veri blog

Kenya is rewriting its debt story in real time. In the space of a few weeks, Nairobi has: Agreed a $1 billion debt-for-food security swap with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC); and Launched a $1.5 billion Chinese-backed highway expansion , with Kenya’s own National Social Security Fund (NSSF) taking equity risk in a 28-year toll concession.() Two very different deals. One goal: create breathing room on the public balance sheet while still funding

For decades, African finance ministers flew to Washington, London or Beijing when they needed capital. Today, a quiet reversal is underway. According to new data from state-owned investor tracker GlobalSWF, African public institutions now manage close to $1 trillion in assets  – a historic high. That pool sits not in foreign aid budgets, but in: Public pension funds Central bank reserve portfolios Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) Public development banks and social security inst

When President William Ruto’s government announced a new $1.5 billion highway expansion last week, it was the flags that told the story: Chinese and Kenyan colours flying side by side as officials unveiled plans to rebuild the country’s most important transport corridor. The project will upgrade sections of the road linking Mombasa, Nairobi and western Kenya , a route that carries much of the region’s trade to and from the Indian Ocean. It is also China’s biggest new infrast