Kenya’s automotive and energy sectors have received a boost in the form of JPY25 billion (US$170 million) in financing from Japan.

‘This facility will strengthen our local vehicle assembly and parts manufacturing industry while also addressing electricity transmission and distribution losses, currently standing at about 23% of our national output,’ Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister Musalia Mudavadi announced after the deal was struck on the sidelines of the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development.

The Samurai financing will be guaranteed by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (Nepi), reports Engineering News, in a bid to lower costs.

Kenya is reportedly diversifying its funding sources to counter market volatility and higher US interest rates.

Raphael Otieno, Kenya’s director-general of debt management in the Ministry of Finance, said the country was increasingly focusing on efforts to lower borrowing costs, and was considering instruments such as Samurai bonds.

Investopedia defines a Samurai bond as a ‘yen-denominated bond issued in Tokyo by a non-Japanese company […] to capitalise on low Japanese interest rates, or to gain exposure to Japanese markets and investors’. The bonds are subject to Japanese regulations.

26 August 2025
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