NAIROBI, Oct 13 – Kenya expects an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to visit Nairobi in early December for Article IV consultations, establishing a new timetable for an economic assessment that had been postponed while the government pursued a successor lending arrangement with the Fund.
The Treasury announced the planned visit on Monday following discussions between Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi and Eric Meyer, a US Treasury deputy assistant secretary, on the opening day of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.
The meetings run from October 12 to 18, bringing together finance officials and policymakers to discuss global economic conditions, development financing and financial stability.
Kenya requested a new IMF programme in March 2025 after agreeing with the Fund to discontinue the ninth review of its previous $3.6 billion Extended Fund Facility and Extended Credit Facility arrangements. Those programmes expired in April 2025.
Subsequent IMF missions to Nairobi in September and October 2025, and again in February and March 2026, did not produce a successor agreement. Discussions covered fiscal discipline, public debt sustainability, governance and broader economic risks.
The planned Article IV consultation will provide a separate assessment of Kenya’s economic performance and policy framework. It does not, in itself, constitute approval of a new IMF loan. Kenya’s last completed Article IV consultation was considered by the IMF Executive Board in January 2024.
Governance Review and US Economic Cooperation
Mbadi and Meyer also discussed progress towards publication of the IMF’s Governance Diagnostic Report, which examines governance-related challenges and their implications for economic management.
The IMF confirmed in June that a draft report had been shared with Kenyan authorities. Publication remains subject to their consent.
The officials’ discussions also covered remittances from the United States, possible US Treasury assistance relating to digital assets, development finance, health cooperation and Kenya’s Business Laws (Amendment) Act.
The governance report remains a significant part of the broader engagement between Kenya and the Fund as discussions continue around public financial management and economic policy.
Kenya Advances KSh40.4 Billion Electricity Transmission PPP
Separately, Mbadi met Africa50 Chief Operating Officer Tshepidi Moremong to advance a KSh40.4 billion (approximately $311.4 million) electricity transmission project towards financial close.
Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) signed the project agreement with Africa50 and India’s Power Grid Corporation in December 2025. The 30-year concession covers two transmission lines: the 180-kilometre Lessos–Loosuk line and the 72-kilometre Kibos–Kakamega–Musaga line.
Under the arrangement, the private consortium is responsible for financing, constructing and operating the infrastructure, while KETRACO will make performance-linked payments.
The officials also discussed the proposed establishment of Africa50’s regional office in Nairobi and the use of asset recycling to mobilise capital from existing transport infrastructure.
These initiatives form part of Kenya’s efforts to attract private financing for infrastructure while expanding the role of public-private partnerships in project delivery.
Climate Finance and Economic Forecasting
Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo also participated in the 17th V20 Ministerial Dialogue, where representatives of climate-vulnerable economies called for longer-term and more affordable concessional financing.
Discussions advanced the Vulnerability to Viability Compact and proposals for a regional liquidity facility intended to help countries manage balance-of-payments shocks associated with climate disasters. No Kenya-specific funding allocation was announced.
Kiptoo also attended a regional forum organised by the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI), focusing on the use of artificial intelligence and data analytics in economic forecasting, fiscal-risk assessment and debt management.
The wider IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings programme includes the Development Committee meeting on October 15, the Annual Meetings plenary on October 16 and the IMF’s International Monetary and Financial Committee meeting on October 17.
For Kenya, the expected December IMF mission will provide an opportunity for the Fund to review the country’s economic conditions and policy choices, while negotiations over any new financing arrangement remain a separate process.
