Kenya has received fresh backing from the World Bank as the government pushes ahead with plans to finance key development projects and stimulate economic growth.

In a statement shared on X on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo said the talks took place in Nairobi during a high-level meeting with senior World Bank officials, focusing on funding priorities, ongoing projects, and future investment plans aligned with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.

In his statement, Kiptoo highlighted the long-standing relationship between Kenya and the World Bank and the role the lender continues to play in national development efforts.

“The World Bank is one of Kenya’s strongest and most reliable development partners, playing a critical role in supporting our economic transformation agenda,” part of Chris Kiptoo’s statement reads.

“Kenya currently has a World Bank portfolio of 31 active projects with total commitments of USD 5.96 billion (approximately Ksh5.9 billion), supporting priority sectors including education, water, housing, roads, energy, urban development, and institutional strengthening. We also discussed the pipeline of priority projects under the IDA 21 cycle to accelerate service delivery and inclusive growth.”

Kiptoo explained the purpose of the meeting held with World Bank leadership, noting that it involved both political and technical leadership from the National Treasury and focused on reviewing existing support and future financing.

“Together with Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury, John Mbadi, we met with the visiting World Bank Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer, Wencai Zhang, to review the status of our partnership and ongoing support under budget operations and project financing aligned to the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda,” he wrote.

He went on to outline the scale of World Bank support currently in place, giving details of the number of projects and the sectors benefiting from the funding, as well as discussions around the next pipeline of projects.

“Kenya currently has a World Bank portfolio of 31 active projects with total commitments of USD 5.96 billion, supporting priority sectors including education, water, housing, roads, energy, urban development, and institutional strengthening, we also discussed the pipeline of priority projects under the IDA 21 cycle to accelerate service delivery and inclusive growth,” he wrote.

The Principal Secretary also stressed that job creation and opportunities for young people were central to the discussions, pointing to a flagship programme already underway with World Bank support.

“A key focus of our engagement was job creation, youth empowerment, and industrialisation, including progress on the World Bank-supported NYOTA Programme, which is providing start-up capital, skills development, and market linkages to young entrepreneurs. The programme is a critical platform for promoting value addition, agro-processing, MSME growth, and the development of local manufacturing and industrial ecosystems,” part of Chris Kiptoo’s statement reads.

Kiptoo concluded by noting the level of representation from the World Bank side, underscoring the importance attached to Kenya within the institution’s regional priorities.

“The Managing Director was accompanied by the World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, Ndiamé Diop, and the World Bank Country Director for Kenya, Qimiao Fan, among other senior officials,” he wrote.