This archive report was first published on 2 July 2020.
On July 2, 2020, Edward Mungai reported on the impact of investments driving green growth in Kenya.
The late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's impact investment firm, Vulcan, aimed to transform remote Kenyan villages by setting up solar-powered mini-grids. These projects connected off-grid homes and businesses to solar power, transforming lives in Kajiado, Turkana, and Samburu.
After successfully building a business case for the technology, the mini-grid sites were acquired by RVE.SOL, a Portuguese firm operating similar sites in Busia. Smaller grids are enabling developing economies to decentralise electricity to off-grid areas, igniting rural economies ahead of the arrival of the national grid.
Kenya Climate Ventures (KCV) is walking a similar path. The agency recently funded three Kenyan enterprises – Exotic EPZ, Mace Foods, and Ofgen – to scale up and create more sustainable opportunities in the economy.
Exotic EPZ empowers rural smallholder farmers of macadamia nuts by linking them to export markets, fetching higher returns. Mace Foods links farmers to markets, dealing in natural, sun-dried chillies, vegetables, herbs, and spices. Ofgen operates in the solar energy space, designing and constructing solar-powered stations complete with back-up storage batteries for commercial and industrial businesses.
These firms embody what KCV stands for: accelerating development of clean technology solutions in the region around three pillars – renewable energy, agribusiness, and water management – by investing in impact enterprises.
