Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi Leads Kenya’s Delegation to IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, Pursuing Economic Reforms and Development Financing

National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi is leading Kenya’s high-level delegation to the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group, scheduled to take place from Monday, October 13, 2025 to Saturday, October 18, 2025 in Washington, D.C., marking a crucial opportunity for Kenya to engage with the global financial community on matters of economic policy, debt management, and sustainable development financing.

The high-profile meetings will convene finance ministers, central bank governors, private sector leaders, civil society representatives, and development partners from around the world to discuss pressing global economic trends, coordinate policy responses to shared challenges, and explore innovative avenues for financing sustainable development across emerging and developing economies.

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Kenya’s Strategic Participation and Objectives

Speaking from Washington ahead of the formal opening of the meetings, Principal Secretary for National Treasury Dr. Chris Kiptoo confirmed Kenya’s active participation in the week-long gatherings, emphasizing the East African nation’s unwavering commitment to advancing comprehensive economic reforms, enhancing long-term debt sustainability, and securing substantial development financing necessary for sustained economic growth and poverty reduction.

“Kenya comes to these meetings with a clear agenda focused on strengthening our economic fundamentals, demonstrating our commitment to fiscal discipline, and securing the partnerships and resources necessary to accelerate our development trajectory,” Dr. Kiptoo stated. “These Annual Meetings represent a critical platform for us to engage directly with decision-makers at the highest levels of international finance.”

Cabinet Secretary Mbadi, who assumed leadership of the Treasury portfolio with a mandate to stabilize Kenya’s public finances and restore investor confidence, is expected to conduct extensive bilateral talks with key international financial institutions, multilateral development banks, bilateral development partners, and private sector investors throughout the week-long gathering.

Advancing the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda

A central focus of Mbadi’s engagement will be mobilizing international support and financing for President William Ruto’s signature Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), an ambitious policy framework that fundamentally reorients Kenya’s development strategy around job creation, small and medium enterprise (SME) growth, agricultural productivity and food security, affordable housing, digital infrastructure expansion, and climate resilience.

The BETA represents a deliberate shift from traditional “trickle-down” economic approaches toward policies designed to directly empower ordinary Kenyans, particularly those at the bottom of the economic pyramid, through targeted investments in productive sectors that generate widespread employment and income opportunities.

“The Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda is not just a political slogan but a comprehensive economic framework backed by specific policies, programs, and budget allocations,” a senior Treasury official explained. “Our discussions with the IMF, World Bank, and bilateral partners will demonstrate how international support can accelerate the implementation of this agenda and multiply its impacts across our economy.”

Key priorities under BETA that require substantial external financing include expanding irrigation infrastructure to boost agricultural productivity and ensure food security, developing affordable housing units to address Kenya’s massive housing deficit, supporting SMEs through improved access to credit and business development services, investing in technical and vocational education to align skills with labor market demands, and building climate-resilient infrastructure to protect communities and economic assets from increasingly severe weather events.

Debt Sustainability: A Critical Challenge

Kenya’s debt situation remains one of the most sensitive and crucial topics that Cabinet Secretary Mbadi will address during the Washington meetings. The country has faced mounting concerns from credit rating agencies, investors, and international financial institutions about the sustainability of its public debt, which has grown significantly over the past decade as successive governments borrowed heavily to finance infrastructure development and bridge budget deficits.

Recent estimates indicate that Kenya’s public debt has reached approximately 70% of GDP, approaching levels that many economists consider risky for a developing country with limited fiscal buffers and vulnerability to external shocks. Debt service obligations have consumed an increasingly large share of government revenues, constraining the resources available for essential services and development spending.

“Debt sustainability is not just about numbers on a spreadsheet—it’s about ensuring that the borrowing we’ve undertaken translates into productive investments that generate the economic growth and revenues needed to service that debt without compromising essential services or future development,” Dr. Kiptoo explained. “We are here to demonstrate to our partners that Kenya has a credible plan to manage our debt responsibly while continuing to invest in our people and infrastructure.”

