Kenya officially began printing its own currency in 1966, a few years after gaining independence. Prior to this, the East African Shilling, issued by the East African Currency Board and used from 1919 to 1966, was the main currency.
Barely three years after independence, during the regime of Jomo Kenyatta, the government established the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), which was mandated to issue the Kenyan currency in the country.
Initially, the CBK issued its first Kenyan shilling notes in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100, featuring the portrait of President Jomo Kenyatta, replacing the East African Currency Board notes.
From featuring Kenyatta to Daniel Moi and later Mwai Kibaki, the Kenyan shilling has evolved over the years, with the current new-generation banknotes featuring minor design changes.
Times Digital Kenya highlights where Kenyan money is printed and the history behind it.
Printing Kenyan money
De La Rue, a British firm that established a local factory in Nairobi in 1992, was tasked with printing Kenyan banknotes for 3 decades.
A decade later, the firm signed a 10-year deal with the Moi government in late 2002, but it was challenged when Mwai Kibaki became President.
In 2003, Kibaki’s administration opened tenders to other sources, but despite stiff competition, De La Rue remained the dominant printer of Kenyan money.
This continued from 2003 to 2017, when Uhuru Kenyatta’s government formed a joint venture with De La Rue Kenya EPZ Limited after acquiring a 40% stake in the firm.
From 2019 to 2022, the firm printed the new-generation banknotes, fulfilling what would be its last contract.
In 2023, De La Rue suspended the printing of Kenyan shilling banknotes. The firm stated that the Central Bank of Kenya had not placed further orders, making the operation financially unsustainable.
All in all, the British firm printed Kenyan banknotes from the early 1990s until its exit in 2023.
The Current firm printing Kenya’s money
After De La Rue shut down its local operations, the Government of Kenya, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), contracted a German firm, Giesecke+Devrient (G+D), to take over the operation from 2024.
Kenya signed a Sh14.2 billion ($109,422,740) five-year deal with the firm. Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) is mandated to print new-generation banknotes as well as replenish circulating currency, which helps prevent potential shortages.
Over the five-year contract, the firm is set to print more than 2 billion notes: 460 million Sh1,000 notes, 170 million Sh500 notes, 260 million Sh200 notes, 690 million Sh100 notes, and 460 million Sh50 notes.
