Kenya requests emergency World Bank funds to cushion Iran war shocks

InternationalKenya requests emergency World Bank funds to cushion Iran war shocksBy Reuters -Apr 18, 2026Kenya has requested rapid financial support from the World Bank to help it manage the economic shocks triggered by the Iran ‌war, its central bank governor told Reuters. Like other nations that are heavily reliant on energy imports, the East African country is scrambling to stave off shortages of essential commodities including petrol, while managing cost increases that could drive up inflation. Kenya is the first larger emerging economy to publicly confirm a formal request to the World Bank, although a number of countries, ​such as Egypt, have said they have approached multilateral lenders. IMF head Kristalina Georgieva said that at least 12 countries are seeking assistance from the ​Fund to cope with the crisis. The request for funds was “significant”, Kenya’s central bank governor, Kamau Thugge, told Reuters on Thursday ⁠on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, without providing a figure. Analysts welcomed the move, saying it will boost confidence and ease ​market pressure. “While Kenya’s external buffers are large and ample, it is among the most exposed countries in the region to the Iran price shock given its ​oil import dependence,” said Andrew Matheny, senior economist at Goldman Sachs. “Risks to the shilling are tilted toward depreciation, especially in the event of a more protracted shock that implies higher oil prices for longer.” Kenya’s dollar bonds rose the most among African issuers on Friday, with the 2034 and 2048 bonds gaining by nearly a cent to be bid at ​89.21 and 99.25 cents on the dollar respectively, Tradeweb data showed. , The World Bank loan would be in addition to a budgetary support loan, known as ​development policy operations, that both sides were discussing before the outbreak of the crisis, Thugge said. Rapid Response Support is a term used by the World Bank for its ‌fast-disbursing financial ⁠windows and policy s...