The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a US$ 941 million (Sh150 billion) loan to Kenya.
The lender will immediately disburse US$ 624 million (Sh99.6 billion) to the country.
The approval followed a meeting on Wednesday which was to complete the sixth review of IMF’s arrangement with Kenya.
The meeting among other things decided to give the go-ahead for disbursement of fresh funds to the county.
"Kenya’s growth remained resilient in the face of increasing external and domestic challenges. The arrangements continue to support the authorities' efforts to sustain macroeconomic stability," the IMF said in a statement on Wednesday.
The disbursement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programs will also be topped by a release of US$60.2 million (Sh9.6 billion) under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) arrangement.
The executive board sign-off brings the IMF's total funding commitment to Kenya under all three facilities to more than US$4.4 billion (Sh701.8 billion).
Fresh disbursements from the IMF are expected to be crucial to Kenya’s quest of successfully navigating the maturity of the Eurobond in June amid challenges in accessing the international capital markets.
Kenya's international bonds rose modestly on the news, with the $2 billion note maturing in June 2024 rising the most.
The approvals came after a staff team from the IMF led by Haimanot Teferra visited Nairobi between October 30 and November 15 last year and held discussions on the reviews.
