Kenya is set to benefit from a KES 13.7bn ($105.97mn) investment by British International Investment (BII) and Standard Chartered Bank, unveiled at the East Africa Trade and Investment Forum (EATIF), The Standard reported.

Of the total, KES 13bn ($100.39mn) will fund a 50-50 risk-sharing facility to support local and cross-border trade in Kenya and Tanzania. The remaining KES 650mn ($5.02mn) will back electric motorbike infrastructure in Kenya, supporting ARC Ride’s rollout of 5,000 e-bikes and battery-swapping stations.

“This will make finance more accessible for businesses as well as increase the availability of vital goods and services,” the British High Commission said, as quoted by The Standard.

The trade finance facility qualifies for the G7’s ‘2X Challenge’, promoting gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. It will support women-led businesses, create jobs, and promote leadership opportunities for women. The initiative targets over KES 58.5bn ($451.74mn) in trade volumes.

BII, the UK’s development finance institution, and Standard Chartered, a British multinational bank, aim to de-risk trade across East Africa and accelerate the region’s transition to cleaner transport. Kenya and Tanzania remain key markets but face a significant shortfall in trade financing. The African Development Bank estimated Africa’s unmet demand for trade finance at $81bn annually in 2019. Meanwhile, East Africa’s transport sector is rapidly evolving, with Kenya’s e-mobility market projected to grow by 52% annually through 2030 (McKinsey, 2022). This dual investment reflects the UK’s strategy to combine climate action with economic partnership in Africa’s fastest-growing sub-region.

The two-day EATIF concluded on May 22 in Nairobi. It was organised by UK-based consultancy DMA Invest and the East Africa Association in partnership with the UK government. The forum gathered officials and business leaders from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Lord Collins, the UK Minister for Africa, said the forum would help “lay a pipeline of private sector investment” across the region.

Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Investment Promotion, Abubakar Hassan Abubakar, described Kenya as offering “Africa’s leading value proposition for private capital, with great portfolio of opportunities in key sectors.”

In a related development, as bne IntelliNews reported, Kenyan agritech startup SunCulture recently secured a $4mn investment from BII to scale solar-powered irrigation systems and expand its carbon financing initiative. This funding will reduce upfront costs for 16,000 additional smallholder farmers, building on BII’s 2023 support that distributed 9,000 units across Kenya.