Kenya Offered as Risk Test Case for Pension Fund Investment Constraints

President William Ruto offered Kenya as a test case for evaluating African risk during a high-level roundtable in New York, convened by AFC. Ruto stated that financial rules are currently directing African pension savings toward government securities rather than infrastructure, even where regulations permit greater investment in projects. Kenya agreed to open its default and recovery data to rating agencies and accept changes to the methodology if evidence supports them.

Ruto argued that Africa's primary challenge is not the availability of capital but the rules that dictate where that capital can be allocated. Currently, Kenyan pension funds hold 46 per cent of their Sh3.2 trillion ($24.7 billion) in government securities, while only 0.02 per cent is invested in infrastructure debt, despite rules allowing up to 10 per cent.