KfW Supports International Energy, Transport and Education Projects to Reinforce Europe’s Strategic Partnerships

Together with the EU and its Team Europe partners, KfW supports, among other countries, South Africa in the framework of a strategic partnership for sustainable development, energy and raw material supply.

(IN BRIEF) KfW has highlighted its continued role in European development cooperation through major investments in climate protection, energy infrastructure, transport, education, and digital transformation projects under the EU’s Global Gateway Initiative. By the end of 2025, KfW had contributed nearly EUR 43 billion toward the programme, which aims to mobilize EUR 300 billion globally between 2021 and 2027. The bank is supporting projects including electricity grid expansion in southeastern Europe, renewable energy development in Vietnam, metro systems in India, and digital vocational education initiatives in Kenya. KfW said the projects strengthen both sustainable development in partner countries and Europe’s own economic resilience, energy security, and geopolitical interests.

(PRESS RELEASE) FRANKFURT, 8-May-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — KfW has reaffirmed its role as a key European partner in international development cooperation, highlighting its continued support for sustainable infrastructure, climate protection, energy security, education, and digital transformation projects across multiple regions through the European Union’s Global Gateway Initiative and broader Team Europe partnerships.

As geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainties continue to reshape international relations, KfW said its approach to development cooperation remains focused on solidarity, long-term partnerships, and value-based collaboration. In 2025, the German development bank continued working alongside European institutions and national development finance partners to support investments aimed at strengthening both sustainable development in partner countries and Europe’s own economic resilience, strategic autonomy, and supply security.

A central pillar of this effort is the European Union’s Global Gateway Initiative, which aims to mobilize EUR 300 billion between 2021 and 2027 for projects related to climate action, clean energy, transportation, healthcare, education, and digitalization. According to KfW, the institution had contributed nearly EUR 43 billion toward the initiative by the end of 2025, representing close to 15 percent of the programme’s overall target volume.

KfW emphasized that these investments are designed not only to support economic and social development in emerging and developing markets but also to strengthen Europe’s geopolitical interests through more resilient supply chains, secure energy access, raw material partnerships, and expanded international markets for European industries and technologies.

Climate and energy initiatives accounted for approximately half of KfW’s Global Gateway activities during the year, with projects spanning Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and the Caucasus region. Among the major infrastructure initiatives supported by KfW is the Trans-Balkan Corridor project in southeastern Europe, which involves the expansion and modernization of regional electricity grids through new power lines, substations, and switchgear. The project is intended to improve regional integration and facilitate greater use of renewable energy sources while also strengthening electricity security across Europe and neighbouring EU accession countries.

In Asia, KfW is participating in the construction of Vietnam’s first pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant in the Bac Ai region as part of the Just Energy Transition Partnership with Vietnam. The initiative focuses on supporting the country’s transition toward renewable energy while ensuring reliable and socially equitable electricity access. The project also reflects broader European cooperation through the JEFIC partnership, which brings together development finance institutions from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Poland to coordinate investment expertise and financing efforts internationally.

KfW also highlighted major transport infrastructure investments under the Global Gateway programme, particularly in India, where metro expansion projects are being developed with European technological support. The expansion of the Ahmedabad Metro network is expected to reduce carbon emissions by approximately 50,000 tonnes annually while improving mobility for around 120,000 commuters each day. Similar support is being provided for the Bangalore Metro expansion, where European companies are supplying technology and infrastructure components for a new 19-kilometre section of the network serving one of India’s largest urban populations.

Beyond infrastructure and energy, KfW is also focusing on education and digital transformation initiatives. In Kenya, the bank is working with EU partners and the JEFIC alliance to modernize vocational education and training systems through the introduction of digital infrastructure, connectivity improvements, and upgraded centres of excellence for technical education. The initiative aims to improve employment opportunities for young people entering Kenya’s labour market while helping align workforce skills with the demands of an increasingly digital economy.

KfW stated that these projects demonstrate how coordinated European development cooperation can simultaneously support sustainable growth in partner countries and reinforce Europe’s strategic interests in an increasingly interconnected and competitive global environment. The institution also stressed that long-term cooperation based on mutual benefit and fair partnership remains central to Europe’s international development model at a time of rising geopolitical competition worldwide.

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KfW Development Bank
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SOURCE: KfW