The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) published a press release on Wednesday 23 July 2025 according to which Senegal and Kenya officially became the new shareholders of the Bank. Their membership brings the total number of members of the financial institution to 79, according to the statement.

The accession of Senegal and Kenya opens the way for them to invest in sub-Saharan Africa by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). It marks a crucial step in the EBRD's expansion into sub-Saharan Africa. Senegal submitted its membership application in October 2023, with approval obtained in February 2024. Kenya, for its part, submitted its application in March 2024, approved by the Board of Governors in May of the same year.

For Senegal, this membership is particularly strategic in the context of the Senegal 2050 transformation agenda. According to the Minister of Finance and Budget, Cheikh Diba, this accession is a “strategic turning point for the country's international influence and the expansion of its economic partnerships”.

On the Kenyan side, the Secretary of State for National Treasury and Economic Planning, John Mbadi Ng'ongo, welcomed “an important step in the country's growing integration into the global financial architecture.” He sees it as a testament to “renewed international confidence in Kenya's macroeconomic trajectory and institutional reform agenda.”