AfDB taps Kenyan for energy docket after Lamu plant hitch

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has hired a Kenyan executive to head its clean energy push almost four months after it made a last-minute withdrawal from the Lamu coal project over environmental concerns.

The Abidjan-based development lender has tapped former Industrial Promotion Services (IPS) executive Kevin Kanina Kariuki as its vice president for power, energy, climate and green growth, effective from April 16.

Mr Kariuki formerly headed the infrastructure docket at Kenyan private equity group IPS owned by the Aga Khan.

IPS is the industrial and infrastructure development arm of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED).

“As the head of infrastructure, Kariuki has been responsible for identifying and coordinating the development as well as management of opportunities and investments in infrastructure services in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Mozambique,” said the bank.

The AfDB said Mr Kariuki would spearhead the bank’s efforts to expand electricity connections in the continent.

“Kevin Kariuki’s leadership is well known in the power sector of Africa and he brings a robust set of skills and competencies to lead the bank’s power, energy, climate and green growth complex,” said AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina in a statement.

Last November, the AfDB announced it had opted not to provide a financial guarantee for the 1,050-megawatt coal-fired plant in Lamu, sending the project’s backers — the Kenyan and Chinese investors — back to the drawing board.

Coincidentally, it was acting vice president for energy Wale Shonibare, the very docket that Mr Kariuki is set to hold on a substantive basis from next month, who broke the news about AfDB’s change of heart on Lamu plant.

At the time, Energy Secretary Charles Keter described the move as a temporary setback “that may delay the project’s completion timeline”, adding Kenya would find an alternative guarantor to continue with the plan.

A chartered electrical engineer and a holder of a PhD in the reliability of power systems, Mr Kariuki is expected to spearhead the lenders push for green and renewable energy amid climate change concerns.

“I am delighted that Kevin (Kariuki) will lead our team to accelerate our goal for universal access to electricity across Africa while continuing to drive the bank’s leadership position for accelerating renewable energy for Africa,” said Dr Adesina.

Before joining IPS, Mr Kariuki worked at the Kenya Electricity Regulatory Board (predecessor of the Energy Regulatory Commission now the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority) as the head of the technical division.