The Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC), in collaboration with various partners on Wednesday running till Friday, organized an Investment Summit titled ‘Climate Financing Opportunities for MSMEs Growth.’
The summit aims to bring together donors, sponsors, entrepreneurs, and enterprises in one setting to facilitate easier access to funding.
This initiative is a significant step towards supporting medium and small enterprises in addressing the challenges posed by climate crisis events, many of which are unforeseen.
Mr. Murabula Joseph, CEO of KCIC, emphasized that the summit follows the Africa Climate Summit and breathes new life into the journey towards impactful climate actions through funding.
Mr. Murabula Joseph highlighted that MSMEs form the largest employment sector in the Kenyan business landscape, offering substantial opportunities to the energetic, innovative, and dynamic young population.
He also revealed that KCIC has been supporting entrepreneurs focused on green growth, from incubation to business scaling.
“Over the past eleven years, KCIC has contributed to the creation of more than 4000 jobs since 2011, with an annual addition of over 400 jobs,”.
Climate change is a global challenge, exacerbated by unprecedented floods, rising food insecurity, and unprepared-for droughts, leaving millions affected. This underscores the urgent need for unified collaborative action to lead climate actions towards sustainable development.
Mr. Murabula further stated that the summit is their canvas, and they want to create a masterpiece together with everyone present.
“Let’s develop well-curated climate response actions that are targeted and informed for optimized impact.”
The transition to a green economy is becoming a reality, offering substantial potential despite the challenges. For instance, Kenya has a 213 billion market opportunity in the green economy sector.
According to Prof. Da Silva, Vice Chancellor of Strathmore University, the difference in economic growth between Ireland and Kenya can be attributed to strategic investments. Ireland’s leaders in the 1970s focused on funding research and innovation, leading to more innovations and substantial economic growth.
Prof. Izael Da Silva emphasized the importance of supporting dynamic, innovative, and young individuals to advance solution-oriented ideas, addressing the current crisis effectively.
During the Investment Summit unveiling, the representative of Kenya Climate Envoy, Hon Ali Daud Mohamed, stressed the significance of this forum, especially following the Africa Climate Summit, which resulted in the adoption of the Nairobi Declaration of African Leaders in Kenya.
Climate change is no longer a peripheral issue but affects every sector, from governance to production. The declaration provides guidance for decarbonization in Africa and the embrace of the green economy, encompassing various opportunities.
“Innovation and technology transfer is crucial for scaling climate actions, including carbon markets, credit adoption, clean cooking technologies, and ecosystem restoration programs.” Hon Ali Daud highlighted.