The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has a long history of driving private sector development in emerging economies through investments, technical assistance, and sustainable finance. We held a strategic meeting with the EBRD, marking a key step toward Kenya’s pursuit of EBRD membership and recipient country status, which the Cabinet approved on 14 February 2024. The meeting explored areas of collaboration to fast-track MSME growth in Kenya, including technical support, policy reform, and access to affordable finance through banks and local development finance institutions. A major priority is to utilise EBRD support in strengthening Kenya’s manufacturing and value-added sectors, which are essential for achieving the national target of a 20% contribution of manufacturing to Kenya’s GDP by 2030. This partnership embodies a collective commitment to unlocking the potential of MSMEs as the driving force behind Kenya’s economic transformation. Kenya’s collaboration with global development finance institutions, such as the EBRD, will provide the tools, capital, and reforms necessary to place MSMEs at the core of industrialisation and inclusive growth, as envisaged in the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).