The Kenyan delegation will be presenting detailed fiscal consolidation measures the government has implemented or plans to implement, including enhanced revenue collection through Kenya Revenue Authority reforms and digitalization, expenditure rationalization to eliminate waste and improve efficiency, prioritization of high-impact development projects with strong economic returns, and active debt management strategies including refinancing expensive commercial debt with more favorable concessional financing.

Seeking Concessional Financing and Grant Support

A major objective for Kenya’s delegation is securing increased access to concessional financing—loans with below-market interest rates and favorable repayment terms—and grant support from multilateral and bilateral development partners. Concessional financing is particularly crucial for developing countries like Kenya because it allows governments to undertake necessary investments without adding unsustainable debt burdens.

“We are advocating strongly for expanded access to concessional resources, particularly from institutions like the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries, and the African Development Bank’s concessional windows,” a Treasury official noted. “These resources, with their long repayment periods and low interest rates, are essential for financing the long-term investments in infrastructure, education, and health that drive sustainable development.”

Kenya will also be pushing for innovative financing mechanisms that can mobilize additional resources for development, including debt-for-climate swaps that allow countries to redirect debt service payments toward climate action, blended finance structures that use public and philanthropic capital to catalyze private sector investment, and results-based financing that ties disbursements to achievement of specific development outcomes.

Global Financial Architecture Reform

Beyond Kenya’s specific national interests, Cabinet Secretary Mbadi and the delegation will be engaging in broader discussions about reforming the global financial architecture to better serve the needs of developing countries. African nations have increasingly argued that the current international financial system, largely designed in the aftermath of World War II, does not adequately reflect current global economic realities or address the specific challenges facing developing economies.

“The global financial system needs to evolve,” Dr. Kiptoo stated. “African countries contribute significantly to global economic growth and possess enormous natural resources and human capital, yet we often struggle to access the financing we need on reasonable terms. We need a financial architecture that recognizes our contributions and supports our development aspirations.”

Specific reform priorities that Kenya and other African countries are advocating include increased representation and voting power for developing countries in the governance structures of the IMF and World Bank, expansion of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)—the IMF’s international reserve asset—and their reallocation to countries that need them most, reform of credit rating methodologies that African officials argue systematically undervalue their countries’ creditworthiness, and establishment of new mechanisms to address debt distress before it becomes a full-blown crisis.

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Climate Finance and Green Development

Climate change represents both an existential threat and a development challenge for Kenya and other East African countries. The region has experienced increasingly severe droughts, devastating floods, locust invasions, and other climate-related shocks that have undermined livelihoods, destroyed infrastructure, and set back development gains.

Kenya’s delegation will be advocating forcefully for scaled-up climate finance from developed countries to support both climate adaptation—helping communities and economies adjust to climate impacts—and mitigation—reducing greenhouse gas emissions through clean energy and sustainable practices.

“Kenya and Africa more broadly have contributed minimally to the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, yet we are experiencing some of its most severe impacts,” a delegation member explained. “Developed countries have both a moral obligation and a practical interest in supporting our climate resilience and green development. A destabilized, climate-impacted Africa is not in anyone’s interest.”

Specific climate-related priorities include financing for renewable energy infrastructure to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and expand electricity access, investment in climate-smart agriculture that can maintain productivity despite changing weather patterns, support for early warning systems and disaster preparedness to minimize loss of life and economic damage from climate events, and resources for ecosystem restoration and conservation that can provide natural climate buffers.

Bilateral Engagement with Development Partners

Beyond the formal plenary sessions and committee meetings that characterize the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, Cabinet Secretary Mbadi’s schedule includes numerous bilateral meetings with individual development partners, creating opportunities for more focused discussions on specific cooperation areas and potential financing deals.

Expected bilateral engagements include meetings with United States Treasury officials to discuss Kenya-US economic cooperation and potential support under various US development finance programs, discussions with European Union representatives about development cooperation, trade relationships, and support for Kenya’s reform agenda, consultations with Asian development partners including Japan, China, and South Korea about infrastructure financing and technical cooperation, and engagement with African Development Bank leadership about regional development initiatives and financing for cross-border infrastructure projects.

