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British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, has launched its 2026–31 strategy in Kenya. The strategy builds on the $1.2 billion BII committed across East Africa during its previous five-year period.
Under the plan, BII aims to invest about $6.7 billion of its own capital and mobilise up to $5.3 billion in private capital across Africa.
In Kenya, it will invest in businesses and infrastructure while also trying to bring in more institutional capital. It also plans to work with local partners to develop markets and strengthen financial systems.
“Our new strategy is about doing more than investing BII’s own capital. We want to use our capital, experience and partnerships to unlock investment from others and help build markets that can attract capital at greater scale. Kenya has a significant pool of domestic capital, and we are calling on local capital providers to partner with us to find practical ways to channel more of it into productive businesses and infrastructure,” said Leslie Maasdorp, CEO of BII.
BII CEO Leslie Maasdorp is visiting Kenya to launch the strategy. He hosted a roundtable called Progressive Capital Partnerships: New Models for Unlocking Local Capital, which brought together stakeholders to discuss how to channel more Kenyan institutional capital into the economy.
Kenya’s pension assets reached KSh3.167 trillion in June 2026. Only 0.02 per cent was allocated to infrastructure debt instruments and 0.62 per cent to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).
The roundtable looked at local-currency financing, blended finance, risk-sharing and capital-market instruments as ways to unlock more of this money.
BII says Kenya’s established financial sector and active capital markets make it a hub for East Africa, where growth is projected at around 6 per cent in 2026–27.
It plans to apply successful approaches across the wider region, including in Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania, which the UN classifies as Least Developed Countries.
Kenya is one of Africa’s most dynamic economies, with huge potential to create jobs and drive growth. I am proud that British International Investment’s new strategy is helping the UK to build a new kind of development partnership with Kenya and countries across the continent, focused on unlocking private investment, strengthening financial systems, and working with local partners to deliver on our shared goals,” said Kirsty McNeill, UK Minister for International Development and Africa.
BII is the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, investing in businesses and infrastructure across Africa and other regions.
