Kenya has secured a landmark 25 billion Yen (Sh22 billion) Samurai financing facility from Japan to boost local electric vehicle manufacturing and reduce power costs. The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) in Yokohama, Japan.

• The facility will allocate 15 billion Yen (Sh13.1 billion) to the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry for supporting vehicle assemblers and electric vehicle production.
• The deal was signed by Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi on behalf of Kenya, and Mr. Atsuo Kuroda, Chairman and CEO of Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) for Japan.
• An additional 5.5 billion Yen (Sh4.8 billion) will go to the Ministry of Energy to purchase high-efficiency transformers, aiming to cut transmission and distribution losses, which currently average 23 percent.