Kenya Commercial Bank Group and the African Export Import Bank have signed a memorandum of understanding to channel $800 million into the development of the Vipingo Special Economic Zone in Kilifi County, in a move officials say will accelerate Kenya’s industrialization agenda.
The pact was unveiled on September 16 at the Kenya Investment Forum hosted by Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms, where investors and policymakers gathered to explore ways of positioning Kenya as a competitive destination for capital and trade.
Under the agreement, Afreximbank will contribute $500 million while KCB will add $300 million to create a financing pool targeted at both local and international investors seeking to establish businesses in the zone. The focus will fall on sectors such as manufacturing, agro processing, logistics and value addition industries.
Paul Russo, the chief executive of KCB Group, said the initiative was designed to unlock the potential of Vipingo as a hub for export oriented enterprises. “This agreement marks a significant step in our mission to catalyze sustainable industrial growth in Kenya and across the region,” he said. “Vipingo SEZ will serve as a gateway to transforming and sustaining an environment in which industries can thrive, by leveraging economies of scale, shared infrastructure and access to global markets.”
Afreximbank officials described the partnership as aligned with the lender’s mandate to expand intra African trade. Oluranti Doherty, managing director for export development, noted that the framework would support enterprises with project finance, trade facilities, guarantees and advisory services. “Special economic zones are powerful engines for industrialization, export growth and economic diversification,” she said. “Through this financing framework we will not only enable enterprises to scale but also support the creation of sustainable supply chains that uplift local communities.”
The Vipingo Special Economic Zone is a flagship of the Special Economic Zones Authority, designed to attract foreign direct investment and catalyze development in coastal Kenya. It is the latest project to benefit from Afreximbank’s three billion dollar country program for Kenya signed in May 2023, which has already supported industrial parks in Naivasha and Dongo Kundu. Afreximbank previously disbursed $40 million to facilitate Vipingo’s early stages and has now committed an additional $500 million to support individual investors entering the zone.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by President William Ruto, Afreximbank president Benedict Oramah, and Gagan Gupta, founder and chief executive of Arise IIP. George Olaka, head of Arise IIP Kenya, joined Mr. Russo and Ms. Doherty in endorsing the pact.
Officials say the partnership signals the growing role of blended finance in bridging Africa’s infrastructure gap while enabling the private sector to play a central role in sustainable growth. For Kilifi, it represents a chance to recast itself as a magnet for trade and investment, and for Kenya it underscores the ambition to emerge as a manufacturing hub within the continent.
