KDC: We’re here to plug gaps in the market for long-term financing

November 18, 2022 Newsroom

The Kenya Development Corporation (KDC) has affirmed its commitment to address critical gaps in the market for long-term financing in sectors such as infrastructure, manufacturing, and agro-industry that cannot be met by commercial banks.

Speaking during the inaugural Stakeholder Engagement Breakfast meeting to mark a year since the formal launch of the Corporation, KDC Director-General Christopher Huka stated that the Corporation’s aim is to create sustainable strategic partnerships both local and international recognizing.

These linkages, he said, are critical for successful development as they provide expertise, technology, and financial resources as well as shared knowledge that would translate to growth of sectors providing the highest socio-economic returns.

“KDC has partnered with the World Bank to catalyze development of the Livestock Value Chains (LVC) in Arid and Semi-Arid lands in Kenya. A facility provided to KDC for this purpose in the total sum of Kes4.5 billion is expected to catalyze development of the LVCs by KDC in partnership with the private sector.

“The resultant investments are expected to build up pastoralists’ resilience, enhancing their access to financial services and including them better in the livestock trade in the HoA region and connecting them better to markets. The project provides an innovative approach to addressing climate change and pastoral communities’ poverty levels.

In the same way that KDC has created a partnership to develop the Livestock Value Chains, KDC is seeking partners with whom it can equally develop other nascent sectors that have the potential for high socio-economic impact like developing the blue economy, post-harvest management and enhancing access to green and renewable energy”, Mr Huka explained.

KDC is a development finance institution set up in 2020 to merge the operations of the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC), Tourism Finance Corporation (TFC) and IDB Capital Limited.

The corporation’s mandate is to promote sustainable socioeconomic development by providing development finance, infrastructure finance, business support and advisory services to medium and large-scale industries.

As Kenya’s single cross-sector Development Finance Institution, KDC is enabled with sufficient scale, scope, and resources to play a catalytic role in Kenya’s socioeconomic development.

“KDC is acutely aware of the mission ahead, and if a reflection is made on our market understanding over the past year, I can confidently say that Kenyan entrepreneurs and industrialists alike are demanding access to quality, affordable financial solutions tailor-made for their respective needs. We shall also ensure that the organisation upholds global quality management standards, compliance with the Prudential Standards and Guidelines applicable to DFIs as recommended by local regulatory agencies and the Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADFI) and above all ensure that KDC becomes the leading financial partner driving Kenya’s progress and prosperity, said KDC Board Chairman Michael Nyachae.