Kenya has received a five-year funding of Sh79.2 billion ($915 million) from pan-African development bank (AFDB) to boost economic empowerment, infrastructure upgrades and job creation.

The funds, which would be made available from 2014 – 2018, will be spent on infrastructural development and tertiary education, said AfDB.

“To achieve our main objective, we have designed the CSP (Country Strategy Paper) around two main pillars. We will continue to support the government’s effort to enhance physical infrastructure to unleash inclusive growth and secondly, develop skills for the emerging labour market for Kenya’s transforming economy,” Gabriel Negatu, AfDB’s Regional Director for Eastern Africa said.

The lender said its primary focus would be on infrastructural development such as water, energy and roads, which it believes will increase access to affordable and reliable electricity, enhance access to reliable water supply and improve transport connectivity as well as reduce transport cost.

“At enterprise level, this will boost private-sector activity, increase productivity, stimulate structural transformation, and generate employment,” Mr Gegatu said.

The second part of its intervention will be aimed at improving Kenya’s access to emerging technology-based labour markets and to lower skills for the labour-intensive sectors.

Emphasis will be laid on Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), which has suffered in Kenya ever since the country began its focus on university education. This, the bank believes will help develop mid-level skills of artisans and technicians for emerging labour markets in the country and the East African region.

Skills needed in infrastructure such as ICT, energy, roads and water would also be developed through apprenticeship programmes and training.