Nairobi, June 16 -- Capital market stakeholders, coastal counties and Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) are in a race against time to structure and market the country's inaugural blue bond before the close of 2026.

A blue bond refers to specialised debt instrument raised by either a corporate or government with the proceeds dedicated to financing of marine, ocean-based and coastal resilience-based projects.

According to officials of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), the planned issuance will be the first of a multi-tranche series whose aggregate ticket size for capital raise stands at $300 million (Sh38.83 billion) under the Kenya Go Blue Green Bond Programme. The bonds are to be denominated in Kenya shillings.

"The transaction is being...