The European Union has approved eight Kenyan banks as local intermediaries of the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The approval means Barclays Bank of Kenya, Standard Chartered Bank, Development Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Stanbic Bank, Industrial Development Bank (IDB), East African Development Bank (EADB) and Credit Agricole Indosuez Bank, are now listed as credit financiers of EU-approved projects.
Mr Wolfgang Moser, a committee member of the EU’s Investment Facility for Private Sector Development in the African Caribbean Pacific region, said the initiative is part of the European Union’s strategy to jump-start economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa.
An estimated 50 per cent of the region’s population lives in extreme poverty.
"The EU is seeking to collaborate with local banking institutions to stimulate economic growth in Africa," said Moser.
