The East
African Development Bank (EADB) was established in 1967 with the remit to
provide financial and other support to its member countries, which currently
are Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda. 
Burundi has applied to become a member state.  It was re-established under its own charter
in 1980 after the break-up of the East African Co-operation in 1977. The new
charter opened up the Bank to a wider membership and allowed for the
introduction of consulting and advisory services.

The EADB’s
loan portfolio is spread widely, but more than 60% of its lending is to
projects in health and education, hotels and tourism, construction and
building, electricity and water, and agriculture, all of which are central to
the current and future prosperity of the region and its people.

The concrete
results of EADB’s lending can be seen all over the region.

Hotels that
the EADB has supported include the five-star Sultan Sands Island Resort in
Zanzibar and the Outspan Hotel in Nyeri, Kenya, part of the Aberdare Safari
Hotels group.

EADB sees
education as immensely important for the future of East Africa.  The Bank has given long-term support to
Sunshine Education’s school in Nairobi. 
Its long-term loan to Shajar Schools in Tanzania made it possible for
more girls to get a secondary school education and created 137 jobs into the
bargain.

School to
university is a natural progression and the demand for tertiary education in
East Africa keeps on growing.  For its
part, EADB made a long-term loan to the Africa Nazarene University near Nairobi
and has also supported the Uganda Christian University outside Kampala.  UCU is a good example of East Africa’s thirst
for higher education – its student numbers have skyrocketed from 300 to more
than 11,000 in its 15-year history. The Bank also financially supported the
development of an IT infrastructure at Strathmore University in Nairobi which
created 300 jobs.

Agriculture
is a key sector in East Africa and one of its most important crops for hefty
export earnings is tea. The EADB has lent more than USD 1 million to Kayonza
Tea Factory, located about 400 kilometres south west of Kampala, which now has
more than 5,000 farmers and 600 workers. 
The EADB has also supported the Igara Growers Tea Factory in western
Uganda.

The health
sector also has a growing demand in the region. 
The EADB took an equity stake in the Karen Hospital in Kenya, which has
102 beds, three operating theatres and employs more than 400 people.

Energy is
also essential for Africa’s development, but the continent suffers from a
yawning gap in its power needs.  In 2010,
Africa’s entire installed capacity of electricity was the same as that of
Spain.  Sub-Saharan Africa lives on less
energy than Mexico.  Yet the continent
has huge natural and renewable energy resources in the form of wind and
water.  The EADB is one of the financial
supporters of the Lake Turkana Wind Project in Kenya.