to msmes seeking financing during the covid - 19 pandemic period, primarily for short - term working capital needs and medium - term productive business investments. these programmes have been fully disbursed, and the central bank is currently collaborating with the government of barbados to negotiate a third round of funding from the idb for usd 50 million, which will have an expanded focus of : 1 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches 1. enhancing export readiness and diversification, innovative investment, food security, and climate adaptation ; 2. increasing the financial inclusion of women - led / owned business and persons with disabilities ; and 3. leveraging technical assistance to support capacity building and training of msmes. since the launch of the ecgf a decade ago, i can confidently state the operation of the ecgf has achieved its general objective of enhancing msme's access to muchneeded loan funding. in fact, during this period, the central bank has approved 326 guarantees totalling over usd 65 million for loans from eight participating financial institutions. furthermore, during the second loan programme to provide financing support during the covid - 19 pandemic, there was an increased demand for guarantees on loans to the renewable energy sector, which represented one - third of the total guaranteed amount. i am hearted that this sector is also posed to receive additional support in the third round of idb funding support. it is evident that idb continues to be a valuable development partner that is instrumental to barbados achieving its sustainable development goals. we will endeavour to maintain our strong collaboration into the future, and to provide the required support for our small business sector. we are heartened by the participation of the msmes and their financial institutions, including the enterprise growth fund limited, which has a mandate of providing financing to small businesses working capital purposes across the various economic sectors, including the renewable energy sector. i look forward to hearing first - hand the financial institutions'and businesses'experiences with the ecgf and to a lively dialogue on the important topic of access to financing for msmes. once again, welcome to everyone. 2 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches

kamau thugge : acceptance speech - african bankers awards 2024 acceptance speech by dr kamau thugge, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the african bankers awards 2024, nairobi, 28 may 2024. * * * as prepared for delivery excellencies distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen good evening. i am very pleased to join you on this auspicious occasion of the african banker awards, 2024. i greatly appreciate the invitation to this important event, and i am humbled and honoured to be awarded the african central bank governor of the year award. the award reflects the efforts of the board, monetary policy committee, the management, and staff of the central bank of kenya ( cbk ), to whom i am grateful. tonight's recognition affirms kenya's sound macroeconomic policies, for which i thank his excellency the president, dr. william samoei ruto, for providing overall leadership. i also greatly appreciate the institutions we have walked the journey with including the national treasury, the president's council of economic advisors, my banking sector colleagues, and our development partners. when i was appointed cbk governor in june 2023, the kenyan economy was reeling from shocks such as a surge in global energy and food prices, and climate factors that were exerting upward pressure on food prices. currencies in emerging and developing economies were on a free fall, due to the monetary policy tightening in advanced economies. capping all this, was our dysfunctional interbank foreign exchange market, with low liquidity and significant foreign payments backlog, which led to low investor confidence, especially for foreign investors. as a result of these shocks, our overall inflation rose sharply to peak at 9. 6 percent in october 2022, and remained elevated at around 8. 0 percent through may 2023. the shilling also depreciated rapidly, exerting upward pressure on domestic prices, and contributing to a significant increase in the kenya shilling value of foreign currency denominated debt and debt service. my priority, therefore, was to address the inflationary pressures and the rapid depreciation of the kenya shilling. i convened my first monetary policy committee ( mpc ) meeting on june 26, 2023, one week after my appointment as cbk governor, and the committee agreed to raise the central bank rate ( cbr ) by 100 basis pointsthe highest single rate increase since july 2015. this was followed by another sharp rate increase