Nairobi, May 30 -- Kenya has overtaken Nigeria to become the continent's third-largest recipient of funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB), highlighting the country's growing reliance on multilateral loans amid economic pressures.

New disclosures by the continental lender show that it disbursed Sh43.7 billion to Kenya last year, up from Sh33 billion in 2024, dwarfing Nigeria's Sh41.9 billion after Abuja more than halved its drawdowns from the bank.

Nairobi accessed two additional loans from AfDB's non-concessional arm, bringing the total to 23, with an outstanding balance of Sh366 billion. It also secured three more loans from the African Development Fund (ADF) - the lender's concessional arm - raising the total to 74, also va...