Kenya is eyeing around $600 million in emergency funds from the World Bank in a bid to soften the impact of the Iran war, which is upending economies across the continent.
The East African nation is particularly vulnerable given it imports the vast majority of its fuels from the Gulf. And while Nairobi has already eased energy taxes in a bid to help consumers, pump prices have nonetheless surged.
The Iran war has hastened calls for greater industrial investment on the continent to reduce its reliance on imports. âBut the biggest bottlenecks that threaten scaling industrialization revolve around energy and political will,â Semaforâs Africa Managing Editor wrote.
