The East African Currency Board (EACB) was established in 1919 to supply and oversee the currency of British colonies in

British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was a British protectorate in the African Great Lakes, occupying roughly the same area as present-day Kenya, from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Cont ...

. It was established after Britain took control of mainland

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

from Germany at the end of World War I, and originally oversaw the territories of

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, and Tanzania (excluding

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

). Zanzibar joined the currency area in 1936. In 1941, parts of what are now Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea started using the East African shilling while under British wartime control. From 1951 to 1965, it was used in the colony and protectorate of Aden. The board operated out of premises at 4 Millbank, London SW1, one time the offices of the

Crown Agents Crown Agents Ltd is a not-for-profit international development company with head office in London, United Kingdom, and subsidiaries in the United States and Japan. Incorporated as a private limited company Crown Agents Ltd has only one shareholde ...

. For most of its existence, the EACB's main function was to issue and maintain the local

East African shilling The East African shilling was the Pound sterling, sterling unit of account in British Empire, British-controlled areas of East Africa from 1921 until 1969. It was issued by the East African Currency Board. It is also the proposed name for a com ...

at par with the British shilling. This was done by ensuring that the local currency was adequately backed by sterling securities. Following independence of the three countries, the East African Currency Board eventually gave way to the

Bank of Tanzania The Bank of Tanzania () is the central bank of the Tanzania, United Republic of Tanzania. It is responsible for issuing the national currency, the Tanzanian shilling. The bank was established under the Bank of Tanzania Act 1965. However, in 19 ...

in 1965, then to the Central Bank of Kenya and

Bank of Uganda The Bank of Uganda () is the central bank of Uganda. Established in 1966, by Act of Parliament, the bank is wholly owned by the government but is not a government department. History In 1979 and again in 1987, the Bank of Uganda managed to ma ...

in 1966-1967.

References

* Arnaldo Mauri,
The Currency Board and the rise of banking in East Africa
', Dept. of Economics, University of Milano, WP n. 10/2007, in SSRN.

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

East Africa {{Africa-bank-stub

See also

References