Japan-Kenya Loan Deal Shifts Chinese Influence

File image of Kenya's Olkaria geothermal electricity plant, which will be upgraded via Japanese funding. Image: Tony Karumba / AFP.

Japan will reportedly provide about $107 million in bilateral loans to Kenya for port, water, and electricity infrastructure, to be implemented from next week. The deal signals a stronger role for Japan as an external partner to the continent amid G7 anxieties about China’s influence.

The loans will be used to upgrade key infrastructure in Kenya:

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by Cobus van Staden

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