Kenya
A woman carries a bucket of water from Lake Victoria at Dunga Beach in Kisumu, Kenya. Photo: Peter Kapuscinski / World Bank
IFC launched its Integrated Environmental, Social, and Governance Project in Kenya in March 2023. The project aims to advance environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards and their uptake among market participants through systemic interventions at the regulatory, market, and firm levels.
Regulatory Level
The project supports improvement of the ESG regulatory environment in Kenya for banks by partnering with the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) to develop guidelines on sustainability and climate related disclosure. It also works with the real sector by partnering with the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) to develop ESG guidelines for the manufacturing, agribusiness, and affordable housing sectors.
Market Level
The project aims to build market demand and capacity for ESG services at this level in two ways: building the capacity of KBA and NEMA and local consultants to provide ESG training and advisory services to banks and real sector companies, and organizing public awareness events on various ESG topics for banks and companies in the agribusiness, affordable housing, and manufacturing sectors, possibly together with NEMA and KBA.
Firm Level
Through in-depth advisory support, the project aims to improve the ESG performance of IFC clients in the financial, agribusiness, affordable housing, and manufacturing sectors.
As part of the IFC East Africa Corporate Governance Program (2016–21), IFC supported the development of three important regulations in Kenya pertaining to corporate governance. The regulations include the Corporate Governance Code for Issuers of Securities, in partnership with the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya and the the Stewardship Code for Institutional Investors 2017.
- Central Bank of Kenya: https
- Capital Markets Authority
- Institute of Directors
- Kenya Bankers Association
- National Environmental Management Authority
- Nairobi Securities Exchange
- Corporate Governance Framework for listed companies and issuers of securities to the public in Kenya
- Nairobi Securities Exchange ESG Disclosures Guidance Manual
- Stewardship Code for Institutional Investors 2017, by the Capital Markets Authority
- Central Bank of Kenya Act
- Central Bank of Kenya Guidance on Climate-Related Risk Management
- Kenya Bankers Association Sustainable Finance Initiative
- Kenya Bankers Association State of the Banking Industry Report 2022
The project is implemented in partnership with the government of Japan.
- Kenya Bankers Association
Dr. Habil Olaka
Chief Executive Officer
https://www.kba.co.ke/ - National Environmental Management Authority
Mr. Mamo Boru Mamo
Director General
https://www.nema.go.ke/