This article covers India's loans and lines of credit to Kenya, grants and gifts, health and humanitarian assistance, defence cooperation, training, and cooperation in space and digital public infrastructure. It is based on the MEA bilateral brief of March 2026.

Loans and lines of credit

According to the MEA brief of March 2026, India offers development assistance to Kenya in the form of loans and credit. The brief lists the following:

  • A loan agreement to extend US$ 15 million to IDB Capital Limited, now renamed Kenya Development Corporation (KDC), for the development of SMEs, in July 2016.
  • A Line of Credit agreement of US$ 29.95 million for the upgradation of Rift Valley Textiles Factory (RIVATEX East Africa Limited), signed in July 2016. The upgraded facility was inaugurated by the then President Uhuru Kenyatta on 21 June 2019.
  • A Line of Credit (LOC) agreement of US$ 61.60 million, extended for power transmission and substation projects.
  • A LoC for US$100 million for agricultural mechanization, signed during President Kenyatta's State Visit to India in January 2017.
  • A USD 250 million Line of Credit (LoC) to the Government of Kenya, which the Government of India agreed to extend during President William Ruto's State Visit to India from 4 to 6 December 2023.

The brief refers to the 2023 facility both as a LoC for Agriculture modernization and as one for Agricultural Mechanization projects in line with Kenya's national development priorities. It describes the proposed facility as intended for supporting agriculture, which it calls one of the key pillars of the India-Kenya bilateral partnership.

Grants and gifts

During his State visit to Kenya in July 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the gifting of a made in India cancer therapy machine, Bhabhatron II, to Kenyatta National Hospital. President Kenyatta commissioned the Advanced Telecobalt Cancer Therapy Machine, Bhabhatron II, and a Digital Radiotherapy Simulator, Imagin, gifted by India, at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi in August 2017.

The Prime Minister also announced a grant of US$ 1 million for the refurbishment of the Mahatma Gandhi graduate library of the University of Nairobi. The High Commissioner and the Vice Chancellor of the University signed an MoU for the renovation on 3 October 2016. The library, renovated at a cost of US$ One million, was inaugurated during the visit of External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar in June 2021.

A water hyacinth harvesting machine gifted to Kisumu was jointly inaugurated by the High Commissioner and the Governor of Kisumu County in November 2022.

Health assistance

In May 2020, the High Commissioner handed over a second tranche of essential medicines worth USD 1.54 million to the Government of Kenya. The first tranche had been handed over in July 2018. In August 2020, a gift consignment of medicines related to COVID-19 was handed over by the Acting High Commissioner.

Under Vaccine Maitri, Kenya was given 1.12 million doses of Covishield in March 2021: 1.02 million under the COVAX alliance and 100,000 as a gift. An MoU for establishing a tertiary care hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, was signed between Apollo Hospital and Baler Healthcare, Kenya.

Cabinet Secretary for Health Aden Duale visited India from 17 to 19 December 2025 for the WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine.

Humanitarian assistance after the 2024 floods

On 10 May 2024, Indian Naval Ship Sumedha, as the first responder in the IOR, handed over food, relief and medicine supplies for flood victims to the Government of Kenya. On 14 May 2024, the High Commissioner handed over a 2nd tranche of 40MT of humanitarian assistance supplies, including medical supplies and other equipment donated by the Government of India, for flood-affected Kenyans.

Defence cooperation

During the 2016 State visit, the Prime Minister handed over 30 field ambulances for the use of the Kenya Defence Forces. India gifted 15 parachutes to the Ministry of Defence of Kenya in August 2023.

Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane, during a visit to Kenya, laid the foundation stone on 27 September 2024 at the Kenyan Navy Base, Mtongwe, for CT scan infrastructure and a CT Scan Machine donated by the Government of India. The brief gives the total cost of the project as USD 12,31,210.

Raksha Rajya Mantri Sanjay Seth visited Kenya from 22 to 24 June 2025. With the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Defence, he jointly unveiled the India-Africa Commemorative Pillar at Taita Taveta, to honour fallen soldiers and reinforce defence cooperation.

Training and capacity building

As of the MEA brief, Kenya is offered 240 civilian slots for training in various fields under the Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme. Scholarships for Kenyan students are described in the culture and education article of this guide.

Attorney General Dorcas Oduor led a delegation to India from 13 to 18 January 2025 for a capacity building programme.

Space and geospatial cooperation

Announcements made during President Ruto's State Visit in December 2023 included a customized training program for 20 Space Scientists in ISRO, and a geo-spatial information portal for Kenya with Indian remote sensing data.

Digital public infrastructure

A high-level Kenyan delegation led by Mercy Wanjau visited India from 18 to 21 November 2025 for engagement on Aadhaar and digital governance. Cabinet Secretary for ICT William Kabogo Gitau led a delegation to India in February 2026 for the AI Impact Summit, during which the Implementation Framework Agreement for the DigiLocker pilot was signed.