These bilateral discussions often produce concrete outcomes including new loan agreements, grant commitments, technical assistance programs, and frameworks for future cooperation that complement the broader policy discussions happening in the main meetings.

Private Sector Investment and Partnerships

Recognizing that public resources alone cannot meet Kenya’s enormous development financing needs, the delegation is also scheduled to engage with private sector investors and financial institutions to promote Kenya as an attractive investment destination and explore public-private partnership opportunities.

“Mobilizing private sector capital is essential,” Dr. Kiptoo emphasized. “We need to create an environment where private investors, both domestic and international, see Kenya as offering competitive returns while also contributing to development outcomes. This requires continued reforms to improve the business climate, strengthen contract enforcement, and reduce bureaucratic obstacles.”

The government is particularly interested in attracting private investment in renewable energy generation, affordable housing development, digital infrastructure including broadband connectivity, agribusiness and food processing, manufacturing for both domestic and export markets, and tourism infrastructure. Public-private partnerships that can leverage private sector efficiency and innovation while ensuring public interests are protected represent a key strategy.

Regional Integration and East African Community Priorities

As a leading economy within the East African Community (EAC), Kenya’s delegation will also be advocating for regional integration priorities and seeking support for cross-border infrastructure projects and regional initiatives that benefit multiple countries.

“Our development is inextricably linked to the broader East African region,” a delegation official noted. “Infrastructure connections, trade facilitation, and regional cooperation multiply the benefits of investments and create larger markets that attract more substantial private sector engagement.”

Regional priorities include completing transport corridors that link ports to landlocked countries, harmonizing customs procedures and trade regulations to facilitate intra-regional commerce, developing regional energy infrastructure and power pools, and supporting regional institutions and integration processes.

Expectations and Potential Outcomes

As the meetings progress, observers will be watching for several potential outcomes from Kenya’s engagement. These include securing new financing commitments from the World Bank, African Development Bank, and bilateral partners for specific priority projects, obtaining IMF support or approval for Kenya’s economic program, which can unlock additional financing from other partners, establishing frameworks for debt restructuring or refinancing that can improve Kenya’s debt sustainability profile, and securing commitments for climate finance and support for Kenya’s climate action plans.

Additionally, successful positioning of Kenya as a leader in economic reform and good governance can enhance the country’s reputation among international investors and development partners, potentially leading to increased capital flows and more favorable financing terms in the future.

Challenges and Concerns

Despite the opportunities these meetings represent, Kenya’s delegation also faces challenges and will need to address concerns that development partners and investors have raised about Kenya’s economic management and governance.

These concerns include the pace and depth of fiscal reforms necessary to ensure debt sustainability, governance issues and corruption concerns that have sometimes undermined development effectiveness, questions about the political sustainability of difficult economic reforms that may generate popular opposition, and implementation capacity challenges that have sometimes delayed or diluted reform efforts.

Successfully addressing these concerns through transparent communication, demonstrating concrete reform progress, and establishing credible accountability mechanisms will be crucial for maintaining international confidence and support.

Conclusion

Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi’s leadership of Kenya’s delegation to the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings represents a critical opportunity for the country to engage with the global financial community at the highest levels, advocate for its development priorities, and secure the resources and partnerships necessary to advance its economic transformation agenda.

The coming days of intensive meetings, negotiations, and bilateral engagements will help shape Kenya’s access to development financing, its relationships with key international partners, and its ability to address pressing challenges including debt sustainability, climate resilience, and inclusive economic growth.

For ordinary Kenyans, the ultimate measure of success will be whether these high-level engagements translate into tangible improvements in their daily lives—more jobs, better infrastructure, improved services, and greater economic opportunities. The groundwork laid during these Washington meetings will play an important role in determining whether Kenya can achieve the economic transformation its people aspire to and deserve.

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By: Montel Kamau

Serrari Financial Analyst

13th October, 2025