's existing MSME and sustainability-linked lending activity. The bank has disbursed the equivalent of approximately USD 1.21 billion to women entrepreneurs through its Female-Led and Made Enterprises (FLME) proposition, and approximately USD 378 million in green financing loans supporting renewable energy and climate-related projects. By the end of March 2026, the bank had extended approximately USD 100.8 million in new credit to micro, small, and medium enterprises.
The new EBRD facility adds to a broader set of development finance partnerships aimed at improving MSME access to credit in Kenya, where financing gaps for smaller businesses, particularly those led by women and young entrepreneurs, have remained a recurring policy and industry concern. The inclusion of a dedicated green financing allocation also reflects a wider trend among development finance institutions to link commercial bank funding facilities to climate-related lending targets.
