WASHINGTON – Kenya has requested rapid financial support from the World Bank to help it manage the economic shocks triggered by the Iran war, its central bank governor told Reuters. Like other nations that are heavily reliant on energy imports, the East African country is scrambling to stave off shortages of essential commodities including petrol, while managing cost increases that could drive up inflation. Kenya is the first larger emerging economy to publicly confirm a formal request to the World Bank, although a number of countries, such as Egypt, have said they have approached multilateral lenders. IMF head Kristalina Georgieva said that at least 12 countries are seeking assistance from the Fund to cope with the crisis. The request for funds was “significant”, Kenya’s central bank governor, Kamau Thugge, told Reuters on Thursday on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, without providing a figure. Analysts welcomed the move, saying it will boost confidence and ease market pressure. “While Kenya’s external buffers are large and ample, it is among the most exposed c
